Phonics and Early Reading at Cinnamon Brow
At Cinnamon Brow, we are passionate about reading and we know that every child can and will learn to read when given the right support. All children in our school are taught to read using systematic synthetic phonics. Phonics refers to the way in which children make a connection between spoken sounds (phonemes) and the letters used to represent these (graphemes). At Cinnamon Brow. we teach phonics and early reading using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. We teach this with fidelity and consistency of routine. This reduces cognitive overload for children and ensures they are learning the foundations of early reading.
Phonics and Reading in Nursery and Pre-school
Early communication and language skills are the bedrock upon which children's reading will be built. To ensure our youngest learners get the best possible start, we have a strong focus on developing effective interactions and supporting children with their spoken language and understanding. In pre-school, we lay the foundations for Phase 2 phonics by using Little Wandle's Foundations for Phonics. This structured programme introduces children to oral sounds and simple blending activities through games and rhyme. You can access nursery rhymes to share with your child at home by clicking the link below:
https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/#tabnametabNurseryRhymesVideos
Phonics and Reading in Reception
In Reception, we start teaching Phase 2 sounds in Autumn Term and Phase 3 phonemes in Spring Term. It is very important that these sounds are taught as 'pure' sounds. Please see the below videos from Little Wandle for guidance on pronouncing Phase 2 and 3 sounds with accuracy.
Children will also start learning to blend in Autumn Term. This is the process by which children learn to put phonemes together to make a word. Some children may find this more challenging, and will benefit from extra practice each day.
At this stage, children in Reception Class will start accessing guided reading sessions. These structured sessions happen three times a week and use a decodable book linked to your child's secure phonics knowledge. The first session focuses on decoding, the second session on prosody (reading with expression), and the third session on comprehension.
Please see the video below for information on how you can support your child with blending at home, in line with our phonics scheme.
Phonics and Reading in Year 1
Children in Year 1 continue to follow the Little Wandle progression to further develop their knowledge of the phonetic code and their reading fluency. Year 1 begins with a recap of Phase 3 and Phase 4 before introducing Phase 5. Phase 5 teaches new grapheme-phoneme correspondences, as well as introducing the children to alternative representations and pronunciations of known graphemes.
Children are supported to keep up with their peers through keep up sessions additional to their daily phonics lesson. These are short, tightly focused sessions taught by a highly trained teacher or teaching assistant.
Please see the below video for more guidance on supporting your child with pronouncing Phase 5 sounds.
As in Reception Class, Guided reading happens three times a week in Year 1, uses a decodable book aligned
with the children's current phonics level and follows the same structure:
Session 1 - decoding
Session 2 - prosody
Session 3 - comprehension
As children further develop their phonetic code, they will be encouraged to blend 'in their head' to support with their reading fluency. The video below shows a lovely example of some of our Year 1 children reading with fluency and prosody.
How can you help at home?
Reading and sharing books at home with your child is the most impactful thing you can do to support with their early reading journey. Each week, your child will bring home a decodable book (this will usually have a purple lion in the left hand corner). Your child should be able to read this book with minimal support.
They will also bring home a reading for pleasure book. This is a book for you to share and enjoy together.
We ask that you read at home with your child three times each week and sign their yellow reading diary. Repeated reading of their deocable text is paramount for developing their reading fluency and building their confidence as a reader. If your child is able to, encourage them to blend in their head on second and subsequent reads.
Additional Resources
- Collins Hub is an invaluable resource showcasing an e-library of decodable texts linked to our phonics scheme. Your child's teacher will allocate suitable books on a weekly basis.
- Login - Collins Hub
- Reading Eggs is an online reading tool. Your child's log in details should be in their yellow reading diary.
- Phonics Games for Kids – Reading Eggs
- The Little Wandle website has a parent's section full of helpful resources and links to support your child.
- For parents | Letters and Sounds
Phonics and Early Reading Policy