How can I teach phonics effectively so that my children pass the Phonic Test and still love reading?My advice: teach your class so well that no one can fault your teaching, even if you haven't got the right percentage over the recommended score. Ideally you will do if you teach well - without resorting to 'teaching to the test'. It is more than possible - in fact most of your children will be well beyond that test. Aim for your children to love reading - as that is the main aim of teaching by phonics: to set children free to be able to learn from their reading - not to pass the Phonic Test! Read on to find out HOW! Take your eyes off of the Phonic Test - do not teach towards it Now I know that teachers are anxious about the Phonic Test and getting a good score. My answer is, that I WILL NOT risk my children's education in order to satisfy some inspector who does not have the needs of my set of children at heart and does not understand them. My children have the rest of their lives ahead of them and their success depends on my teaching THIS YEAR. I can not justify spending time worrying about an external test - let alone spending precious weeks practising nonsense words! If I am a good teacher then it will be evident in my childrens' ability. If it isn't, then teacher - you need to take stock and review your teaching methods. I do not give room for anyone to say 'Phonics does not work', or 'Some children in my class cannot learn with phonics'. The bottom line is that phonics does work, but in cases like these, the teacher does not understand the subject sufficiently well to make it work for every child. There are a few - a very few children who cannot hear the sounds - but even these children respond well to being taught reading and spelling in a structured manner, even if it does mean they learn the words by heart. TEACH and be truly child led by getting to know your children, their strengths and weaknesses in English and Maths very well, so that as you teach you address the needs of your pupils rather than a target. This is true, child-led education. The trend these days is to be target-led, which leads to dry, irrelevant lessons that do not help the children to progress. 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.Of course - theory is one thing and putting it into practice another. 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
'Let's see how many of these sounds you know.' Well done - look , last time you only knew these - see what you know now! Well done! Informal testing allows you to really know where the gaps are in a child's knowledge/ability and to tailor make individual programmes of study. Of course - if you find several children with the same weakness, you can work with them together, but still knowing exactly which question to frame to each individual child to bring them on. During whole class time - maybe in another subject - if you come across an opportunity to reinforce a point you know a child is weak on, then without naming the child, simply draw the classes' attention to that point and ask the child with the weakness to help you read/spell the word. My bestselling resources for the Phonic Test provide plenty of worksheets that can be used for practice/revision and assessment all through the year, but especially at revision time - helping you to hone each child's skills before the big day - but not just for the big day but beyond into adult life. Find these book in TES or TPT. What do I test:
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......in which your children know they will learn to read and write, expect and feel themselves making progress, trust you to know exactly what they need to help them to that end. Success will be celebrated - genuinely. Better still, the children will feel their success and it will motivate them to move forward enthusiastically in their learning. FAQ I realize that if you are reading this part way through the academic year, you might be tempted to think it is too late. Well, yes, in a way, it is better to start right at the start of the school year - but it is never too late for your children as everything you do for them matters. Remember - the test is not what matters - it is your children. Start to change the way you teach now and you still have half the academic year to make a difference. Enjoy seeing your children respond to your teaching. Enjoy reading together! Do a Schonell test now on each child and again in July just before term ends. Then evaluate your teaching in time for next year. Should I practice nonsense words with my children?To be honest - I think that is just falling into 'teaching to the test' trap'. Forget the test. Nonsense words just prove that those setting them do not understand phonics or young children, feeding the opinion that phonics only focuses on decoding and not meaning - in my opinion. The Schonell test would be my indicator of my children's reading ability and the progress they have made from the start of the year to its close - along with samples of their written work. In year one I have easily had at least 50% of the class reading to a reading age of 7.5 + (and I generally had the summer born class) . The whole class had a RA at or above their CA - and yes, I had a typical innner city class of children. Comments are closed.
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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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