Phonics

At Thornton Primary School we follow the 'Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised' phonics programme. The Little Wandle programme has three teaching aspects: phonics, reading and keep-up sessions. Further information on the phonics and reading sessions can be found in the PDF below. The keep-up sessions are designed to address any gaps in the children's knowledge, and can be delivered 1:1, or to a group depending on the children's needs.

An overview of the programme can be found below showing the progression of GPC's and tricky words that we teach term by term. 

Further resources on the website below 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. On the website you will also find a link a full teaching overview to see what your child will learn and when.

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/ 

Useful Phonics Websites for Thornton Parents

http://bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saF3-f0XWAY

http://www.ictgames.com/forestPhonics/forestPhonicsOnline/index.html

http://www.ictgames.com/soundButtons/index.html

http://mrthorne.com/home/phonics/letters-and-sounds/

http://www.ictgames.com/blendingBingo.html

http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/question/index/3

http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ParentsMenu.htm

A selection of interactive games for all phonic phases. Mostly simple games.

www.ictgames.com/literacy.html

A great selection of games that link well with games in Letters and Sounds.

http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/

Printable resources for each of the Letters and Sounds phonic phases, also links to games aligned with each phase.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/alphabet-eng/alphabet.htm

Letter names come up in alphabetical order.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/index.shtml

Activities for all phases.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/literacy/phonics/index.shtml

Phonic game with choice of difficulty (some HFWs, some vowel blends, very varied).

http://www.bigbrownbear.co.uk/magneticletters/

Make any words with this useful game.

http://www.phonicsinternational.com/hear_the_sounds/hear_the_sounds_1.htm

 Useful page which demonstrates pronunciation of all sounds.

Reading Olympics 

To promote the importance of reading we have started a whole school ‘Reading Olympic Challenge’. All of the children were issued with an Olympic Reading Card. The Olympic Challenge is designed to encourage children to read to others at home, to gain both ‘Joint Class Rewards’ and to achieve their own personal ‘Olympic Reading Award’.

When your child reads for a minimum of 5 minutes they will need to complete the ‘Olympic Reading Card’ by filling in the title of the book read, the date and ask for a parent/carers signatures (or in the case of our younger children an adult will need to fill it in for them). When your child has completed a row they will get their card ticked by the teacher/teaching assistant and then the 25 minutes (at least) reading time will get entered onto their class chart. When each child in the class has read for at least 25 minutes at home, they gain a ‘class reward’ which has been chosen by the class. This continues for 50, 75, 100 minutes etc.

Children can only complete one box per day.

Reading schemes

At Thornton Primary School we have a range of reading books which the children use as 'home reading books'. These schemes include Collins Big Cat, Rigby Rockets, Oxford Reading Tree and Oxford Reading Project X. We also encourage children to borrow books from our school library and read a variety of their own books at home. 

Children in Reception, Year 1 or those who are still receiving phonics teaching in school will bring home a reading book linked to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds revised teaching programme. These books are fully decodable, and should therefore be read independently by your child. 

Regular home reading will help your child to become a fluent, confident reader. The book will be designed for the child to experience success so they will be able to read at least 95% of the words accurately- this may appear 'too easy' for your child, but the aim is to develop the children's confidence and fluency when reading.