© 2024 All rights reserved
Managed & Supported Hosting by Globe2
Phonics At Parkland
We teach phonics using Little Wandle. Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised is one of the DfE approved phonics schemes. It draws on the latest research into how children learn best; how to ensure learning stays in children’s long-term memory and how best to enable children to apply their learning to become highly competent readers.
Why learning to read is so important:
- Reading is essential for all subject areas and improves life chances
- Positive attitudes to reading and choosing to read have academic, social, and emotional benefits for children
How children learn to read:
- Learning to say the phonic sounds
- By blending phonic sounds to read words
- Increasing fluency in reading sounds, words and books
Reading fully decodable books:
- Children must read books consistent with their phonic knowledge
- It is essential not to use other strategies to work out words (including guessing words, deducing meaning from pictures, grammar, context clues or whole word recognition) Phonics is the only route to decoding
- Books must be fully decodable and follow the Little Wandle scheme
- Children need to read books in a progressive sequence until they can decode unfamiliar words confidently
The role of Parents’ and Carers’:
- Be positive about your child’s reading
- Model the importance of reading practice to develop fluency
- Support your child to re-read their reading book at home to build fluency
- There are two different types of books that pupils bring home: reading practice (phonetically decodable and linked to their ability) and books to share for pleasure
- Reading at home encourages a love of books, along with developing vocabulary and discussion
- Parents should use voices, expression, discuss unfamiliar vocabulary, talk about the pictures, and predict what might happen next
- Please share positive and informative feedback in your child’s reading record when they have read with you
Resources:
Supporting your child with reading
Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home.
There are two types of reading book that your child may bring home:
A reading practice book – This will be at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently. This will be assigned on our Little Wandle e-book portal. Please speak to your class teacher if you do not have a log in for this.
A sharing book – Your child will not be able to read this on their own. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together.
Reading practice book
This book has been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading.
Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise and celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, encourage them to sound it out or chunk the word up. If they need you to, then model decoding and reading the word to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.
Free choice book
In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The free choice book is a book they have chosen for you to enjoy and share together.
Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!
Programme overview
Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 1
This video is designed to be shared with families to help them to support learning at home.
Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 2
This video is designed to be shared with families to help them to support learning at home.
Phase 3 sounds taught in Reception Spring 1
This video is designed to be shared with families to help them to support learning at home.
Phase 5 sounds taught in Year 1
This video is designed to be shared with families to help them to support learning at home.
How we teach blending
This video is designed to be shared with families to help them to support learning at home.
Quick guide to alien words
This video is designed to be shared with families to help them to support learning at home.
How we teach tricky words
This video is designed to be shared with families to help them to support learning at home.
More information on Little Wandle Phonics can be found here: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
Phonics Screening Check (PSC) for Year 1
As you may be aware, all pupils in Year 1 must take the Phonics Screening Check in the Summer Term. The phonics screening check is designed to confirm whether pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard. It will identify pupils who need extra help to improve their decoding skills. The check consists of 20 real words and 20 pseudo-words (nonsense/alien words) that pupils read aloud to the check administrator (a teacher who is familiar to the pupils).
Pupils need to read at least 32 of the words accurately to pass the screening check. Pupils will need to use the sounds which they have been taught in phonics to read the words. They can sound each word out and blend the sounds together to read the word or read the word straight away if they recognise it as a familiar word.
Children are taught to decode pseudo (nonsense) words so that they have the skills to decode and read words which are unfamiliar to them or that they may not have heard of before.
The below resources can be used to help your child to practise:
Phonics Play Real and Fake word games: https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/resources