Hello, today we continue our posts looking at teaching phonics looking specifically at making Letters and Sounds work effectively. Although as we have already said, Letters and Sounds is built on sound principles, it does have some weaknesses which you would do well to know about. Weakness 1: Going too quicklyIn its attempts to be rigorous, Letters and Sounds tries to attempt too much too quickly. Most Reception children will not cover the ground suggested to be covered in this year. In my experience in a London Primary school, it was probably fair to say that the eldest Reception children, those who turned 5 in the Autumn Term, were able to learn the initial sounds and start to blend CVC words by the end of the year. Now obviously, there are always going to be exceptions to this, but generally the children seem to need time to settle and get used to school life and then the maturity to make use of the teaching given. The younger Reception children often do not get much further than learning the initial sounds. But do not lose heart. Once these children enter Year 1, then work can really begin. For me, year 1 is the year for the most rapid progress in phonics. So, if you have a group/class of children who are going great guns, then fine, go for it! But if not, do not panic: aim to get the initial sounds learnt and at the very least the ear trained to hear CVC words, and the children will do just fine in year 1. Weakness 2: Expecting children to learn technical language |
WelcomeHello, 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. Categories
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