Teaching Phonics at Braunston School
At Braunston School our aim is to get children reading as soon as possible and inspire a life-long love of reading.
We can achieve this together through:
- Read Write Inc, our school phonics programme to get our children reading as fast as possible
- Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily and getting all children really engaged with texts - at school and at home
- Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home
At Braunston School we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their reading, spelling and writing.
Mrs Lawson is our Read Write Inc. leader, so if you have questions about RWI, please contact her at school. Please take the time to read the information 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 phonics programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can then focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. However it will continue beyond the age of 7 if a child still need support in their reading.
More information on our phonics programme can be found at https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
You can click on this link to see examples of how our RWI lessons are taught.
Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:
Purpose – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about
Participation – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning
Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability
Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning
Passion – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally.
How will RWI be taught?
All children are assessed regularly by our RWI lead teacher, they will then be grouped according to their assessment outcome so your child will work with children at the same level and we can ensure that our sessions are perfectly matched to your child’s individual needs.
Before reading on it would be useful for you to have an understanding of the key RWI vocabulary so you can use the same vocabulary at home with your child.
Glossary
‘Fred Talk’ – sounding out the word before reading. c-a-t
‘Sound-blending’ – putting the sounding – or ‘Fred Talk’ together to make a word,
e.g. c–a–t = cat
‘Special Friends’ – 2 letters that make 1 sound
e.g. sh, ng, qu, ch, ee
-3 letters that make 1 sound
e.g. igh, ear, ure
‘Speed Sounds’ – the individual sounds that make up words
The RWI approach:
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
- They 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
Through Reception and Year 1 children will follow this RWI phonics programme. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last for 30 minutes. By the end of Year 1 most children will have acquired the deep understanding of phonics needed to become speedy, independent readers. They will then move from the RWI programme to the Year 2 National Curriculum learning objectives. Some children will continue to access RWI phonics in Year 2 and beyond, according to their own individual learning needs.
More detailed information can be found in the class pages and under 'English' within the curriculum area of our website.
