Phonics
At St James's we follow Little Wandle Phonics
Little Wandle Programme Progression document - click here
Click on this link to view a host of useful videos and documents for parents about:
- How to say the sounds pupils are taught
- How Little Wandle Phonics is taught
- Reading Little Wandle books at home
Flashcard games to play at home
You can purchase official Little Wandle home flashcards. There are two packs for Reception and one for Year 1.
Reception Autumn term - click here
Reception Spring term - click here
Year 1 - click here
Alternatively you can print and cut up the sounds to create your own using the attachments at the bottom of the page.
For video guidance on how you can use the flashcards to support your child at home, click here.
Phonics lessons
In school pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 (Autumn firs half term) take part in daily phonics lessons that follow a clear progression which you can view here. Some children will also take part in additional ‘keep-up’ sessions which will support pupils further.
Reading lessons
In school, in small groups, pupils will have three reading lessons a week using the same book. Each time the pupils will revisit the graphemes, tricky words and vocabulary they will encounter and the sessions will always follow the
same sequence:
- Lesson 1: Decoding
The first reading practice session focuses on decoding the text, with the children concentrating on applying
their phonic knowledge and developing fluency when reading the words.
- Lesson 2: Prosody
The second reading session provides the opportunity to read the book again and practise reading with
prosody so the children develop reading with appropriate meaning, stress and intonation. It provides an
opportunity to explore characters’ feelings, what words mean and how punctuation adds to the meaning.
- Lesson 3: Comprehension
By the third session, the children should be automatically applying their decoding skills to read with greater
accuracy and fluency, enabling their working memory to be freed up to focus on comprehension
(understanding the text).
Reading at home
There are two types of ways in which we will be asking parents to support with reading at home:
1. Using a Reading Practice Book we will share with you electronically, hear your child ‘perform’ the book they have been reading all week in their reading group
2. Reading a range of books for pleasure to and with your child and talking about the book/text with them. We will support this by sending a Reading for Pleasure Sharing Book home each week
Reading Practice Book
It is the school’s role to teach reading. However, parents/carers play a vital role, too. It is important that children have plenty of practice reading at home in order to become fluent, confident readers. Parents’ or carers’ support is
needed to help their child practise reading and develop fluency with a book they have already read at school. We will shortly be sending out instructions as to how you can access an electronic version of the Reading Practice
book your child has been reading in school. The programme recommends these begin to be used at home after initial assessment and review sessions in the first half term. These books have been closely matched to your child’s
phonic ability after assessment in school. Your child will already have decoded this book, practised reading it with prosody and developed their understanding of the book. At home therefore, children should be able to read the
practice book with developing confidence and fluency without any significant help. The parent/carer’s role is to listen with interest and, most importantly, to encourage and praise, enthusiastically acknowledging the child’s
achievement (even if, at the early stages, this is only small). After the child has read the book, it may be helpful to talk about the book, but only so far as the child is interested. Try to keep the experience as positive as you can.
Reading for Pleasure Sharing Book
If children are to become lifelong readers, it is essential that they are encouraged to read for pleasure. The desire of wanting to read will help with the skill of reading. To help foster a love of reading, pupils will bring home a Reading for Pleasure Sharing Book that they will have selected. This is for you to read to them or with them, and to talk about with them. Please note your child is not expected to read this book, although the may be able to. These books offer a wealth of opportunities for talking about and enjoying the story, or information. We would also encourage you to do the same with books you have a home, books from libraries or charity shops and with other reading material such as recipes, instructions, leaflets and comics. Support with this type of reading can be found on our website here, in the ‘Reading to your child and Book Chat’ section.
Reading Records
Pupils will also bring home a Reading Record. The minimum expectation is three entries a week, although a little reading every day is the ideal when it can be managed. The entries in the child’s reading diary can be about the
‘performance read’ electronic book or the ‘reading for pleasure’ books and texts. Try to keep comments positive and some examples are available as part of our Reading Record guidance (see document attached below)
