Finding Out About Phonics

Written by Amanda Vobes

Amanda is a mum, teacher of small children, reader, player of silly games and current Early Reading lead, amongst other things, at Ashgate Primary in Derby.

What is phonics?

In a nutshell, phonics is the way most of our children learn to read. In reception and Key Stage 1 (ages 4-7), children take part in daily phonics sessions that give them the building blocks they need to read and write.

The easiest way to think of it is that each letter of the alphabet not only has a name (ABC), but also its own sound, known as a phoneme. It's these sounds that we hear and blend together every day when we speak. Our children listen to and mimic the sounds they hear us make when they learn to speak. Then later they use these same sounds when they learn to read.

So how can you help?

The most important first step in learning to read is to be able to hear those individual sounds in each word. A good way to start hearing the first sound in a word is with a game of I Spy, but with a twist! Normally in I Spy we would say, ‘... something beginning with c,’ (pronounced see). Now, for someone who can't read, that’s tricky! Most words starting with c when written don't actually sound that way. For example, if the answer was cat, it doesn't start with the c (see) sound.

So, what we need to be saying is, ‘I spy something beginning with c,’ making the sound at the beginning of the word cu-p. Try a few words in your head. What is the first sound in chair? Or how about tent? Playing this game regularly, using sounds, will soon have your little one hearing initial sounds.Once they can hear those first sounds, the next step is to hear all the sounds in a word. To do this, we just tweak the game a little and break the whole word down into sounds, exactly as we would say it: ‘I spy a c-a-t,’ making sure not to leave a gap between each sound.

This can seem tricky because some sounds we say are joined together to make new sounds called digraphs. At some point, your child may well come home saying something along the lines of ‘two letters, one sound!’ and that will mean they are learning these new joined sounds at school. For example, car is simply ‘c-ar’ with the a and r said together. Other examples are ‘ch-air’ or ‘c-oa-t’. Have a look around you, choose something you see and have a go at breaking it down!

Once your child can hear the sounds inside the words they say, they will have mastered those first building blocks to becoming a reader and be ready to match them to the visual letters, or graphemes, which is where phonics sessions come in.Ask the school early on which scheme they use so that you can access online materials often supplied for parents. This is helpful for when they start bringing home books to read and sounds to learn; these books should only contain words that match the sounds your child can confidently recognise and use.

Learning to read is the most important academic skill your child will acquire. Finding that ten minutes to hear your child practise regularly at home is the most important homework you will ever help them with. It is the start of everything else!