So here is the letter:
Dear Parents,
I’m sure you have lots of questions regarding the upcoming phonics screening. Here is some information on What is a screening check?, How do you do it? and Why are you testing my little child?
What is the Phonics Screening check?
It is a statutory reading check all year 1 children take during a week in June. It is to assess if children have made the age related expectation for decoding by the end of the year.
How is the check administered?
The check is completed 1:1 with Miss Carr, the English Co-ordinator. It usually takes 5-10 minutes for the child to complete. However, there is no time limit so they can take as long as they need. We have worked a lot on activities such as this in the classroom, the only difference is that the teacher will be unable to give the child any help.
What does the check consist of?
The check contains 40 words - 20 real and 20 pseudo (nonsense/alien) words. The words are presented in a booklet with 4 large words on each page. The words gradually get more
difficult, starting with words such as ’it’ and ’vap’ to longer words with more complex sounds in such as the a_e sound in ‘same’ and ’glame’.
difficult, starting with words such as ’it’ and ’vap’ to longer words with more complex sounds in such as the a_e sound in ‘same’ and ’glame’.
Why use pseudo words?
The ultimate aim of teaching phonics is to give children the skill of decoding sounds in a word for spelling and reading rather than just automatic recognition of the words. Even as an adult I use this skill to decode unfamiliar words. This skill allows children to read more difficult texts and expand their vocabulary. Using pseudo words in the test is a real indicator that your child has this skill of decoding unfamiliar words and is not just reading from memory
What happens if a child does not meet the expected standard?
If a child does not meet the expected standard then extra support will be given to them for their phonics and they will complete the check again in year 2.
How can I help my child?
· The most important thing you can do is read with your child. Listen to them reading and read to them. If they can hear how you pronounce unfamiliar words it will expand their vocabulary.
· When you listen to your child read, allow them the time to decode unfamiliar words by themselves, before stepping in to help them. If you find your child is struggling, you can help by pointing out the sounds (not the letters). Such as the word ‘keep’ would be ‘k-ee-p’ and ‘light’ would be ‘l-igh-t’.
· When you listen to your child read pick out a word from the book and ask them to say which graphemes (letters) are making a certain phoneme (sound). For example the ’ee’ sound in ‘reaching’ is represented by the letters ‘ea’.
· If you have the internet there are many free phonics games your child can play.
· Keep reading activities short. Better to read little and often than a lot and infrequently.
· Stop before your child becomes bored and restless.
Tips on pronouncing sounds:
When you were in school, you may have been taught that ‘c’ says ‘cuh’ and ‘t’ says ‘tuh’.
However when sounding out in phonics, it is important to keep the sounds short (without the ‘uh’ on the end). It is easier to do if you whisper the sounds.
It is important because if we voice the ‘u’h, it makes sounding out more difficult.
For example the word ‘fluff’ is ‘f-l-u-ff’ but if we add the ‘uh’ on the end of each sound it would be ‘fuh-luh-uh-fuh’, or ‘fuhluhfuh’, now that’s a non-sense word!
I’ve included a little sheet of the type of words they could come across in the phonics check, to have a look at over the Easter holidays. This doesn’t need to be handed back into me, it’s for you to keep. I will also add some extra resources on the blog for you to have a try of.
Hope your Easter is lovely and we will see you in April.
Miss Morris and Mrs Baker
Also I've chucked a bunch of files I had on my hard drive into a folder in dropbox if you wanted to do anything extra.
Here are some fun phonics games that we use in class
(Most of the children know the login off by heart as I make sure to say it out loud as I type it in, hoping they will remember it - if not, ask around, I can't publish it online)
