Phonics is a strategy of teaching used to develop reading skills. It involves breaking down words into their constituent sounds. At Gunthorpe School we have a whole school approach to the teaching of phonics. We use a system called Read, Write Inc. developed by Ruth Miskin.  

The phonics sessions are for 20 minutes each day and are implemented using a structured approach based on revisiting previous sounds, introducing new sounds and holding a sentence.  Common exception words are referred to as 'Red Words' with the understanding 'You can't Fred a red' (They cannot be sounded out therefore need to be learnt by sight or using pnemonics).

The children take part in Phonics lessons Monday to Friday and they are tested each Tuesday on the previous weeks learning.  The children are also assessed three times a year on the common exception words for their year group - these are incorporated into their phonics lessons and for up to three early work sessions a week.

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Useful Links

Here are links to a few useful phonics games you could play at home:

Phonics Play: Picnic on Pluto

Phonics Play: Buried Treasure

Phonics Bloom: Odd and Bob

Phonics Bloom: Phonics Frog

Monster Phonics: Screening Practice

Useful Resources:

A useful video explaining how to say each of the phonics sounds we learn during our lessons:

 

Oxford Owl - A useful link to Read Write Inc information for parents