Greenfields Primary

School
Phonics Workshop
What is Phonics?
Knowledge of letters and the sounds
they make.
Skills of blending these sounds
together to read words.
Skills of segmenting the sounds in a
word and choosing the correct letters
needed to spell it.

How do we teach
Phonics?
Letters and Sounds Phases 1-6
The children are set across their Year
groups, according to the phase of
Letters and Sounds they are working
on.
They receive 15-20 minutes focused
phonics teaching each day.


Phoneme- The sounds in a word

How many phonemes in the word clap?
c-l-a-p
How many phonemes in the word chat?
ch-a-t






Sound Buttons
c l a p
ch a t
There are 44 phonemes that the
children learn throughout the Letters
and Sounds Programme.
As well as the sounds of the letters of the
alphabet there are also
Consonant digraphs- contain 2 consonants
Put together they make a new phoneme and are not heard individually
e.g. ch th ll ck sh
Vowel digraphs- contain 2 letters, at least one is
a vowel
e.g. ai ee oa ar or oy ow er a_e i_e (split digraphs e on the end)
Trigraph contain 3 letters
e.g. ear igh dge

Correct pronunciation of phonemes is very
important in helping children read and spell
correctly.




The pronunciation of the consonant phonemes can
be grouped:
1. f l m n r s z v sh th zh (continuous)

2. c p t ch h (short, soft)

1.b d g w qu y j (short)

https://global.oup.com/education/content/primary/teaching-support/pages/rwi/?region=uk#

Unfortunately, these 44 phonemes are not
spelled in the same way!
Children are gradually introduced to more alternative
spellings as they progress through
the Letters and Sounds Programme.
Grapheme The letter/letters we use
to spell a phoneme/digraph/trigraph.
Some have more than one grapheme
How many ways can we spell the long e phoneme?
e.g. he / sweet / seal / baby
How many ways can we spell the f phoneme?
e.g. family / photograph

t
t w
w
i
i
g
g
s
s
Phoneme frame
b
b oo
oo
t
t
High Frequency Words (HFWs)
These are common words that are useful for children to learn
to read and spell. As children progress through the phases of
Letters and Sounds they are introduced to sets of HFWs.
Some words are decodable which children can blend to read
e.g. then. Some are tricky words e.g. said, which are not
phonically decodable and are learned by sight.

CVC words Consonant-Vowel-Consonant
These are simple words which children start with when they
begin to blend sounds e.g. sat pin
Phase 1
Children explore sounds and words and
develop awareness of rhyme, rhythm and
alliteration. They learn how to orally blend
sounds and distinguish different sounds in
words.
Phase 1 is generally started in pre-
school and continues as children
begin YR. They are usually ready to
move on from it by the first half term in
Autumn.
Phase 2
Children are introduced to at least 19
letters and corresponding sounds. They
begin to read and spell simple CVC
words. They also begin to read High
Frequency words.
Phase 2 is generally completed in
Year R.
Phase 3
Children learn one grapheme for a
further 25 phonemes. These include
consonant and vowel digraphs (e.g. ch,
ng, ai, oa) and trigraphs (e.g. igh, air).
They read and spell HFWs.
Phase 3 is generally completed in YR.


