Reading and Phonics
Phonics in EYFS and Key Stage 1
Children are taught to read by breaking down words into separate sounds or ‘phonemes’. They are then taught how to blend these sounds together to read the whole word. Children have a 25 - 30 minute phonics lesson each day and they are encouraged to use these strategies to read and write in other lessons. There are around 40 different sounds. At Charlotte School we use the scheme Song of Sounds, we find our children really success using songs to learn sounds. Obviously, we tailor our teaching to the needs of our children but we use this document as our starting point. We believe that regular, high-quality phonics sessions are fundamental to successful reading. Any children who fall behind with their phonics are quickly identified and intervention groups are put in place to support their progress. This may focus on identifying the sounds made by certain graphemes or on blending sounds. Phonics Tracker is used to keep an accurate and up-to-date record of what children need to develop.
More information can be found on their website:
https://www.songofsounds.co.uk
KS1 reading lessons
Alongside daily phonics lessons, children in KS1 also participate in three reading lessons each week. This starts for Reception pupils as soon as they are able to recognise and read pink phonemes and red words. These are group sessions which focus on decoding, fluency, vociabulary development and comprehension. Children spend time at the start of each lesson reviewing key sounds that feature in the text and any common exception words. Children read the same text three times throughout the week, and we aim for children to become increasingly fluent with the text throughout the week. Key questionsare asked throughout to check for understanding of the text that has been read. Texts are based on the book band levels. Children are assessed reguarly to ensure they are reading approriate texts.