N.B. See Handouts.
Problem: English is not perfectly phonically decodable.
Phonics applicable across the board through EYFS, KS1 and KS2.
What does phonics mean to you?
- Learning to read, learning to write (decoding + encoding),
- Finding correspondences between graphemes and phonemes.
Experiences of teaching phonics?
Should you withdraw chn from class in Upper KS2, or take the brave approach of teaching whole-class phonics?
Phonics Gospel
Purpose: ‘Why am I learning these sounds?’ (e.g. Helping me to pick out the box of cornflakes I like)
Passion, Positivity, Praise: positive behaviour mgmt strategies, Pace: Keeping chn engaged.
[Flashcard for ‘Said’ placed onto Word Wall]
Synthetic Phonics
Keyword- it is a ‘route’, a pathway to reading and writing. Does not exist as a special subject in its own right.
Letter Names
Teaching letter names used to be a contentious issue. People argued the sequencing of names of letters and sounds. Now it is understood that they should be taught together- chn can come up with more than one piece of information (‘That’s a pig and it says oink)’. Don’t understand chn. Make a firm link between having a name and making a sound, like the animal example.
Whose problem is handwriting?
EYFS: just happy to write letters.
KS2: already ingrained by this point.
Judie believes this is EYFS, when phonics is largely taught. Important to note different schools teach this differently. Also, gross motor skills are learnt before fine motor skills: if a chd struggles, have them do it with a bucket of paint and a giant paintbrush outside, then return to classroom.
What is a phoneme
Do you call them ‘phonemes’ or ‘sounds’? @ Belleville they use both and advise not to get tied up in the minutiae.
Correct articulation of phonemes
Don’t fall into the ‘man’ trap. Over-enunciate (mmmmeh, ahh, nnnneh) and it comes out Manner.
Instead, try mmmmm, aaaaa, nnnnnn.
Speed Sound Chart
See Ruth Miskin’s Speed Sound Chart- a precursor to the Belleville Speed Sound Chart (separate sheet). Placed everywhere, even at child height on the back of the doors in toilets (anywhere advertising has decided is a good place, is a good place).
Stretchy (go on for as long as you have breath) and bouncy sounds.
Sh the naughty sound because your tongue comes out.
ng- the /g/ is not articulated.
Bouncy sounds should be very short.
p has a very soft eh on the end. Watch out for w and y
ure is one that belongs on the chart but chn could learn pure and cure.
x and qu are problematic (there are 2 sounds in each: /xs/ and /kw/)
- Voiced and unvoiced variations are taught together as the same phoneme (th, v, f, z)
- See Youtube link on handouts for extra practice.
- Advantage of putting the chart in Yr 6 classrooms as well: e.g. when spelling ‘bridge’ and make a mistake (‘brij’), pupils have other options of spelling this sound in front of them.
Mixing abillities
Highest HA and Lowest LA do not mix well: highers will get bored and answer on behalf, lowers will take a back seat. Instead, split class into 5 and group 1/2s, 2/3s, 3/4/5s.
Point, Prompt, Praise
Must be modeled at length with TA. Start with a group at the front to further entrench pattern.
Next stage is spelling: point to several sounds, have the chn hold them in their heads, make a gesture to indicate the word is finished and you want them to say it.
N.B. Blending the sounds to make a word is a big leap and you will have chn who cannot bridge this gap. For these chn, you must play games (I went shopping and bought bread, I went shopping and bought bread and cheese....) that force chn to hold things in their head and put it altogether. Start with Memory Games...if they really struggle, note it down and start to consult SENCO whether or not perhaps there are greater needs.
Encourage chn to use their ‘spelling voices’ (i.e. RP). For the purposes of spelling. Don’t correct dialect anywhere else. The key is that chn understand the link between saying and spelling (chd who says a northern up and spells it oop needs to be addressed; one that says up and writes up is ok).
The Jolly Phonics Actions
@ Belleville, explicitly taught in Reception, and still taught in Yr 1. Chd instinctively drop the actions when they are no longer needed.
