Word Works

Teaching pupils to read is an essential part of their learning. Reading is a skill that helps to develop vocabulary and improve understanding of words. Word work sessions are inclusive of all pupils as they cover phonics, spelling, reading and comprehension. In synthetic phonics lessons in Lower School, pupils  learn the relationship between letters and sounds. Teaching them to recognise the sounds each letter makes and how to put them together, enables them to read. It also helps with spelling as they learn how to break up words into sounds, in order to spell them. The idea that surrounds synthetic phonics is that once they are comfortable with the letters and sounds that make up words, pupils should even be able to read ‘nonsense’ words that don’t actually exist in the English language. 

Many pupils at Littlegreen have missed or had interruptions to this vital learning in their previous education settings and in order for progress in other subjects to occur, we need to fill those gaps. Pupils whose knowledge exceeds synthetic phonics then work on vocabulary building and comprehension skills, through a variety of activities and during the Daily 5. 

Daily 5

The Daily 5 aims to create a structure in which pupils participate in meaningful activities, while teaching staff work with small groups and individuals. The Daily 5 has introduced across the whole school. This gives pupils the independence to choose reading and writing activities, which will support their literacy skills. This includes Read to Self, Read to Others, Listen to Reading, Word Work and Work on Writing. If you would like to know more about the Daily 5 please follow the link The Daily 5 Literacy Framework: A Guide to Best Practices | Edmentum.

introduction to phonics powerpoint for parents and carers.pdf

 Phonics: How to pronounce pure sounds | Oxford Owl

Twinkl Phonics

The pupils in the lower school are assessed for their phonics knowledge and skills at the beginning of each academic year. Pupils are taught as groups in accordance with their needs, using the systematic synthetics phonics teaching programme by Twinkl. 

All staff are provided with regular training to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their age, have access to good quality phonics teaching when needed.

The Twinkl programme provides a structured approach to learning grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs), perfect for helping children progress from simple sounds to developing more complex knowledge and skills. A rigorous and proven multi-sensory approach.