At Boney Hay Primary Academy, we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their Literacy development. We aim for all of our children to become fluent, confident readers who are passionate about reading. Children who read regularly or are read to regularly have the opportunity to open the doors to so many different worlds! Reading will give your child the tools to become independent life-long learners. We can achieve this together through:
- Read Write Inc, a programme to help your child read
- Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily; at home and at school
- Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc is a phonics programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7 and is taught at Boney Hay in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. The children are assessed by their RWI lead teacher and grouped according to their ability. Small group phonics lessons are taught daily by trained staff and there are consistent expectations across the range of abilities. Every six weeks, children are assessed to check on their progress and regrouped.
Children learn sounds in school which help them to read and write. They then practise these skills through reading RWI books in school and at home which are specifically pitched to both consolidate learning and provide challenge in an engaging and fun way! The book your child brings home each week contains the words and sounds they have been working on that week in their daily phonics lessons.
Five Key Principles of Read Write Inc Sessions
Purpose – we share the purpose of every activity with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about
Participation – we ensure every child participates throughout the lesson so no child is left behind
Praise – we ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability
Pace – we teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning
Passion – we are passionate about teaching so children are engaged and want to learn
How will my child be taught to read using Read Write Inc?
We start teaching phonics from the first day of Reception. In Reception, children learn how to read the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell well. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters. As children progress through each stage of the Read Write Inc phonics programme, the amount of sounds they learn to read and write increases until they are confident, fluent readers. The Read Write Inc approach incorporates reading, writing and talking.
Reading
Children will:
- Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts and rhymes
- Learn to read words using Fred talk to blend sounds
- Read from a range of storybooks and non-fictions books matched to the sounds they have learned
- Develop comprehension skills through meaningful discussion about what they have read led by their RWI lead teacher
Writing
Children will:
- Learn to write and form the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds with the help of fun phrases
- Learn to write words using Fred Talk and Fred Fingers
- Learn to build sentences by practising sentences out loud before they write them
Talking
Children work in pairs so that they:
- Answer every question
- Practise every activity with their partner
- Take turns in talking and reading to each other
- Develop ambitious vocabulary
Fred Talk
We use pure sounds so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily. Fred is our Read Write Inc friend. He can only speak in sounds, so we help him learn to say words instead of sounds. For example, Fred says ’m-a-t’ instead of mat. We teach him not to add ‘uh’ to our sounds to keep them pure. For example, we say ’c’ and not ‘cuh’ and ‘m’ and not ‘muh’. Watch these videos to see how you can help support your child with saying pure sounds and blending sounds at home.
Pure Sounds – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkXcabDUg7Q
Blending with Fred Talk – https://youtu.be/MNyFikwNQTg
Nonsense words (Alien words)
Research has shown that incorporating nonsense words into teaching reading can be an effective way to establish blending and segmenting skills. However, it is important to ensure that children understand that they are reading nonsense words so that they are not confused by trying to read the words for meaning. By reading nonsense words, children develop their ability to decode individual sounds and then blend them together to read. They are an indicator of early reading skills and work as a quick, reliable way of assessing children. However, reading nonsense words is only a small part of the Read Write Inc phonics teaching.
Spelling with your Fred Fingers
Children are taught to use their fingers to help them write words. The children say the word out loud and break it down into its individual sounds. If a word has 3 sounds children hold up 3 fingers, 4 sounds 4 fingers etc. Children pinch each finger as they say the sounds needed in the word then they write the letters that represent each sound. When using Fred Fingers, each finger represents one sound.
To find out more about the Read Write Inc approach to phonics, you can watch this useful video:
https://youtu.be/bXOJUPNVnLc
You can also access free resources to help your child, including eBooks, practice sheets and parent films by visiting this website:
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/
If you have any questions or would like any support with helping your child learn to read at home, please contact Mrs Gaut, our RWI leader, via class dojo or through the school office.
