What are initial sounds?
Look at these words. The first letter is the initial sound. When you say each word, your mouth, teeth and tongue move into position to make the initial sound.
cat man danger house zebra light
We don't stop to think about it as it happens instinctively. Learning to read through phonics means becoming aware of the sounds that make words.
In order to learn to read and spell with phonics, a child first needs to learn the sounds for which the letters of the alphabet stand for and which can be heard at the beginning of words - the initial sounds. Having learnt to read with phonics, children will eventually be able to read many words that they have never seen before, by themselves. Teaching by phonics is a powerful method! It creates readers. No wonder it has not been liked by many progressives through the years! Take care when teaching initial sounds
It is very important that care is taken to teach this stage well, as it is the foundation for the development of all future reading and spelling.
Three things are necessary when teaching a child the initial sounds:
If any of these three are neglected, or only partially taught, then the child will not make progress. Despite this seeming very simple, many teachers and parents go wrong at this point. Many children fail to learn the sounds that each letter stand for sufficiently well to be able to recall them instantly. Others learn the sounds the letters stand for, but do not hear them at the beginning of words. These children can then appear to be in need of catch up work - when the truth is they were not taught properly to start with. First, make sure that you yourself know the initial sounds.How to teach initial sounds
Progress is quickest when the above three aspects are taught hand in hand together.
As a sound is learnt the child can be taught to apply his/her knowledge to find things that begin with that sound. If the child is also taught to write the letter, this further reinforces his/her knowledge and helps to develop spelling skills as well. It is best is, once you have decided that your child is ready to start learning to read, to keep the momentum going by teaching one new sound a day, five days a week. Follow this simple procedure. You will need:
You can also use our video (below) which provides pictures for each letter of the alphabet and is phonetically correct. Pause the video on a sound. You can use it to say the alphabet rhyme each day too (see below).
1. Introduce the new sound on a flashcard, or in an alphabet book. Tell your child:
This is the letter '_' and it makes the sound '_'.
2. Then look and see how many things on the 'a' page begin with that sound (or if using flashcards, how many things you can think of between you beginning with that sound).
To begin with you will have to help – if not tell - your child which words begin with the given sound. Emphasise the first sound as you say a word.
Here is an apple. Apple begins with ă' (sound not name). ' a..a.....a...apple. ' 'Here is an arrow, a..a...arrow'. 'What can you see that starts with 'a'?' a...a.............. See if the pupil can fill in the blank with a word beginning with the sound 'a'. If the pupil says another word, not starting with 'a', say: 'Yes, I can see a house too, but listen...hhhhhouse. Does 'hhhouse start with 'aaaaa'? No it doesn't. Listen, aaaaapple, aaanchor. Here's a word. (Point to another picture starting with 'a'). What's this? Child: 'ant' Teacher: 'Yes!' aaant starts with 'a'. Some children will sit for a while happy to look, others will be eager to go! Either way, keep the session short. We don't expect pupils to grasp this in one lesson. What must happen is that the pupil starts to learn that this symbol stands for the sound 'a' and some words begin with that sound. Watch for signs that the child is beginning to hear the intial sound for him/herself. Optional: Jolly Phonics assigns an action to the sound which many children find helpful. You don't need to use the same actions as Jolly Phonics to do this; simply find a word that is meaningful to your student that can be mimed and make the action along with saying the alphabet sounds. My class used to mime eating an apple, or making an ant crawl up their arms. They would pretend to bounce a ball for 'b', drive a car for 'c' and so on. If you wish to use the Jolly Phonics actions you can find them free here.
PLUS - every day say the alphabet rhyme
Practice the sounds already taught by saying the Alphabet Rhyme before you teach the new sound. Go through the flashcards of the initial sounds taught and say the alphabet rhyme, stopping at the letter that was last taught, ready to learn a new one. So: Day 2: Show the 'a' flashcard: Together say: Ay says 'a'. And then learn about the sound 'b'. Day 3: Show the 'a' flashcard and together say: Ay says 'a'. Show the 'b' flashcard and say together: Bee says 'b' - and then learn about the sound 'c'. Day 4: As before: Ay says 'a', Bee says 'b', See says 'c' - and then learn about the sound 'd'. And so on, adding a new card each day until you are saying it all the way to 'z'! This repetition is vital to the success of the programme. Continue to recite the Alphabet Rhyme in this way while the knowledge is cemented and until you are sure the pupil can give you the correct letter for any sound you make, or tell you which sound each letter stands for.
