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.
What is phonics in the UK?
Phonics is a method used in the UK to help young children learn how to read and write. It teaches them to recognise and connect how the sounds of letters and letter combinations form words. In phonics, children learn that each letter in the alphabet has a specific sound. They can combine these sounds to read and write words. It’s like putting together puzzle pieces to unlock the magic of reading! Phonics is a crucial skill that helps children become confident readers and writers, setting them on a path to enjoy books and communicate effectively. It’s an important part of early education in the UK and helps children build a strong foundation for literacy.
How do I help my child’s learning process at home?
Continuing your child’s learning at home by making learning fun and engaging will have a positive affect! Spend time reading together, point out specific sounds in books and practise saying them together. Encourage your child to sound out words on their own and ensure to celebrate their efforts. Use games and activities like word hunts, rhyming games and flashcards to reinforce phonics skills. Creating a positive and nurturing environment where your child feels confident to explore sounds and letters will boost their phonics progress and love for reading.
How is phonics taught in the UK?
In schools across the UK, phonics is typically taught using a systematic approach called “Phonics Teaching”. Children are introduced to letter sounds and their corresponding letter symbols in a structured sequence. They learn how to blend these sounds together to read words and segment words into sounds for spelling. The teaching often involves interactive activities, such as games, songs and reading practise. Schools may use various phonics programmes in order to accommodate the needs of the pupils in their school.
Key terms in phonics:
1) Phoneme: The smallest unit of sound in spoken language. For example, the word “cat” has three phonemes /k/ – /a/ – /t/.
2) Grapheme: A written or printed representation of a phoneme (a letter or group of letters). For example, the grapheme for the phoneme /k/ is “c”. Remember, the phoneme is the sound of the letter/letters and the grapheme is the way they look.
3) Digraph: Two letters that represent one sound when pronounced together. For example, “th”, “ch” and “sh”.
4) Trigraph: Three letters that represent one sound when pronounced together. For example “igh” in the word “light”
5) Blending: The process of combining individual phonemes to read a word. For example, blending /c/ – /a/ – /t/ to form the word “cat”.
6) Segmenting: The process of breaking a word into its individual phonemes for spelling. For example, segmenting “fish” into /f/ – /i/ – /sh/.
7) Oral blending: The process of verbally blending individual phonemes to read a word. For example, a child will say “d”, “o” and “g” to then be able to say the word “dog”.
8) CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant): A common word pattern where a word consists of a consonant, a vowel, and another consonant. For example, “dog” or “cat”.
9) High-Frequency words (sight words): Words that appear frequently in written text and are often taught as whole words because they do not follow regular phonetic patterns. For example, “the” and “was”.
10) Phonological awareness: The ability to recognise and manipulate the sounds in spoken language, including activities like rhyming, blending and segmenting.
11) Synthetic phonics: An approach to phonics teaching that emphasises teaching letter-sound relationships in a systematic and structured way. This then allows the children to blend sounds to read words and segment words to sound them out.