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- admin@forres.herts.sch.uk
Forres Primary, Stanstead Road, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire,
EN11 0RW
Phonics Handbook
Phonics
Overview
At Forres our phonics teaching complements the progression laid out within the DfE approved Twinkl Letters and Sounds guidance. This handbook outlines the structure and expectations of phonics teaching at Forres primary school. A consistent approach to phonics across the school is essential for progression; for example; lesson structure and terminology should be the same to minimise confusion and maximise learning opportunities.
What is Synthetic phonics?
Synthetic phonics is method of teaching reading and writing in which words are broken down into their smallest unit of sound (Phonemes). Children learn to connect a written letter (grapheme)with each phoneme. Children are then taught to blend phonemes together in to words for reading. Written words are then broken down (segmented) in to units of sounds (phonemes) for writing.
This approach continuously builds on prior learning and at Forres we ensure consistency across the whole school to ensure maximum impact.
Phoneme Smallest unit of sound. | Grapheme A written symbol of a phoneme. This could be one letter or a group of letters (i, ie, igh, i_e). | Grapheme – Phoneme Correspondences (GPCs) The connection between sounds and the letter(s) that represent that sound. |
Blending Combining phonemes (sounds) together for reading. | Segmenting The process of breaking down words into individual phonemes (sounds) for writing. | Tricky (Common Exception) Words. Words that cannot be sounded out / decoded easily at the child’s current phonetic level. Emergent readers may find them difficult to read as they yet to learn some of the graphemes / spelling rules. |
Digraph Two letters that together make one sound (ai). | Trigraph Three letters that together make one sound (igh). | Mnemonics (Memory aids) An illustration that is used to support children’s recognition of GPCs |
How are letters and sound (GPCs) taught at Forres?
Phonemes (sound) are introduced at the same time as its corresponding grapheme (written symbol). This is referred to as a grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC).
There are 44 phonemes in the English language. This includes the 26 letters of the alphabet. Each phoneme is introduced systematically through a discrete teaching programme. Children will be introduced to new phonemes each week, with each session revisiting and reviewing previously taught phonemes to secure understanding. Lessons are engaging and varied using stories, mnemonics, actions, letter formation rhymes and songs, linking to auditory, visual and kinaesthetic stimuli to support the needs of all learners.
When children are taught a ‘letter’, they learn how to;
- identify the grapheme (written symbol) from others;
- recognise and articulate the phoneme linked to that grapheme;
- be able to recall the grapheme when given its phoneme.
- write the letter/grapheme;
- name the grapheme by its actual letter name (letters from the alphabet);
- be able to recall the grapheme and phoneme when given the letter name.
Does it really matter how phonemes are pronounced?
In order to minimise confusion when blending it is important that children are taught to articulate sounds clearly (as pure sounds). Pure sounds refers to the way phonemes are pronounced, it is important that articulation is clear and does not include an extra ‘uh’at the end of each letter, known as a schwa. Children that pronounce phonemes in, for example, sat (suh – a – tuh) can find blending and segmenting difficult.
- /s/ is pronounced as ‘sss’ instead of ‘suh’.
- /t/ is pronounced as a short, bouncy sound created by touching the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth (behind front teeth).
What is blending?
Blending is the process in which phonemes are merged and said together in order to read. For example; /c/ /a/ /t/. At Forres we use phonics fingers, dots and dashes and phoneme frames to support children to identify individual sounds and then to blend to read.
Children will initially focus on blending CVC words (consonant, vowel, consonant) for some time to secure understanding. Examples of CVC words are: cat, cot, rip, leg, mat, nod etc. From this the children will begin to learn consonant clusters such as; st, mp, lk, cl. Example of words using these consonant clusters are: stop, lamp, milk, clap.
What is segmenting?
Segmenting is the process in which a word is broken down in to individual phonemes in order to write/spell a word. When segmenting to spell a word, children will choose a grapheme from the level in which they are working. Particularly in the early stages of learning you may notice some phonetically plausible attempts at spelling a word. These attempts should not be discouraged.
For example a child working at Level 3 may spell sh-ai-p.
Tricky (Common Exception) Words
There are some words in the English language that are not phonetically decodable. For example, ‘to’, ‘said’ and ‘the’. As these words occur frequently it is necessary to introduce them as ‘tricky’ (common exception) words. Introducing these words as a group that do not follow the usual phonics rules it enables children to access a broader range of sentences for both reading and writing. These words are initially introduced as reading sight vocabulary and later as spelling words. It important for children to regularly practise these words in order to learn them as sight vocabulary and for rapid recall.
