Primary School Phonics for Parents

As a parent we are faced with the daily challenge of helping our children with spelling words, reading journals, library books and the unrelenting pressure of getting our children to not only read, but to like reading. We base this homework on our own childhood experience and things we pick up along the way. No-one has ever been trained to be a parent, which on reflection would have been a great idea!  

Phonics Workshop

So it was perfect timing this week to have our principal, Mrs. Katie Hinks, as the guest speaker  at the monthly PTA meeting. Her presentation on 'Phonics for Parents' was invaluable for those parents of children starting the process of reading. The workshop introduced the phonics programme and highlighted things we could all try at home with our children. She explained the complexities of our English language which we all take for granted. Did you know our language has 26 letters but there are 42 sounds to learn?! Our children are taught 19 phonemes to start with and then learn a further 26. It is not easy!  

What is Jolly Phonics?

Jolly Phonics is a fun and child centred approach to teaching literacy through synthetic phonics. With actions for each of the 42 letter sounds, the multi-sensory method is very motivating for children and teachers, who can see their students achieve. The letter sounds are split into seven groups. The sounds are taught in a specific order (not alphabetically). This enables children to begin building words as early as possible.

 

Why is pre-reading so important?

The phonics are the first attempts of reading by sounding out letters and then progressively blending the sounds together. We cannot emphasize the importance of letter sounds and patterns from a young age. Teachers will tell you that those children with a good knowledge of letter sounds become good readers, which progress then to being good writers in the following years. Our primary school children do daily phonics from pre-school to grade 1. The following years are also using phonics but look more at different word patterns, more complex word structures and irregularities. We place importance on phonics in Preschool and Junior Kindergarten as the 'pre-reading' stage is the most important stage. During this time, children start to identify lots of sounds, rhymes and letter sounds well before even being able to read them. Repetition of these sounds and talking like a robot to your child (C A T) is essential!  The next stage is to blend, segment and read, read and read some more!  

Looking for extra help with reading and writing homework?

Here are some recommendations from the teachers to help boost your child's learning journey! Ruth Miskin Training - Ruth Miskin is one of the UK’s leading authorities on teaching children to read. Oxford Owl - This is an amazing site! Oxford Owl Reading has 250 free books for you to share with your child as well as simple ideas, top tips, activities and games to help your child with their reading at home. Teaching Your child - Lots of help with phonics on this site. Do the phonic actions with your child! Letters and Sounds - Free resources for Letters and Sounds phonics. lots of fun games for your little ones to enjoy! Bug Club - The first whole-school reading programme that joins books with an online reading world to teach today's children to read. Alphablocks - You can watch this great TV programme from the BBC Children's series.