Phonics
Cheam Common Infants’ is a Read, Write Inc. school and as such, we are all passionate about enabling our children to become fluent and successful readers.
Read, Write Inc. (RWI) is a phonics programme written by Ruth Miskin. This programme is designed carefully to help children of all abilities make rapid progress, as well as allowing us to support you, in fostering a love of reading in your child that will last a lifetime!
At the core of the programme is the lively and vigorous teaching of synthetic phonics. Children learn the 44 common sounds in the English language and how to sound-blend words for reading (decoding) at the same time as developing writing skills and spelling (encoding.)
The children have the pleasure of reading exciting story books perfectly matched to their reading level – so that they have early success in reading.
The programme begins in the Foundation Stage and extends into Key Stage One. The children follow a structured programme of reading activities every day and are regularly assessed (every 6-8 weeks) to ensure they are in the right group to meet their needs. Once the children become fluent, speedy readers, they move onto the Read, Write, Inc comprehension programme. Each module has specially written texts (one fiction and one non-fiction) that develop children’s ability to summarise, infer and retrieve information quickly, as well as improving their writing through their developing vocabulary, grammar and spelling activities. All staff who deliver this programme have been trained and are supported by the school’s Reader Leader.
Read, Write, Inc. has 5 underlying principles – The Five Ps:
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PACE – no time is wasted during teaching sessions. Children are active and involved in a fun and creative way. Children are reminded to give their teacher their ‘magnet eyes’ and ‘listening ears’.
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PRAISE – teachers praise the children constantly throughout the teaching sessions. Children learn more quickly when they are praised for what they do well, rather than nagged for what they do wrong. The children are encouraged to praise each other and as a school we have developed several ‘Praise Phrases’ and ‘Praise actions’! Ask your child to demonstrate!
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PURPOSE – each activity has a very clear purpose. The teacher will set this purpose at the beginning of the lesson, so that the children know exactly what they will be learning.
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PARTICIPATION – all children take part in all parts of the lesson. Full participation is gained through partner work and choral response.
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PASSION – as a staff we are passionate about our teaching and the benefits of the Read, Write Inc. programme! We love teaching the sessions and this enthusiasm rubs off onto the children.
Please click on Fred Frog to find out more on the Ruth Miskin website.
Click here for the RWI handwriting phrases to help your child form their letters correctly.
Speed Sounds Set 1
Speed Sounds Set 2
Speed Sounds Set 3
Phonics Screening Check Year One
What is the Year 1 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.
It will identify 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.
Further information can be found here.
