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Read Write Inc

At Abbeys, we use the Ruth Miskin Read write inc synthetic phonics programme. This programme is for children between Foundation to Year 4. We also use RWI for SEND pupils in older year groups. 

In Foundation stage and Years 1 and 2, children take part in daily RWI sessions. They learn to read fluently and become confident readers. The RWI programme enables pupils to learn new vocabulary, spell and supports the development of comprehension skills. 

The children are assessed by the RWI lead teacher- Mrs Chambers-and grouped according to their ability. They are split into small group phonics lessons and are taught by trained staff and there are consistent expectations across the range of abilities. At the end of each half-term the 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 'Book Bag Books' at home which are specifically pitched to both consolidate learning and provide challenge in an engaging and fun way!

Other phonetically decodable books will be set via 'Oxford Owl', within the RWI EBook library and are accessible to read at home and in school. Each child will be provided with their individual log-in information for Oxford Owl by their class teacher.

Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions

Purpose – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about

Participation – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning

Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability

Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning

Passion – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally

Foundation 

In Reception all children will learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. Those who are ready, will begin to read simple words within books and write some of these.

Year 1 and above

Children follow the same format as Foundation but will work on complex sounds and read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last for one hour.

The children are taught the sounds in 3 sets. 

 Set 1 Sounds are taught in the following order together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending

The children are then taught  Set 2 Sounds – the long vowels.

Set 2 Sounds

ay: may I play  

ee: what can you see 

igh: fly high  

ow: blow the snow  

oo: poo at the zoo  

oo: look at the book 

ar: start the car 

or: shut the door  

air: that’s not fair 

 ir: whirl and twirl  

ou: shout it out  

oy: toy for a boy 

When they are very confident with all Set 1 and 2, they are taught  Set 3 Sounds.

Set 3 Sounds

ea: cup of tea
oi: spoil the boy
a-e: make a cake
i-e: nice smile
o-e: phone home
u-e: huge brute
aw: yawn at dawn
are: share and care
ur: purse for a nurse
er: a better letter
ow: brown cow
ai: snail in the rain
oa: goat in a boat
ew: chew the stew
ire: fire fire!
ear: hear with your ear
ure: sure it’s pure?
tion: (celebration)
tious / cious: (scrumptious / delicious)
e: he me we she be 

Fred Talk

We use pure sounds (‘m’ not’ muh’,’s’ not ‘suh’, etc.) 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 also teach him not to add 'uh' to our sounds to keep them pure. For example, we say 'c' and not 'cuh'.

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. When children reach yellow Read Write Inc. storybooks, they will learn to trace the letters onto each finger and say the letter names.

Reading  

Children will: 

  • learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts 
  • learn to read words using sound blending 
  • read lively stories featuring words they have learnt to sound out 
  • after meaningful discussion led by an adult, children show that they comprehend the stories by answering questions 

Writing 

Children will: 

  • learn to write the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds 
  • learn to write words by saying the sounds and graphemes 
  • learn to build sentences orally using adventurous vocabulary 
  • start with simple sentences and develop towards more complex ones by the end of the programme 

Talking  

Children are assessed so they work alongside children at the same level. This allows them to fully participate in all lessons.  
They work in pairs so that they: 

  • answer every question 
  • practise every activity with their partner 
  • take turns in talking to each other 

Blending 

Help your child learn to read words by sound-blending (Fred talk) eg. c-a-t = cat, sh-o-p = shop. Children learn to read words by blending the letter-sounds that are in the Speed Sounds set. Help your child to say the pure sounds ('m' not 'muh', 's' not 'suh' etc.) as quickly as they can, and then blend the sounds together to say the whole word.

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 (and why) 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, and valid way of assessing children. However, reading nonsense words is only a small part of the Read, Write Inc. phonics teaching.

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