Phonics at Ysgol Sant Dunawd
At Ysgol Sant Dunawd we use Read Write Inc. (RWI) phonics to give your child the best possible start with their Literacy development.
Reading at Ysgol Sant Dunawd
At Ysgol Sant Dunawd we aim for all our children to become fluent, confident readers who are passionate about reading.
Children who read regularly, or are read to regularly, have the opportunity to open the doors to so many different worlds! More importantly, reading will give your child the tools to become independent life-long learners.
We can achieve this together through:
- Read Write Inc, a program to help to your child read at school
- Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily, at home and at school
- Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc is a phonics literacy programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. However, at Ysgol Sant Dunawd we begin to expose children in Nursery to skills that will help them access Read Write Inc. We continue teaching Read Write Inc to some children beyond the age of 7, as we take into account children’s stage, rather than their age.
How will my child be taught to read?
We start by teaching phonics to the children in the Nursery and Reception. They learn how to ‘read’ the individual sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell well. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters.
When reading, 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.
When writing, 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 practicing sentences out loud before they write.
When talking, children
- Work together to answer questions.
- Practice every activity with their partners.
- Take turns in talking and reading to each other.
- Develop ambitious vocabulary.
What is Fred Talk?
We use pure sounds so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily. By pure sounds we mean pronouncing the sound M as ‘m’ not’ muh’ and S as ’s’ not ‘suh’, etc. At school we use a character called Fred who is an expert on sounding out words! we call it, ‘Fred Talk’. E.g. m-o-p, c-a-t, m-a-n, sh-o-p, b-l-a-ck.
Resources to help at home