Phonics at Oare Primary School
We are a Sounds-Write school.
About Sounds-Write
Sounds-Write is a quality first phonics programme that provides our classroom professional with a comprehensive system with which to teach children to read, spell and write. All teaching staff (teachers and teaching assistants) at Oare Primary School are trained in the approach which is used from reception through to Year 6. All year groups have daily phonics/spelling lessons.
Sounds-Write is effective in teaching pupils to read, spell and write because it starts from what all children know from a very early age – the sounds of their own language. From there, it takes them in carefully sequenced, incremental steps and teaches them how each of the 44 or so sounds in the English language can be spelt.
The words used in the teaching process and the conceptual knowledge of how the alphabet code works are introduced from simple to complex, in accordance with the fundamental principles of psychological learning theory. For example, at the start, simple, mutually implied (one sound, one spelling) CVC words (consonant, vowel, consonant) only are introduced. Pupils quickly learn to read and spell words such as ‘mum’, ‘dog’, ‘jam’ and ‘sit’. When all the single-letter sound-spelling correspondences have been introduced and established, Sounds-Write initiates the concept that the sounds f, s, z and l can be spelt with the two letter-spellings ff, ss, zz and ll respectively.
As the programme progresses, the complexity of one-syllable words is carefully increased through a variety of VCC, CVCC, CCVC, CCVCC and CCCVC words, such as, for example, ‘elf’, ‘hand’, ‘swim’, ‘trust’ and ‘scrub’.
After this, pupils’ understanding of the concept ‘two letters – one sound’ is further developed through the introduction of the most common consonant two-letter spellings: sh, ch and th, in words like ‘shop’, ‘chimp’ and ‘thin’, for example.
Finally, two, three and four letter spellings of the vowels are introduced and pupils are taught how to read and spell polysyllabic words, starting with simpler words (such as ‘bedbug’) and gradually moving to the more complex (such as ‘mathematical’).
All of this is taught within a well-structured, incremental and coherent framework based on the knowledge – both conceptual and factual (see below) – on which the alphabet principle and thus the writing system is based and the three key skills needed to enable learners to use the principle effectively.
Our approach teaches the conceptual understanding needed to become an effective reader:
- that letters are spellings of sounds: visual language is a representation of spoken language
- that a spelling can contain one, two, three, or four letters – examples are: s a t, f i sh, n igh t and w eigh t
- that there is more than one way of spelling most sounds: the sound ‘ae’, spelt as in ‘name’, can be represented as in ‘table’, in ‘rain’, in ‘eight’, in ‘play’, and so on
- that many spellings can represent more than one sound: can be the sound ‘e’ in ‘head’, ‘a-e’ in ‘break’, or ‘ee’ in ‘seat’
Within this conceptual framework, we teach the factual knowledge required to become an effective reader and speller: the approximately 176 spellings that represent the 44 or so sounds in English, starting with the most simple one-to-one correspondences.
Reading and spelling also requires expertise in the skills necessary to make use of the alphabet code and pupils need to be able to:
- segment, or separate sounds in words
- blend, or push sounds together to form words
- manipulate sounds: take sounds out and put sounds into words
Sounds-Write provides opportunities for practising these skills on an everyday basis until pupils achieve the automaticity required for fluent reading and spelling.
If you would like to learn more about our approach to phonics, please register for the online course, free for everyone!
Reading at Oare CE Primary School
We love books at Oare! Books of all shapes, sizes and genres and our teaching staff strive to fill our book corners with a range of wonderful books to inspire and capture the children’s attention.
Our aim is to inspire a love of books and to foster a life-long love of reading that enables all children to access education, read widely and confidently – and of course, for pleasure!
We teach reading in many ways:
- through daily phonics in EYFS and KS1 with phonetically decodable books
- by introducing the routine of reading at home right from day one
- through guided reading in EYFS
- through daily ‘whole class’ reading in KS1 and KS2
- by hearing children read 1:1 as often as we can
We foster reading for pleasure (RfP):
- though adults modelling reading to children on a daily basis.
- by keeping our class book corners full of up-to-date and exciting books.
- Book Week celebrations including a visiting book fayre, a book tasting cafe, dress up day where we share our favourite characters and bedtime stories.
- National Poetry Day celebrations, encouraging the wider community of the school to participate in reciting their favourite poems.
- class trips to Marlborough Literacy Festival
- promotion of the Summer Reading Challenge and celebration in school of children who complete this
- class reading rivers used to show the journey of reading over time
- teacher led class reading scrap books to share ‘great reads’
- author visits to school
- all staff model being adults that read
- KS2 reading ambassadors support EYFS and KS1 pupils
Our Reading Scheme
All class teachers are responsible for their pupil’s progress in reading. Our children are immersed in books and storytelling from the moment they start school. We are partnered with the Ramsbury Reading Hub which provide resources for phonics and early reading.