Then:
1. Throughout the day keep emphasising ‘AY says 'a'. Encourage the pupil to finish the sentence: ’AY says…?’ Say it for the pupil if s/he can’t remember. Encourage your child to look for things around the house that start with each day’s sound. It is a good idea if you can be constantly emphasising the first sound of words at suitable moments. Here are some ideas: ‘Where is your bbball? ‘Are you playing with your dddoll?’ 'Time for bbbbed!' 'Where is your ccccup?' 2. When you see words around and about, point to the first letter of the word (if it says the right sound, e.g not 'c' for 'circle') and say (for example) : 'Look, 't' for tomato.' This will help to train the child's ear to hear initial sounds.
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Assessment is the key
a) the child is beginning to learn which letter stands for which sound
b) the child is hearing sounds at the beginning of words
Then do whatever is necessary to help the child grasp the bits s/he is having trouble with. There is a useful video here explaining how to help children who have trouble hearing initial sounds of words.
For example, if it is a particular sound, then focus on that sound. Paint it, draw it in the sand, pin it up around the house/classroom and make frequent reference to it. Use your imagination and think what will help THIS child to get this point.
**Do not try to teach the child to blend cvc words until you are sure s/he is hearing the initial sounds of words.** Otherwise you will risk confusing the child and stalling progress.
Go at the child's pace, not the pace of a 'curriculum'.
www.readingmadesimple.weebly.com
Our programme can be tailor fitted to any child. You are in control of how fast or slow you go and how you teach. We give guidance, but remember - when teaching phonics you need to fit the programme to the child, not the child to the programme.
Find a way of helping the child to reach the goals.
We help you to do just that - succeeding where others fail.
A spring phonics game to help children
spring ahead in reading
as they tackle words with more than one syllable.
How to play the Spring Phonics Game
Having printed the Spring Phonics Game and cut out the pictures and the words, the words are put into a feely bag (or small box, face down) and the pictures laid face up on the table . Players have a counter each and take it in turns to move their 'frog' one stone at a time towards the pond - unless they have picked a 'Miss a turn' card. On each move the player takes a word card from the feely bag and reads it. The player should then match the word to a picture card. Correctly read words can be kept, while incorrectly read cards must be returned to the bag. Help can be given to match the words to the correct pictures.
Play continues until someone reaches the pond first. At this point, players count how many pictures they have correctly read and the winner is the one with the most.
Tips for playing the Spring Phonics Game
Only use one or two 'Miss a turn' cards. That 'winning' feeling will help the child to think 'I can do this' and be willing to play again and again, each time improving his/her ability to read the words. Don't worry if the pupil begins to recognise the words without sounding them out - but dont let him/her guess!
For more confident readers, use more 'Miss a turn' cards, and give less help. This will challenge the child to work harder to collect picture cards and not make mistakes.
In both cases, always comiserate with losers, and say 'It's only a game. Shall we play again and you might win?'
Let's look at the Spring Phonics Games words:
f r o g b u d s n e s t e g g s
blo ssom cat kins
Now look at these spring words:
daff o dil cr o cus t u lip
Bluebells chicks frogspawn
fl ow er s butt er fly
A first reader that your child can read for him/her self once this game has been played
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Make sure your pupil has been introduced to the necessary phonics sounds before playing this game
My Spring Phonics Game is suggested for those readers who have completed Stage 7 of Reading Made Simple.
So that you can work out if this Spring Phonics Game is appropriate for your child, I have listed the words contained in the game, with their phonics sounds marked, below:
nest
eggs frog bud blossom catkins |
Tulip
Crocus Daffodil |
chicks
Bluebells Primrose frogspawn tadpole |
flowers
butterfly |
The Spring Phonics Game...
and easy to play - like all of our games!
