Phonics
At Marshbrook First School we teach phonics using the Monster Phonics programme. As pupils move through the early stages of acquiring phonics, they practice by reading texts which are decodable from the Monster phonics book, Rigby Star Phonics and Oxford Reading Tree Phonics Schemes.
Nursery pupils start to cover phase 1 phonics from the scheme throughout their year in Nursery and move onto phase 2 when they are ready. The children move phase groups when appropriate to their individual needs. Most children reach the final phase in Year 2. If a child is struggling to reach age-related expectations, they will be given additional daily phonics sessions.
At the end of Year 1 children complete the phonics screening check, which is a short, simple assessment done during the month of June, to make sure that all pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard by the age of 6. All year 1 pupils in maintained schools, academies and free schools must complete the check. The phonics check will help teachers identify the children who need extra help so they can receive the support they need to improve their reading skills. These children will then be able to retake the check in year 2. The check comprises a list of 40 words and non-words which the child will read one-to-one with a teacher.
In the videos below, the children show the actions and pronunciation of the phonemes in each phase.
Things you can do to help your child at home
Use flashcards to help your child learn how to blend sounds to read words (watch this Oxford Owls video to see how).
Use your Monster Phonics Logins to read the books and watch the videos.
Attend the parent Monster Phonics training, online sessions.
Read together every day, even for just ten minutes.
Play games, click here for some fun ideas.
Watch Ruth Miskin’s top 10 tips video.
There are lots of useful videos on Youtube, like Geraldine the Giraffe
Play interactive games like Phonics Play or Education City Games (your child’s teacher should have given your child a login for this).