Phonics

What is phonics and how is it taught?

Here at HCCPS we teach daily phonics lessons in EYFS, KS1 and to some pupils in KS2. At our school we all follow a systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP) called Little Wandle Letter and Sounds. This is to ensure there is consistent coverage and provision across all year groups to allow children to make good progress in reading and spelling. Synthetic phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. Teaching children to blend the sounds of letters together helps them decode unfamiliar or unknown words by sounding them out. For example, when a child is taught the sounds for the letters t, p, a and s, they can start to build up the words: “tap”, “taps”, “pat”, “pats” and “sat”. Written language can be compared to a code, so knowing the sounds of individual letters and how those letters sound when they’re combined will help children decode words as they read. Understanding phonics will not only allow children to read but will also help them know which letters to use when they are writing words. Phonics involves matching the sounds of spoken English with individual letters or groups of letters. For example, the sound k can be spelled as c, k, ck or ch. Once children have completed the Little Wandle phonics programme they move onto the fluency programme and then take part in daily spelling lessons.

 

How to help with phonics at home

 

The best way to support your child with their phonetic development is to read their Little Wandle book that changes weekly. It is matched to suit their individual needs and runs alongside what they are learning in their phonics lesson. 

 

For fun phonics games see link below: 

 

www.phonicsplay.com 

Username: Hardwick_cambourne 

Password: phonics

 

Phonics Jargon Buster:

 

Phoneme: The smallest unit of sound in a word eg cat c-a-t has 3 phonemes and so  does ship sh-i-p

 

Grapheme: A letter or group of letter representing one sound eg a, ch, igh

 

Blend: This is often known as 'sounding out' and it is when you put sounds together to read a word.

 

Segment: To split up a word into its individual phonemes in order to spell it.

 

Digraph: Two letters making one sound eg sh, ch, th

 

Vowel Digraph: Two vowels that make one sounds e.g ou, ai, oa

 

Trigraph: Three letters making one sound eg igh, ure, ear

 

Spit digraph: Two letters, split, making one sound eg a-e as in make

 

CVC word:  a word with a consonant sound followed by a vowel sound and then a final consonant sounds