Very important that chn can identify individual phonemes (segmenting) and push it all together (blending).
‘The Missing Link’- knowing that squiggles mean and sound one way and what to then do with them.
Illiteracy is a stigmatized subject amongst Adults, but not inability in Maths (ok and common to say you’re crap at Maths as an adult).
Learning to Read is now taught as a code-breaking activity with a Key and encoding and decoding.
Breaking Words down into individual phonemes
Adults are bad at thinking of words in sounds. Kids are good at it.
Count out number of phonemes on your chin.
4 phoneme challenge
Food- toast, jelly
Country- spain, ghana
Body part- willy, belly
Colour- purple, black
Use ‘sound buttons’ (dots for each phoneme). Then write the grapheme. Then ‘press’ the sound button when reviewing. Write a line for long vowel sounds (blue ones on the chart under Vowel Sounds).
When encountering tricky spellings (such as the /ea/ in ‘bread’), with younger chn it’s no problem but with older chn, go back to the Sound Chart, ask if there is another way of representing (spelling) that sound (phoneme) and find /ea/ right underneath /e/.
Robot-speak
Important that the toy is not a puppet (so that the class looks at the CT’s mouth rather than the puppet’s mouth) [‘Fred’ can hear sounds but cannot blend them.]
Using a mirror to convince kids they are not enunciating as you model it is a good tool.
Chn use toy to segment words (do robot talk).
Use picture prompts for words to be segmented.
Fred talks about (his weekend)
Also use ‘Fred’ speaking to the teacher in their ear and segmenting words for the chn to put together: this will enable you to instantly see the chn having problems putting together (blending).
Eye Spy with Fred
‘Fred can spy with his phonic eye _-_-_-’
Whoever blends the phonemes gets Fred to segment something else Fred can see with his phonic eye.
Fred says
Just like Simon Says, but the command is segmented.
Be selective in what Fred says, because otherwise it will take ages.
Communication with Parents
Write newsletters from Fred telling parents which phonemes are being studied that week so they can reinforce at home.
Follow me game
Pictures of words. Starter person has a star at the top of his/her card. Final person has a star on the bottom of his/her card.
I have ---. Who has _-_-_-_ (segment)
I have --- (blend). Who has (segment) etc.....
Problem: pictures must be easily decipherable.
Also, once people have finished their card, they may be easily distracted so better sometimes to use small groups.
Also relies on people being able to read the word that has just been blended.
Break Technique
At a natural break, hands out, cross arms, link hands, in and breath in, out and breathe out.
Support for Spelling document- meed to know this one (National Strategies)
Spelling
Does Spelling Matter?
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YES
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NO
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For precision
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It can be deduced by context (although counter argument is that this sets a dangerous precedent
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Contextual reading sets a dangerous precedent in language of encouraging imprecision.
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Society will judge you by your spelling (why is literacy a benchmark of intelligence?)
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Can inhibit ambitious use of language (using ‘big’ not ‘enormous’)- it can become a barrier to communication. Anecdote of making a ‘curry’ rather than a ‘casserole’.
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Provides skills of editing, reviewing, reworking that are important.
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What happens in the digital devolution?
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There’s spell checker.
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Elitist and non-inclusive.
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Spell checker are only as good as what you put in (like calculators)
Have an ‘Always Correct’ word bank per year group of words you will not let get away misspelt.
AGAINST Spelling Tests: they test short term rather than long term memory; they are not individualised so chn may be writing out words they know very well etc.
Individualised Spellings, using peer review and being highly organised is the best way to tackle this: ask lecturers for recap on this.
What makes a competent reader?
Good reading habits (knowing that it looks wrong),
Fostering attention to spelling (role of parents here),
Speaking another language and an interest in words themselves,
Coming up with your own strategies ( + your own logic),
Strong visual memory (knowing that it looks wrong),
Dictionaries (although how can you find it if you can’t spell it..?).
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