Phonics
In EYFS and KS1 children learn phonics using activities from the Read Write Inc program and take home related sounds and tricky words to support their learning. Phonics is taught daily in EYFS and KS1 and children are reassessed every six weeks to check the level they are working at.
Supporting at home
With Read, Write Inc. each sound has a saying to help us remember the correct sound i.e. mmmmmountain; sssssssssnake and a saying to help us remember how to form the letters correctly, e.g. 'Maisie, mountain, mountain'; 'slither down the snake'.
It's important to use only pure sounds, ('mmmm' not' muh', 'sssss' not 'suh', etc) so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily. We hope that you and your child can have fun learning them!
Click here to watch a 5 minute video clip, demonstrating how we produce our pure sounds to help during our Read, Write Inc. lessons.
Stretchy sounds (long sounds).
Try to avoid saying 'uh' after each on.
m - mmmmmmountain (keep lips pressed together hard) Maisie, mountain, mountain
s - sssssnake (keep teeth together and hiss - unvoiced) Slither down the snake
n - nnnnnnet (keep tongue behind teeth)
Down Nobby, up, over his net
f - ffffflower (keep teeth on bottom lip and force air out sharply - unvoiced) Down the stem and draw the leaves
l - llllleg (keep pointed curled tongue behind teeth) Down the long leg
r - rrrrrrobot (say rrr as if you are growling)
Down the robot, up and over his arm
v - vvvvvvulture (keep teeth on bottom lip and force air out gently) Down a wing, up a wing
z - zzzzzzip (keep teeth together and make a buzzing sound) Zig-zag-zig
th - thhhhank you (stick out tongue and breathe out sharply) Down the tower, across the tower, then down the horse's head to the hooves and up over his back
sh - shhhh said the horse to the hissing snake (shhh noise as in 'be quiet!') Slide down the snake, then down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back
ng - thinnnnngg on a strinnnngg (curl your tongue at the back of your throat) Down Nobby, up, over his net then round the girl’s face, down her hair and give her a curl
nk - I think I stink (i.e 'nk' in oink)
Down Nobby, up, over his net then down the kangaroo’s body, tail and leg
Bouncy sounds (short sounds). Make the sound as short as possible avoiding 'uh' at the end of the sound:
t - t-t-t tower (tick tongue behind the teeth - unvoiced) Down the tower, across the tower
p - p-p-p pirate (make distinctive p with lips - unvoiced) Down the plait, up and over the pirate's face
k - k-k-k kangaroo (make sharp click at back of throat) Down the kangaroo's body, tail and leg
c - c-c-c caterpillar (as above)
Curl round the caterpillar
h - h-h-h horse (say h as you breathe sharply out - unvoiced) Down the horse's head to his hooves and up over his back
ch - The caterpillar's hairs make the horse sneeze ch-ch-ch (make a short sneezing sound) Curl round the caterpillar, then down the horse’s head, to his hooves and up over his back
x - x-x-x exercise (say a sharp c and add s - unvoiced) Cross down the arm and leg and cross the other way
You might find it harder to avoid saying uh at the end of these bouncy sounds.
d - d-d-d dinosaur (tap tongue behind the teeth) Round the dinosaur's bottom, up his tall neck and down to his feet
g - g-g-g girl (make soft sound in throat)
Round the girl's face, down her hair and give her a curl
b - b-b-b boot (make a short, strong b with lips)
Down to the heel, up and over the toe
j - j-j-j Jack-in-the-box (push lips forward)
Down his body, curl and dot
y - y-y-y yak (keep edges of tongue against teeth)
Down a horn, up a horn and under the yak's head
w - w-w-w worm (keep lips tightly pursed)
Down, up, down, up the worm
qu - qu-qu-qu queen (keep lips pursed as you say cw- unvoiced) Round the queen's head, up to her crown, down her hair and curl
Vowels- the short vowels should be kept short and sharp:
a - a-a-a apple (open mouth wide as if to take a bite of an apple) Round the apple and down the leaf
e - e-e-e egg (release mouth slightly from a position)
Chop off the top and scoop out the egg
i - i-i-i insect (make a sharp sound at the back of the throat - smile) Down the body and a dot for the head
o - o-o-o orange (push out lips, make the mouth into o shape) All around the orange
u: u-u-u umbrella (make a sound in the throat)
Down and under, up to the top and draw the puddle
The long vowel sounds are all stretchy sounds:
ay: ay, may I play?
ee: ee, what do you see?
igh: fly high
ow: blow the snow
oo: poo at the zoo
oo: look at a book
ar: start the car
or: shut the door
air: that's not fair
ir: whirl and twirl
ou: shout it out
oy: toy for a boy
Our teachers and teaching assistants can show you how to pronounce these sounds. We hope that you will not hesitate to ask any of our friendly team if you'd like some help.
In order to hear the pure sounds that the children are being taught, please click on the link below
http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/resources/sound-pronunciation-guide/
Other useful links are:
Ruth Miskin Parents’ Page:
http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents/
Ruth Miskin Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/miskin.education
Free e-books for home reading:
http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/Reading/
Reading and Writing
Reading Schemes
Ashill School uses a reading scheme in which the children are able to choose from ability based reading bands. Once a child is a free reader, they have the opportunity to access a variety of fiction and non-fiction books across a range of genres. We encourage children to read these in school and at home.
In Key Stage 2 children undertake regular guided reading.
This will either be exploring a longer chapter book to develop an interest in books and a love of reading. Or the children will follow a structured approach. They will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of vocabulary rich texts linked to their learning in another curriculum. There will be 5 tier two words daily as well a comprehension session. We usually alternate each term so this will mean three structured sessions and three longer chapter books.
Writing
English is taught following the National Curriculum programme of study. We use an approach that is based on the use of vocabulary rich texts (real books) and the children engaging in a range of short burst writes leading to a finished product.
This allows children to develop their vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills as well as experiencing a variety of texts throughout the school year. Our English lessons include discrete guided reading, spelling and grammar sessions. Additional time is given to handwriting, individual reading, and the listening to and reading of stories, poems or non-fiction books.
