Here at Dersingham VA Primary School, we have adopted the ‘Read Write Inc’ Phonics programme designed by Ruth Miskin in EYFS and Year 1 alongside letters and sounds. We are dedicated to ensuring that each and every one of our children will learn to read with accuracy and confidence. We believe that the Read Write Inc programme will allow us to do this, as well as allowing us to support you in fostering a love of reading in your child that will last a lifetime.
At the core of the programme is the lively and vigorous teaching of synthetic phonics. Children learn the 44 common sounds in the English language and how to sound-blend words for reading (decoding) at the same time as developing handwriting skills and spelling (encoding). As their confidence in decoding develops they are taught to comprehend and compose ideas for their own writing. The children have the pleasure of reading exciting storybooks perfectly matched to their level – so that they have early success in reading.
The children follow a structured programme of reading and phonics activities in small groups.
Read, Write Inc. has 5 underlying principles – the five Ps:
1. PACE – no time is wasted during teaching sessions! Children are active and involved in a fun and creative way.
2. PRAISE – teachers praise the children constantly throughout the teaching sessions. Children learn more quickly when they are praised for what they do well.
3. PURPOSE – each activity has a very clear purpose. The teacher will set this purpose at the beginning of the lesson so that the children know exactly what they will be learning.
4. PARTICIPATION – all children take part in all parts of the lesson. Full participation is gained through partner work and choral response.
5. PASSION – as a staff we are passionate about our teaching and the benefits of the Read, Write Inc. programme! We love teaching the sessions and this enthusiasm rubs off onto the children.
Read Write Inc has a suggested reading list for every year group, from Nursery to Year 6. Ruth Miskin suggests that children gain a great deal from knowing a short list of stories very well. This can help them to understand story structure and genres. Click on the icon below for parent tutorials.
From Year 2 to Year 6 we follow the new curriculum guidance and use cued in spelling strategies and the national curriculum spelling lists.
We track back to identify any misconceptions or gaps in learning and differentiate our spellings to support pupils in securing spelling patterns.
In addition, spelling is taught throughout our rich literacy curriculum with children using and applying their knowledge and skills throughout all our subject areas.
Accurate spelling is an important part of the process of learning to write and we want our children to be confident writers. If they are confident spellers, they're also much more likely to make adventurous vocabulary choices.
How to help at home
1. We will send home weekly spellings, which you can practise alongside handwriting.
2. Play 'hidden words' looking at the spelling list and try to find words within the words. You could use different coloured pens or put a time limit on the game to make it more fun? How many words can you find in one minute?
3. Create different sets of flashcards with the spellings on them.
4. Use alphabet or scrabble tiles to spell out each word.
5. Write the list on a piece of paper, look at the word, cover it up and try to write it from memory. Finally check.
6. Create mnemonics or rhymes for difficult words to remember, draw a picture to help.