Read Write Inc
Children who read regularly or are read to regularly have the opportunity to open doors to so many different worlds! More importantly, reading will give your child the tools to become independent life-long learners.
At St Joseph's we achieve this by using a systematic approach to teaching phonics by using Read Write inc. (RWI) from the Early Years Foundation Stage and KS1.
We encourage children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily and giving children access to a wide range of books.
Our RWI lead is Mrs Jessop and you can contact her with any questions you have about reading.
What is RWI
RWI is a systematic phonics programme which helps 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 St Joseph's we will continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7 if they still need support with their reading.
RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and you can find more information at https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents-copy-2/
How will RWI be taught?
All children are assessed regularly by one of our RWI lead teachers so they work with children at the same level. This allows complete participation in lessons.
In Nursery we focus on listening and language skills. During the Summer term we start to focus on RWI initial pictures before we learn the sounds.
In Reception and KS1 all children will learn how to read the sounds in words and how the sounds can be written down.
Reading
The 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 a partner
develop comprehension skills in stories by answering 'find it' and 'prove it' discussion questions.
Writing
The children:
learn to write and form letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds with help of fun phrases.
Learn to write words by using Fred Talk
Learn to build sentence by practising sentences out loud before they write.
Talking
The children:
They work in pairs so that they answer every question
practise every activity with their partner
take turns in talking and reading to each other
develop ambitious vocabulary
The children are taught the sounds in 3 sets. (Please see below for the sounds.)
Children use pictures for each sound to recognise them and then form the shape of the sound. When the children are confident with Set 1 they move on to Set 2 and again when confident they move on to Set 3.
Nonsense words
As well as learning to read and blend with real words, children will have plenty of opportunities to apply their sound knowledge skill on reading Nonsense words. These words will also feature in the Year One phonics screening check in the Summer term. (See below for nonsense words)
As well as learning sounds during the lesson the children will begin to read Story books.
In Reception the children begin with Ditty books, when they successfully begin to read single words. The children then move through the books colours until they reach grey in Year 2. Once the children have finished RWI they move on to focus on grammar and comprehension. (see below for grid of how the children move through the colours.)
During the RWI session the children will read the book three times and at each new read they have plenty of opportunities to practise using their developing comprehension skills.
The children also do an activity called hold a sentence this activity encourages the children to remember a whole sentence while focussing on spelling and punctuation.
Please look at all the documents below to help your children with learning to read.
We hold regular meeting for parents to share information about how phonics is taught and the reading expectations for each class.
Our latest phonics meeting was in November 2021. Have a look at the Powerpoint from the meeting.
The links below will lead you to more information about Read Write Inc
Understanding phonics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXOJUPNVnLc
What is RWI phonics? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjlPILhk7bQ
How to say the sounds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQgizwwvqNk
Reading digraphs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pGuwcr08LE
Sound blending - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNyFikwNQTg
Useful Websites for Phonics
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/5-7-years/letters-and-sounds
How to pronounce new words in KS1 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zcqqtfr
How to pronounce new words in KS2 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zyfkng8/articles/zt27y4j