Level 2 | to, the, no, go, I |
Level 3 | he, she, we, me, be, was, my, you, they, here, all, are |
Level 4 | said, so, have, like, come, some, were, there, little, one, do, when, out, what |
Level 5 (Weeks 1 – 10) | could, should, would, want, oh, their, Mr, Mrs, love, your, people, looked, called, asked, water, where, who, why, thought, through |
Level 5 (Weeks 11 – 20) | work, house, many, laughed, because, different, any, eye, friend, also, once, please, live, coming, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, brother, more, before |
Level 5 (Weeks 21 – 30) | January, February, April, July, Scissors, castle, beautiful, treasure, door, floor, bought, favourite, Autumn, gone, know, colour, other, does, talk, two |
Structure of a phonics lesson
At Forres, discrete phonics lessons are taught every day following the same five part structure. Lessons are structured in the same way to provide consistency and to maximise learning opportunities. Our lessons complement the progression laid out within the DfE approved Twinkl Letters and Sounds guidance.
- Revisit and Review - Review GPCs and tricky words that have already been taught.
- Teach - Teach new GPC (or tricky word). Blend and segment words using the new GPC.
- Practise - Practise new GPC / tricky words.
- Apply - Read or write a caption or sentence using 'new' GPC and tricky words.
- Assess - Assess / check children's learning.
Progression
Twinkl/Forres Level | When each level is introduced (it is important to remember that this is a guide, some levels may take longer or need revisiting. |
Level 1 | Nursery/preschool |
Level 2 | Reception |
Level 3 | Reception |
Level 4 | Reception |
Level 5 | Year 1 |
Level 6 | Year 2 |
Level 2 The aim of Level 2 is to:
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Before starting Level 2, children:
- will have experienced arrange of songs, stories, rhymes and listening activities.
- can identify difference in sounds they hear.
- may be able to hear and identify simple rhyming words.
By the end of Level 2, children will be able to;
- identify and say the phoneme of any shown Level 2 grapheme.
- identify and show the grapheme for any Level 2 phoneme they hear.
- segment and blend orally CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words.
- blend and segment VC words such as ‘if’ and ‘on’ for reading and spelling.
- identify and read the tricky words: to, the, no, go, I.
In Level 2 children will be taught the first 23 GPCs and 5 tricky words for reading. During Level 3 children will then learn to spell these tricky words.
Week | Taught GPCs | Tricky words for reading. |
1 | s, a, t, p |
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2 | i, n, m, d |
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3 | g, o, c, k |
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4 | ck, e, u, r | to, the |
5 | h, b, f, ff, l, ll, ss | no, go, I |
6 | Recap of all Level 2 sounds. |
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Level 3
The aim of Level 3 is to:
Before starting Level 3, children can:
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By the end of Level 3, children will be able to:
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Level 4
The adjacent consonants taught at this Level are often referred to as ‘blends and clusters’.
The aim of Level 4 is to:
Before starting Level 4, children will be able to:
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By the end of Level 4, children will be able to:
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Level 5
The aim of Level 5 is to:
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Before starting Level 5 children will be able to:
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By the end of Level 5, children will be able to;
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Level 6
The aim of Level 6 is to:
- To develop knowledge of spelling patterns and best-guess grapheme selection.
- to learn more alternative graphemes for known phonemes.
- To learn more alternative pronunciations for known graphemes.
- to introduce the /zh/ phoneme.
- To develop an understanding of the spelling rules for adding suffixes and prefixes.
- introduce homophones/near homophones and contractions.
- to continue to learn additional common exception words.
- to develop understanding of grammar rules.
- to learn effective writing techniques, including editing and proofreading.
- To continue learning strategies to read and write independently.
Before starting this Level, children will be able to:
• say the phoneme, when shown any grapheme that has been taught.
• for any given phoneme, write the common graphemes.
• apply phonetic knowledge and skills to reading and spelling unfamiliar words that are not completely decodable.
• read and spell phonically decodable two and three syllable words.
• read sight-read all taught tricky and common exception words.
• spell all the Level 2, 3 and 4 tricky words and most of the common exception words for reading.
• form each letter correctly.
• use alternative ways of pronouncing and representing the long vowel phonemes.
By the end of level 6, children will be able to;
• read accurately most words of two or more syllables.
• read most words containing common suffixes.
• read most common exception words.
• read most words accurately (in age appropriate books) without obvious sounding and blending. To read more fluently to allow focus on understanding text rather than on decoding individual words.
• sound out most unfamiliar words accurately.
• segment spoken words into phonemes and represent these by graphemes, spelling many of these words correctly and making phonetically plausible attempts at others.
• spell most common exception words correctly.