Our reading scheme follows the Sounds-Write units being taught in school using Sounds-Write and Dandelion Reader books.
At the start of a child’s reading journey, these books will enable children to take their first steps into reading and have success. The simple, decodable texts enable them to practise the skills and code knowledge they are learning. Children will enjoy these quirky stories about children and their unusual pets. The books are matched to the Sounds-Write units in the Initial Code.
Once children become fluent readers, a wider range of books is provided to allow children to engage in more lengthy discussions about the content of the book.
From Year 2 onwards, the reading scheme is supplemented with books from class libraries.
Children are encouraged to read daily and to track their reading journey using their digital BoomReader reading journal.
Reading in Key Stage 2
At Oare, we recognise that reading is a priority for all children. Strong reading skills have been shown to improve children’s academic attainment across a range of subjects, including English, maths and science as well as increase employment opportunities in the wider world.
Therefore, at Oare, we aim to increase children’s reading fluency– their accuracy, automaticity and prosody (story teller voices). We believe greater fluency leads to better understanding.
The road to fluency begin in Skylark Class where, through the daily phonics lessons, children practise their decoding skills. As children move up to KS2 they should have the skills to decode texts independently but will still need plenty of opportunity to practise fluency.
We have daily reading sessions in both Kestrel Class and Owl Class to ensure that explicit teaching of reading, and fluency in particular does not stop at the end of KS1. These sessions are 30 minutes every morning with a timetable appropriate to the age of the class that includes:
- Extended read – all the children and teacher read a class text. This is a longer chapter book, usually fiction. Children have access to a copy of the text. Two thirds of this session will be spent reading, and one third will be oral work based on vocabulary and comprehension of the pages read.
- Close read – all the children and teacher read a shorter extract from a range of texts – fiction and non-fiction, poetry or song lyrics. One third of the session will be spent reading and two thirds will be spent answering questions about the text.
- Fluency read – in these sessions the children will be reading the extracts of text they have seen before and will practise reading these passages aloud.
- Book Quest – twice a week the children will be supported in selecting their own books from the class book corner and sharing recommendations.
- Shared Reading – 10-15 minutes each day is put aside for the teacher to read to the class.
Through these reading sessions, our intent is to increase children’s engagement with their reading; to give them tasters of many different texts; to give them time to practise reading skills in school as well as at home; to give them the knowledge and confidence to select books independently and talk about their reading choices confidently. Enjoying reading is so important if children are to continue to be motivated to practise.
Oare Primary School’s Reading Spine
Bridging the gap between instruction and pleasure to create thinkers, believers and lifelong readers.
Our reading spine is a collection of recommended books which are considered to be ‘must-reads’ for everyone. The books in this collection consist of class core texts, recommended independent reads and class shared texts. Each book has been carefully chosen to stretch vocabulary, expose children to different structures and timeframes, encourage critical and analytical thinking and promote a love of reading. Following this reading spine provides equality of opportunity for all children; ensuring all Oare C of E Primary School pupils will leave school having had exposure to wide ranging, linguistically varied and intellectually stimulating collection of texts.
How have our texts been selected?
Our chosen texts are based on research by Doug Lemov about ‘The Five Plagues of the Developing Reader’, which are the stumbling blocks children can face if they are not exposed to a rich variety of texts. The texts in our spine fall into these 5 categories:
Archaic Language – books which were (usually) written in the past and use vocabulary or sentence structures which we are unlikely to be exposed to in our everyday spoken language. Children need strategies to decode unfamiliar words and to build up their own bank of known archaic language.
Non-Linear Time Sequences – books which are not written chronologically. They may include flashbacks, time travel, multiple plots happening at different times or the start of the book being the end result. These books enable children to restructure the events chronologically in their mind as they read.
Narratively Complex – these texts are often told by a narrator who isn’t aware of everything which happens in a story or may have more than one narrator. These texts may also have plots which seem separate but then intertwine to pull the different plotlines together.
Figurative/Symbolic Text – books which use allegories, metaphors and symbols to represent an idea. For example, Jiminy Cricket represents a conscience in ‘Pinocchio’ and the snowman in the book ‘The Snowman’ is an allegory of death and grief.
Resistant Texts – books, and often poems, which deliberately try and create confusion. These texts should be viewed as a challenge or a brainteaser to try and work out the meaning. An example of this is ‘The Jabberwocky’ which uses nonsense words which meaning can be applied to.