Phonics Resources:
The resources on this page will help you support your child with saying their sounds and writing their letters. There are also some useful videos so you can see how they are taught at school and feel confident about supporting their reading at home.
How to say Phase 2 sounds - Reception Autumn 1:
Phase 2 Sounds In Reception Autumn 1 - A Little Wandle Video
How to say Phase 2 sounds - Reception Autumn 2:
Phase 2 Sounds In Reception Autumn 2 - A Little Wandle Video
How to say Phase 3 sounds - Reception Spring:
Phase 3 Sounds in Reception Spring - A Little Wandle Video
How to say Phase 5 sounds:
Phase 5 Sounds - A Little Wandle Video
How We Teach Tricky Words:
Tricky Words - A Little Wandle Video
How We Teach Blending:
How We Teach Blending - A Little Wandle Video
Year 1 Support - How We Teach Phase 5 Sounds:
How We Teach Phase 5 Sounds - A Little Wandle Video
Support For Alien Words - Phonics Screening Check:
Alien Words Final - A Little Wandle Video
Key Vocabulary:
Phoneme - The smallest unit of sound. There are approximately 44 phonemes in English (it depends on different accents). Phonemes can be put together to make words.
Grapheme - A way of writing down a phoneme. Graphemes can be made up from 1 letter e.g. p, 2 letters e.g. sh, 3 letters e.g. tch or 4 letters e.g ough.
GPC - This is short for Grapheme Phoneme Correspondence. Knowing a GPC means being able to match a phoneme to a grapheme (letter to a sound).
Digraph - two letters (graphemes) that makes one sound (phoneme).
Trigraph - three letters (graphemes) that makes one sound (phoneme).
Oral Blending - hearing phonemes and being able to merge them together to make a word. Children need to develop this skill before they will be able to blend written words.
Blending - looking at a written word, looking at each grapheme and using knowledge of GPCs to work out which phoneme each grapheme represents and then merging these phonemes together to make a word. This is the basis of reading.
Oral Segmenting - This is the act hearing a whole word and then splitting it up into the phonemes that make it. Children need to develop this skill before they will be able to segment words to spell them.
Segmenting - This involves hearing a word, splitting it up into the phonemes that make it, using knowledge of GPCs to work out which graphemes represent those phonemes and then writing those graphemes down in the right order. This is the basis of spelling.
Reading Resources:
Reading Books With Your Child - A Little Wandle Video
Supporting your child with reading
Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home.
There are two types of reading book that your child may bring home:
A reading practice book. This will be at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently.
A sharing book. Your child will not be able to read this on their own. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together.
Reception will only bring home a reading practice book, but feel free to use any other books you have at home for sharing.
Reading practice book
These books have been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy, your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading. Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise – celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.
Sharing book
In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The sharing book is a book they have chosen for you to enjoy together. Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!
How to use wordless books with your child:
Little Wandle - Resources for parents