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Curwen Primary School

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Phonics

Phonics is the way children learn to read and write. The teaching of phonics is an important component of the teaching of reading and, as a result, in Curwen we plan, teach and regularly assess our children through our systematic phonics programme, Read Write Inc. As soon as the Nursery children have settled, we introduce Set 1 sounds and Fred Talk, where teachers begin sounding-out targeted words. This encourages children to recognise phonemes and begin to blend. In Reception, children will carry on learning their Set 2 and Set 3 sounds and continue to blend the sounds and read short sentences.

Children in Year 1 take part in a daily phonics lesson and in Year 2 children continue the RWI programme until they are ready to move on to our Curwen Literacy Curriculum.


There are a range of strategies you can use at home to support your child’s reading skills:

EYFS and Y1

Here are some suggested questions to ask your children when reading with them at home:

Skimming:

What do you think the story is about?

What do you think this character will do at the end of the story?

Would you like to read this book? Why?

Scanning:

When/where is the story set?

Who is the main character?

Can you find the part where…?

Can you find the word….?

 

Summarising

What did we find out at the beginning / middle / end of the story?

What did the title have to do with the book?

Can you draw/write on a piece of paper what you have been reading?

What moment do you remember most from?

Sequencing

What happens at the beginning / middle / end of the story?

How/where does the story start?

What do you think might happen next?

What is the dilemma (problem) and how is it resolved?

 

Comparing

What is similar/different about these two characters?

Can you compare this book to another book you read?

Is this as good as...?

Can I make a text to world connection?

Understanding Vocabulary:

What does this word mean?

Can you use it in a sentence?

Can you find a word that means…?

What other words/phrases could the author have used here?

How/where can we find out the meaning of this word?

Inference:

What do you think… means?

Why do you think that?

Why / how / when / where do you think…?

How do you know?

Predicting:

What do you think this text will be about? Why?

Why did the author choose this setting?

What do you think… will do/say next?

How do you think the story will end? Why?

Can you draw what is going to happen next?