We follow the Read Write Inc (RWI) scheme of work in our phonics lessons. We use this scheme to teach the children to read and write. We will learn a different sound each day. We will practise saying, reading and writing that sound as part of the whole class carpet input. The children will then move to the tables in small groups and practise writing the sounds they have learnt. The children will use whiteboard pens during our phonics lessons to begin with as they help with the 'flow' of letter formation and are easier to grip. There will be a big focus on children holding their whiteboard pens correctly and forming their letters correctly. RWI has rhymes in order to help the children do this. The children will recap every sound they have learnt each day so that learning can be consolidated. The children will also practise writing their full names. Sounds that the children have learnt each week will be sent home so that you can support your child with their learning.

When the children can say, read and write sounds confidently then they will start to take part in 'word time' activities. This is where the children start to read (by blending the sounds together) and write (by segmenting the sounds) three letter CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words made up of the sounds they already know. Once they are confident at reading and writing CVC words, the children will move on to reading  Red Ditty books and then RWI books. The children will read these books and then answer questions about them and carry out some focused writing tasks.

In Reception, the children will have opportunities to read and write in all areas of the classroom, and all areas of provision will be enhanced at different times to encourage the children to read and write words and sentences using the skills they have learnt during RWI lessons. It is also really important that children are read to and are exposed to a variety of different text types. We will read stories to the children most days. Some weeks we may have focus stories that are linked to our topic. We will let you know what these stories are throughout the year. Please continue to read with your children at home as often as possible - this is so important for developing children's language and early reading skills

Reading books

Reading books need to be handed in on a Monday, will be changed on Tuesday and should be returned the following Monday. Children will receive two books every Tuesday. The first book will be a phonic book matched to the children's phonic level, and the second book will be a fiction or non fiction book which focuses on vocabulary and comprehension. The children will take a reading book home when Mrs Swift and Mrs Letheren have assessed them as being ready. Reading books will match children's current phonic level and this will be continually assessed when we listen to the children read in class. As a school, we have also invested in a new reading scheme. The new scheme works on both phonics and colour bands. There are now no levels. Because we have matched our older books to the scheme, some books may have levels on them but we have matched them to a colour band based on the phonic sounds in the book. This means that there may be a variety of different 'levels' of books within one colour band. Initially, the books have been grouped according to the phonic sounds in them and we have ordered them to match the order that we teach phonics in Read Write Inc. The reading books that children bring home are different to those we use in class for the teaching of specific reading skills. The home reading books are designed for children to ‘show off’ to you about how well they are doing with their reading. They should never present too much of a challenge or become a chore; we hope to foster a love of reading and an enjoyment of books that your child will carry with them into adulthood. Please remember to read the books more than once and ask plenty of questions. Understanding the story is just as important as being able to read the words, so look at the pictures and ask questions about how the characters might be feeling, predict what might happen next or ask why a certain character did what they did.

We do not hear your child read every book that we send home.  However, we assess your child in their reading all the time as part of their RWI lessons and will move them up to the next stage when they are ready. As well as your child's reading book, please continue to read other books at home and continue to read to your child daily if possible so that they are exposed to a wide range of different texts.

Core Books and Poems

This year we will be looking at 5 core books and poems in Reception, it is our aim for the children to have a deep understanding of these core books and poems.

We refer to these books as their 'special books' and children have access to them during provision time in our book corner. We will also be reading these frequently during the year. Each week on a Thursday afternoon Mrs Bolton does 'Time to Talk' with the children, the focus of these sessions is one of our core books, every child will participate in these session over a half term. Mrs Bolton will cover one core book per half term.

Autumn 1- Superworm 

Autumn 2- Peace at Last 

Spring 1- And Tango makes three

Spring 2- Lion Inside

Summer 1- Three Little Pigs

Summer 2 -Recap of all core books

Big Writing

This half term we will start Big Writing- this is where the children all sit down with a whole class and write a sentence. The focus is on the children sounding out independently. We will begin by giving the children a sentence that they need to remember and sound out and then progress on to the children doing longer pieces of writing and thinking of their own sentences. You can support with Big Writing at home by encouraging your child to sound out sentences and words. You could try keeping a diary, writing a sentence about what you have done each day, or you could get your child to write a sentence about a favourite toy.

Tricky Words

This half term we will begin to learn some tricky words, we will learn three per week. These will be sent home on Tapestry each Monday. The children will need to practice reading and writing these words.

 First name, surname, I, a, the, me, of, my, no, is, he, she, be, we, go, so, to, love, and, went 

have, with, like, very, some, all, then, that, said, are, was, his, has, you, one

School Library

We will be visiting the school library on the following dates- 

Tuesday 25th February- books to be returned Monday 3rd March 

Tuesday 11th March- books to be returned Monday 17th March 

Tuesday 25th March- books to be returned Monday 31st March