Click the picture to download!
If you like our games, please tell us and your friends!
If something is wrong, tell us before you tell your friends!
'ie' - Eye-EE
'ur' = You Are
'er' = EE ARE
This phonic ir/ur/er game helps spelling no end!
ur
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er
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ir
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Hop to the Pond Game
This game is suitable for children at Stage 5 of Letters and Sounds who have learnt 'ch', 'sh' and 'ay' already.
How to play:
The pupil takes a letter card (ur/er/ir) from the feely bag and then has to select a picture from the pool of picture cards that pictures a word from the chosen family .
The pupil will then have to see if it is correct by checking against the Word Bank Card. The teacher can help with this.
If correct, the picture card is taken and put by the player. If not it is returned to the table, face up.
The winner has the most picture cards once one player has reached the pond.
Full instructions are given in this FREE download (see below).
You will need:
2 counters
A feely bag, or small box to put the letter cards in.
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Playing Tips:
- Remind the pupil that 'er' most usually occurs at the end of a word: it's that sound that we make at the end of words such as 'jump - er'. Help the pupil to speak 'posh' and sound the 'er' correctly.
- Talk about the words represented by the pictures before you start to play the game. If you are not sure, check with the Word Bank first, by finding the picture for each word as it is read.
- If the pupil chooses the wrong word for a sound, refer to the Word Bank Card and reinforce the correct spelling.
- Have fun! As the pupil's mind will be taken up with the game - s/he will forget the learning that is taking place quietly underneath!
- Afetr the game, ask the pupil to say the word for each picture and tell you which family it belongs to. E.g. bird - 'ir'.
Other resources you might find helpful:
A printer to print your game
Card to print it on
Alaminator to protect it and make it last longer
Afolder to keep all the pieces safe.
If you like our games, please tell us others and us!
Download your FREE game by clicking on the picture.
How can I teach phonics effectively so that my children pass the Phonic Test and still love reading?
Read on to find out HOW!
For your class to become excellent readers - you must not rely on a programme. You must understand the process each child must go through to become an excellent reader. You must study phonics for yourself.
Ideally, headteachers should keep teachers teaching Year one long enough for them to become experts in Year 1.
If this is not the case in your school you will have to do your best - but don't despair - with these guidelines you can do better than you would do otherwise.
Aim to understand what is needed - then study your children as they learn.
Ask questions:
How can I get him /her to understand this? What practice can I give? What examples will help him/her to grasp this concept?
You must also decide for yourself about common objections to phonics to quell the negativity in your mind as it will stop you from throwing yourself behind teaching in this way and leave your teaching ineffective as you try and merge several methods.
Here I will just say that those who say that phonics only promotes decoding at the expense of meaning cannot be further from the truth. In all my years teaching phonics, meaning has been central. Meaning is at the bottom of communication and we all strive to understand what we hear and read. Of course you will have a literacy based environment: you will read excellent examples of good language to your children in the form of good story books and poems; you will see the whole day as literacy lesson - in every subject where you read/write with the children you can be alert for opportunities to apply those skills you have been teaching or that certain children need developing.
You SHOULD NOT need an external phonics test to tell you what each of your children is capable of
- You should know each child inside out: what they know and what they are weak on, so that future teaching can address those gaps.
- Biggest tip: you have got to see your class as 30+ individuals and teach that way rather than groups of abilities. Young children are best taught individually - and if that is not possible, as it really isn't in a classroom, then you have to have that mindset. The lower third particularly will need YOUR assistance daily to move them on.
- Undertake your own regular individual, informal tests. This is essential. The children in my classes were used to testing. In fact - they enjoyed the challenge, as tests correctly used can motivate children.
Well done - look , last time you only knew these - see what you know now!
Well done!
Find these book in TES or TPT.
What do I test:
- Initial sounds - regularly until I am absolutely sure that each child knows the letter name, corresponding sound and can both give the sound on seeing the letter and write the letter given the sound. Make a game of it - the alphabet games on this site make great testing tools.