Phase 4
Children read and spell words containing
consonant clusters. These are 2 or more
consonants, but when put together, each can be
heard as individual phonemes e.g. cl dr sk mp nd.
Words containing these are known as CCVC and
CVCC words. e.g. black, strip, chest).
Phase 4 is generally started at the beginning of
Year 1, but may sometimes be covered at the
end of YR then recapped at the start of Y1.
Phase 5
Children learn alternative ways of
pronouncing the graphemes and
spelling the phonemes already taught.
They read and spell HFWs.
Phase 5 is a long unit, taught
throughout Year 1.
Phase 6
Children apply their phonic skills and
knowledge to recognise and spell an
increasing number of words. They
investigate and learn to add suffixes to
words and to spell words in the past tense.
Phase 6 is taught throughout Year 2.
Spelling Grid Activities- getting spellings to stick!
Choo-Choo
words
Write the entire
list end-to-end
as one long word
(like a train).
Use a different
colored crayon
for each word.
Ex.
hopmopestopdro
p
Practice Test
Take a practice
test. Have your
Mum or Dad ask
you to spell your
spelling words.
Write them on a
list. Check your
practice test
and correct any
missed words.
Spelling Bee
Practice your
spelling words in
Spelling Bee
style. Spell your
words out loud
to a parent or
sibling.
Colourful words
Write each of
your spelling
words. Write
each letter using
a different
colored pencil!
*Example-
colourful
Connect the
Dots
Write ten of
your
spelling words in
dots.
Then connect
the dots by
tracing
over them with a
coloured pencil.
Vowel Circle
Write each of
your spelling
words.
Then go back
and circle all of
the vowels in
your spelling
words!
Dont forget to
write neatly!
Create an
activity
Can you think of
a really fun way
to
practice your
spelling words?
Then go for it!
Be sure to
explain your
activity so that
I can share it
with the class!
Backwards
Words
Write your
spelling words
forwards and
then backwards.
Write neatly!
Example:
where erehw
Trace Around
Write each of
your spelling
words using a
pencil. Then
trace around
each word with a
crayon, colored
pencil, or a
marker.
Rainbow write
First write each
word in pencil.
Then trace over
each word three
times. Each
time you trace,
you must use a
DIFFERENT
colour crayon.
Trace neatly and
you will see a
rainbow!
Silly Sentences
Write silly
sentences
using a spelling
word in each
sentence. Please
underline your
spelling words!
Write neatly!
Example: My
dog wears a blue
and purple dress
when he takes a
bath.
ABC Order
First write your
spelling words in
a list. Then
write them in
ABC order.
For an extra
bonus, write
your
words in reverse
ABC order!
Hidden Words
Draw and colour
a picture. Hide
your spelling
words inside
your picture.
Show your
picture to
someone
and see if they
can find your
hidden words!
Match-Up
Write each of
your words on
two different
index cards.
Turn all the
cards face down
and mix them up.
Lay out your
cards in rows
(like
Concentration)
and flip over two
cards at a time.
Read each card
aloud to see it
they match.
Keep them if
they match or
flip over and try
again!
Sound Words
Use a tape
recorder to
record your
spelling words
and their
spelling. Then
rewind your tape
and listen to it,
checking to see
that you spelled
all the words
correctly.
Buzzing Bees
Draw and colour
an outdoor
picture. Count
your spelling
words. Draw a
bee for each of
your spelling
words. Then
write the words
inside each of
the spelling
bees. Write
neatly!
How can you support your
child?
In todays workshop, you will have the opportunity to
observe activities that you can use and adapt at
home.
As part of the information to take home from todays
workshop, is a list of useful websites with games
and resources to support phonics learning.
There is also a sheet by each activity for you to take
home which explains the activity.

We hope you can see that we want it to be a fun
learning experience!
Resources
There is also a table which has:
Laptops with different games you can play at
home
The phonic games we use in class.
Magnetic letters which are really useful for
children to use to practise their spellings.

Please feel free to have a go!


Useful Websites:




For useful ideas for activities and pronunciations of sounds:

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing-reading-
skills/phonics-all-around-us.


Just type into Google Oxford reading owl, at home, reading and the
fun stuff tab, there are lots of tips and games.
http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/home/reading-owl/expert-help/what-is-
synthetic-phonics

Mr Thorne does phonics (games and pronunciations of sounds)
http://www.mrthorne.com/

ONLINE FREE PHONIC GAMES
http://www.ictgames.com/literacy.html
http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ _(most are free, some you need to
subscribe too)
http://www.bigbrownbear.co.uk/