Teaching week | Spelling pattern | Common exception words for spelling. | Grammar focus |
1 | ‘y’ saying /igh/ | Door, floor | Capital letters and full stops |
2 | ‘dge’ saying /j/ ‘ge’ saying/j/ | Bought, favourite | Proper nouns (names) |
3 | -es to words ending in y | autumn, gone | Plural nouns |
4 | ‘gn’ saying/n/ | know, colour | Alphabetical order (1) – First / second letter. |
5 | ‘kn’ saying /n/ | other, does | Alphabetical order (2) – Second / subsequent letters. |
6 | -ed, -ing to words ending ‘y’ | talk, two | Verbs |
7 | ‘wr’ saying /r/ | four, eight | Adverbs |
8 | -ie | world, work | Common noun (revision) |
9 | -er, -est to words ending in y | poor, great | Adjectives and expanded noun phrases. |
10 | -el | break, steak | Commas in a list |
11 | -al, -il | busy, clothes | Capital letters for place names |
12 | -ed, -er to words ending in e | whole, listen | Regular past tense |
13 | ‘eer’ saying /ear/ | build, earth | Regular present tense |
14 | ture | delicious, fruit | Question marks and commands |
15 | -est, -y to words ending e | learn, search | Exclamations and statements |
16 | ‘mb’ saying /m/ | famous, shoe | Using a dictionary – 1 – finding definitions. |
17 | ‘al’ saying /or/ | pretty, neighbour | Coordinating conjunctions |
18 | -ing, -ed to CVC, CCVC words | England, tongue | Irregular past tense |
19 | ‘o’ saying /u/ | group. Country | Exciting words (1) – alt words for said |
20 | ‘ey’ saying /ee/ | heart, dangerous | Exclamation marks (to show emotion/shouting) |
21 | -er, -est, -y to CVC, CVCC words | special, enough | Improving sentences (1) Adjectives and nouns |
22 | contractions | aunt, father | Contractions |
23 | ‘war’ saying /wor/ ‘wor’ saying /wur/ | prove, improve | Subordinating conjunctions |
24 | Suffixes –ment, -ness | hour, move | Improving sentences (2) – verbs and adverbs |
25 | ‘s’ saying /zh/ | sure, sugar | Exciting words (2) using a thesaurus |
26 | ‘wa’ saying /wo/ ‘qua’ saying /quo/ | half, quarter | Possessive apostrophe |
27 | tion | straight, touch | Improving sentences (2) –when, if, because |
28 | Suffixes –ful, -less, -ly | caught, daughter | Speech marks |
29 | homophones/ near homophones. | journey, area | Commas in speech |
30 | prefix dis- | heard, early | Using a dictionary (2) – checking spellings. |
Grouping Children
Children will progress through the phonics scheme at different rates. It is important that children are placed in groups to work at the level that is suitable to their learning needs. Children should always be secure in their prior learning before new learning is put in place.
Children will be grouped and taught alongside others who are working at the same level and this will have been identified by regular assessment. Grouping may need to take place across the key stage or year group in order to meet the needs of the children.
It is important that all staff leading groups are trained to ensure teaching is delivered at a level appropriate to the needs of the group. Steps in learning should be small and gradual.
Assessing phonics
Assessment informs of how children are progressing in phonics. This allows the teacher to determine which skills have been mastered and which still need to be revisited and practised further. Grouping will be regularly assessed to ensure that children are placed at a level appropriate to their needs. Children should be informally assessed each session with formal assessment occurring half termly. Children who are not making good progress will be given support and intervention.
In year 1 and 2 children should be assessed on their knowledge and understanding of Grapheme Phoneme Correspondences and common exception words to secure a child’s phonetic level. They will also be assessed in blending and segmenting to ensure that skills learnt for reading and spelling are secure.
Extending and challenging fast learners
Regular assessment will also identify those learners that may need to be challenged further.
If challenge is required-
- Assessment – ensure that children are secure in their phonetic knowledge across levels covered, tricky words, segmenting and blending.
- Liaise with adults within the class and discuss with parents to ensure extension and challenge is given at home and school.
- Encourage fast learners to practise what they have learn in small independent tasks. They could also be given the opportunity to up level dictated sentences and encouraged to write their own sentences.
Interventions in phonics
If you have identified that a child/ group of children are not working to age related expectations and would benefit from additional support, the first process would be to carry out same day interventions. If further support is needed the Twinkl Phonics programme has specially designed packs to support each key stage. Available for KS1 are intervention packs for Levels 2, 3 and 5 and for KS2 this includes an intervention pack for Level 6. Each weekly pack contains 5 sessions that are set out in the same way as a usual phonics lesson
KS2 interventions – If a child needs further support in KS2, a designated intervention pack called ‘ Twinkl Code breakers’ can be used to close and support gaps in reading and writing.
Involving parents and carers.
To ensure that children become successful readers and writers it is essential to involve parents and carers within the learning process. Not all parents will be aware of the correct pronunciation of phonemes or have the skills to support segmentation and blending. At Forres we aim to support our parents by including up to date information on our website and sending home information to support phonics progression at home.
Fully decodable texts
In order to apply phonetic knowledge it is important that children have the opportunity to read texts that are fully decodable to the level in which they are working. Text should not be too easy or beyond their phonic level. Decodable books and texts should only contain the sounds and tricky words that they know to boost fluency and confidence.
Phonics screening check.
This is a statutory part of the curriculum for children in year 1. During the final, summer term, all children in year 1 are tested on their ability to use and apply their phonetic knowledge to read a range of real and nonsense words. If they do not pass the test during year 1, they will have the opportunity to re-sit the test in year 2.
Further support.
If you require further support or guidance, please speak to the designated Phonics Lead for Forres Primary School.
Using with kind permission of Twinkl Educational Publishing © Twinkl Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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