- The 2/3 letter combinations, as taught - I sit with a child at a time with a pile of flashcards and go through the ones taught to see which ones are known, marking them off on a checklist. This cannot be done in groups - I must get each child on his/her own. Extra support will be given to each area of weakness identified, per child and further testing undertaken to ensure progress is being made.
- Free-writing tests can be given to the whole class - these are exciting. Give the children a piece of paper each, a simple, accessible topic to write about (what you did at the weekend) and give them ten minutes to write freely. From age five upwards these will give a real insight as to how each child has internalised your phonic teaching. Remember - just because you have taught a child something, doesn't mean s/he will necessarily use that knowledge immediately - it has to be 'taken in'. It then takes a bit of trial of using the skill to eventually use it correctly. Take powerful 'e' for example. We all know that children will often start sticking 'e's' on the end of every word as they learn to use the new knowledge. It will take several weeks reinforcing the correct usage before the skill is internalised and used correctly.
- Reading: using the Schonnell reading test. I use this once in the Autumn term and again in the summer term to give an indication of a child's progress throughout the year. Crude, yes, but it gives you a benchmark as it were, if you follow the testing procedure carefully, which is easy.
You have to be organised - to know which children you will target in which way each day. Time is a precious commodity in a KS1 classroom, but the need is urgent - see it that way and you will succeed. Better still - see the whole day as a literacy opportunity. Read good nature study, geography, history books to your children. Help them to see that reading is not just about stories - it's a means of learning about exciting things. I found that this really helped the boys in particular to see reading as worthwhile. Too much is made of fiction these days.
Above all you will create an environment...
FAQ
Is it too late???
Should I practice nonsense words with my children?
The ai/oa phonics game
'ai' makes an 'ay' sound in words, listen:
tr ai n
b oa t
boat: loaf toast, coat, road, toad
train: tail, drain, nail, rain, maid
OR
You could use the game as an individual activity, for which it is great for assessing a child's ability in phonics.
This game involves listening and reading to give practice in hearing the ai/oa sounds and recognising them in words. there are no complicated rules - so you can be ready to play in no time at all!
Easy to make!
- Just download and print the game pages - card is good but not essential.
- Cut out the necessary cards.
- Laminate the games to make them last longer (optional)
- Find a small box/bag or purchase a blank die.
- And you are ready to go!
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Find worksheets to support teaching and learning here:
Other games you may like:
Download your FREE ai/oa game here:
Once more we have two games for you to download and print free, to give children practice in blending - this time with the sounds or and ar.
By the time pupils reach this stage, they should be becoming quite fluent at blending one syllable words, but they will need plenty of practice in first of all recognising new blends as they are taught and then applying their knowledge while reading texts.
Our first game will give help with the former: hearing the sounds 'ar' and 'or' in words and knowing which letters to use to represent those sounds.
Our second game will give practice in using the new knowledge when reading short sentences and phrases.
Game 1: Which sound can you hear
This game - like all our games, is simple to play. You will just need a little box to put the sound cards in, or a feely bag.
A base board is chosen (blue or green) and the player takes a sound card from the box/feely bag. The player can then choose a picture with that sound in to place on his/her board. Play continues until both boards are completed and the winner is the first to fill his/her board.
Game 2: Matching phrases to pictures
Easy to make
- Download the files.
- Print the needed pages - card is a good option.
- Cut out the relevant cards.
- Laminate to make them last longer (optional).
- Store in a plastic folder to keep everything safe (optional).
Find worksheets to support learning here:
Find us on Tiny Tap!
Download your FREE games here:
Welcome
Hello, I'm Lilibette, qualified teacher (B.Ed Hons). I have taught phonics in mainstream education, followed by have home-educated my two sons to 18, and am now a private tutor.
Reading Made Simple (a completely free systematic phonic reading programme) and Sound-it-out are the results!
I aim to bring advice and resources aimed at enabling parents and teachers to EASILY teach phonics effectively. That is: to help children become life-long readers, forming a bedrock on which all further education can be built. My mother helps to draw the pictures and between us we have many years experience of teaching KS1, special needs and ESL. We hope you enjoy browsing our site!
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