Phonic Zoom encourages the learning of phonemes and graphemes through play and supports the development of independent reading for children in a fun and exciting way.
The signs that your child is ready to read:
1) Interest in letters and sounds: Does your child like looking at letters and trying to say their sounds?
2) Knows some letters: Can your child recognise and say some letters of the alphabet?
3) Can hold a pencil: Is your child able to hold a pencil or a crayon and draw basic shapes and lines?
4) Listens well: Does your child pay attention when you talk and can they understand simple instructions?
5) Likes books: Does your child enjoy looking at books or being read to?
6) Speaks clearly: Can your child say some words clearly?
7) Wants to learn: Does your child seem interested in learning new things?
8) Supportive environment: Do you and others at home encourage and help your child with learning?
Remember, every child is different and there is no rush. Start reading using phonics when your child is ready. Make it a fun and positive experience!
See our Phonics Rave series on our YouTube channel!
The early-stage phonics skills, particularly sound recognition and oral blending, are key building blocks to your child’s progression with reading. Sound recognition is the process of your child knowing the sounds that a letter or letter groups make. For example, recognising that “b” makes the sound “b” as in “bed” and not “bee” as it sounds in the alphabet. Oral blending is when your child can say the individual sounds in a word, to then blend them together to form the full word. For example, they could say “c”, “a” and “t” to form the word “cat”. Both skills are important for your child’s development in being able to recognise these sounds when they are written down on paper. Practising these skills reinforces the letter, sound relationship.
Home learning:
To support your child’s learning at home, there are many fun games/tasks that you can do with them daily or as and when it suits. You could play a game of ‘I spy’, saying “I spy with my little eye, something beginning with ‘ch'”. This encourages your child to think about the connection between objects and sounds, while also allowing them to make visual connections to the sounds, which they can begin to form memory of. You can also simply take their favourite book, pick out some simple words and segment them into their phonemes (their sounds) and encourage your child to place the sounds together, telling you what word they make. For example, you could say “d”, “o” and “g” and your child should say the word “dog” back to you. Simple tasks like the ones that are listed continue the learning process alongside your child’s school work.
Advice:
Remember, every child works at a different pace and every child works at a different learning level. It is important to be patient, encouraging anf to mostly let them take the lead. Ensuring their learning is fun with games or virtual games, will keep your child engaged and excited about gaining the ability to read and write!