Phonics
Phonics is the way children learn to read and write. The teaching of phonics is an important component of the teaching of reading and, as a result, in Curwen we plan, teach and regularly assess our children through our systematic phonics programme, Read Write Inc. As soon as the Nursery children have settled, we introduce Set 1 sounds and Fred Talk, where teachers begin sounding-out targeted words. This encourages children to recognise phonemes and begin to blend. In Reception, children will carry on learning their Set 2 and Set 3 sounds and continue to blend the sounds and read short sentences.
Children in Year 1 take part in a daily phonics lesson and in Year 2 children continue the RWI programme until they are ready to move on to our Curwen Literacy Curriculum.
There are a range of strategies you can use at home to support your child’s reading skills:
EYFS and Y1
Here are some suggested questions to ask your children when reading with them at home:
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Skimming: What do you think the story is about? What do you think this character will do at the end of the story? Would you like to read this book? Why? |
Scanning: When/where is the story set? Who is the main character? Can you find the part where…? Can you find the word….?
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Summarising What did we find out at the beginning / middle / end of the story? What did the title have to do with the book? Can you draw/write on a piece of paper what you have been reading? What moment do you remember most from? |
Sequencing What happens at the beginning / middle / end of the story? How/where does the story start? What do you think might happen next? What is the dilemma (problem) and how is it resolved?
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Comparing What is similar/different about these two characters? Can you compare this book to another book you read? Is this as good as...? Can I make a text to world connection? |
Understanding Vocabulary: What does this word mean? Can you use it in a sentence? Can you find a word that means…? What other words/phrases could the author have used here? How/where can we find out the meaning of this word? |
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Inference: What do you think… means? Why do you think that? Why / how / when / where do you think…? How do you know? |
Predicting: What do you think this text will be about? Why? Why did the author choose this setting? What do you think… will do/say next? How do you think the story will end? Why? Can you draw what is going to happen next? |
