Phonics
"Reading is the one ability that, once set in motion, has the capacity to feed itself, to grow exponentially, producing a base from which the possibilities are infinite." Michael Morpurgo
Reading is the most important skill that children must master during their time at primary school. Being a confident and fluent reader opens up the doors to a whole world of opportunities and learning. At Whitby Heath Primary School, our primary goal is to make sure that every child learns to read quickly and effectively through the Read, Write, Inc. phonics programme and that they become fluent and confident readers who are passionate about reading. At Whitby Heath School we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to get your child off to the best possible start with their phonics, reading and writing, to ensure the possibilities are endless for them.
Being able to read equips all children with the tools to become independent, life-long learners and sets children up for a successful time at primary school and in their future life ahead!
We rely on you, as parents, to provide support at home to enable your child to make get off to a good start in EYFS and continue throughout KS1 to make good progress in phonics and reading. Children become good readers, when phonics and reading is taught well in school and reinforced and embedded at home! Have a look below at ways you can help…
- Listen to your child read their home-reading book daily, asking questions before/during/after reading and record a brief comment about their reading in the reading diary. (Please note, children should be secure in the sounds in their home-reading book so they can read the sounds/words speedily to develop accuracy, fluency and understanding.)
- Read stories to your child, encourage a love of books and talk about the book as you go.
- Value books yourself and model your own love of reading
- Attend our parent phonics sessions to become familiar with RWI and our approach to the teaching of phonics, reading and spelling.
- Use your child’s RWI book mark to help your child get speedy at reading the sounds and the ‘green’ and ‘red words’ too. (This will change each time your child progresses into a new RWI group)
- If you have any questions, no matter how silly you may think they are, please ask your child’s class teacher…we need to work together to help your child become a reader!
Useful links below to help you support with Read, Write, Inc. phonics (RWI) at home...
Click HERE to find out all about the Read, Write, Inc. phonics programme and our approach to the teaching of phonics, reading and spelling.
Click HERE to access a wide range of Read, Write, Inc. resources to support with Home Learning
Click HERE to view the videos supporting parents on the Ruth Miskin (RWI) website. (Especially valuable is the ‘How to say the Sounds’ video…to ensure we are all saying the sounds in the same way to help your child!)
Click HERE to access daily 'Speed Sounds' and 'Spellings' lessons during this period of home learning, to ensure your child still gets the daily RWI phonics lesson they would be having in school. Click HERE for guidance from class teachers about whether your child is learning 'Set 1', 'Set 2', or 'Set 3' sounds to make sure you're tuning into the correct lessons!
Click HERE to access 72 RWI online home reading books.
Click HERE if your child is in EYFS and you would like guidance about 'Home Learning' and appropriate online RWI phonics lessons as well as home reading books matched to your child's level
Click HERE if your child is in KS1 and you would like guidance about 'Home Learning' and appropriate online RWI phonics lessons as well as home reading books matched to your child's level
Click HERE to view our Phonics & Reading Policy.
Click HERE to view ideas for ‘book talk’ when reading to your child or listening to them read.
Click HERE to view the PowerPoint presentation for the Phonics and Reading Workshop for EYFS parents.
Click HERE to view the PowerPoint presentation for the Phonics and Reading Workshop for KS1 parents.