Phonics Information
We teach phonics from Reception following the Letters and Sounds programme, supported by Jolly Phonics and Bug Club resources. This is a multi-sensory approach which supports all learning styles using actions, songs, stories and pictures.
When children receive their first Bug Club books from school they will be fully decodable and children will also receive a log in and password to access the books online.
Reception
In Reception children start by learning to read the Phase 2 sounds and tricky words. Then progress on to the Phase 3 sounds and tricky words.
Tricky words are the words we cannot sound out, the children just have to learn to recognise them.
Phase 2 sounds
Phase 2 tricky words:
the, to, go, no, I
Phase 3 sounds
Phase 3 tricky words:
he, she, we, me, be, was, my, you, they, her, all, are
Jolly phonics pictures and a description of the actions.
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Pronouncing the sounds
It is important that we teach children to say the pure sounds, you can listen to these on this link.
Year 1:
In Year 1 we begin to focus more on writing and spelling the focus sounds. Phase 2 and 3 sounds are reviewed, with 3 or 4 of these sounds sent home each week to be practiced for a spelling quiz the following week.
We then move on to Phase 4.
Phase 4:
No new sounds are introduced in phase 4, the phase 3 and 2 sounds are reviewed:
- CVCC words, e.g. hand
- CCVC words, e.g. snap
- CCVCC, CCCVC and CCCVCC words, e.g. crept, strap, strand.
Phase 4 tricky words:
said, so, have, like, some, come, were, there, little, one, do, when.
Phase 5 sounds
Phase 5 tricky words:
oh, their, people, Mr, Mrs, looked, called, asked, water, where, who, again, thought, work, mouse, many, laughed, because, different, any, eyes, friends, once, please.
Alternative pronunciations:
In Year 1 we progress on to learning the alternative pronunciations of letters (e.g. ch as in chin or chef or school, ea as in sea or head) and alternative spellings of sounds (e.g. j spelt as fudge or i as in mystery or pyramid).
Year 2
In Year 2 the phase 3 and 5 sounds are consolidated and children begin to focus on investigating and learning new spelling patterns.
