Wavendon Gate School
Welcome
Further information about phonics and how you can help your child at home
At Wavendon Gate School we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their reading journey. We have put together a guide explaining how the RWI programme works together with some useful links. Mrs Franklin is our Read Write Inc Manager, so if you have questions about RWI, contact school who can refer you to her. Please take the time to read the information below as it will provide invaluable information as to how you can help and support your child in reading.
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a complete phonics programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling as early as possible. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7 years.
Read Write Inc teaching sequence
Reception
Reading
The children:
- learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts – see below
- learn to read words using Fred talk and sound blending
- read from a range of storybooks and non-fictions books matched to their phonic knowledge
- work well with partners
- develop comprehension skills in stories by answering 'Find It' and 'Prove It' discussion questions
Writing
The children:
- learn to write and form the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds with the help of fun phrases
- learn to write words by using Fred talk
- learn to build sentences by practising sentences out loud before they write
Talking
The children work in pairs so that they:
- answer every question
- practise every activity with their partner
- take turns in talking and reading to each other
- develop ambitious vocabulary
Year 1 & Year 2
Children follow the same format as Reception but will work on complex sounds and read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last for one hour. Once children become fluent speedy readers they will move on to Guided reading sessions in year 1 and in year 2.
We use pure sounds (‘m’ not’ muh’,’s’ not ‘suh’, etc.) so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily.
At school we use a puppet called Fred who is an expert on sounding out words! We call it, ‘Fred Talk’ when he sounds out words and encourage the pupils to talk like Fred. E.g. m-o-p, c-a-t, m-a-n, sh-o-p, b-l-a-ck. The video below demonstrates how words are sounded out and blended together.
Nonsense words (Alien words)
As well as learning to read and blend real words children will have plenty of opportunities to apply their sound recognition skills on reading ‘Nonsense words’. These words will also feature heavily in the year 1 phonics screening check in the summer term.
What is the phonics screening check?
The year 1 phonics screening check is a short, light-touch assessment to confirm whether individual pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard.
The check will take place in June. Please ensure your child is at school during this period. Year 1 teachers will give out more information nearer the time.
It simply identifies the children who need extra help so they are given support by their school to improve their reading skills. They will then be able to retake the check so that schools can track pupils until they are able to decode.
Your child will start to bring books home when they are confident readers. Please help them to read and give lots of praise! If you have any other questions about RWI, please see your child's class teacher or Mrs Franklin.
Let's get reading!