We use the highly effective Read Write Inc. phonics programme to teach the children at Rushmore to read and spell. Our children do well in the phonics screening check and by Year 2, the majority are fluent readers who love stories!
To visit the parent pages on the Ruth Miskin Training website go to:
Reception children start their reading journey by learning single letter sounds. We call these the Set 1 sounds.
In RWInc, the sounds are taught in this order:
m a s d t i n p g o c k u b f e l h r j v y w z x
We also teach the children to orally blend. This means that if they hear the sounds c-a-t, they can hear the word "cat". This is a vital step in reading, please see the links below for Fred Talk games you can play with your children.
Once the children can read a few sounds speedily and orally blend, they can begin to blend the sounds together to read words. As their confidence grows, they progress through the reading lists and begin to read words in storybooks called ditties.
Click here for a list of Word Time words to read with your child. Your child’s class teacher will also send home RWInc books to read at home.
We ask that you share a story with your child each day to develop their love for reading. Children will bring home a story to share each week from the class book corner.
Your child's reading teacher will also email links to videos to help your child to embed their phonics knowledge. Please watch the videos with them and encourage them to join in.
In Year 1 children continue to develop their phonic knowledge and move on to learning Set 2 and Set 3 sounds. These are sounds made from two or three letters, also known as digraphs or trigraphs.
In Year 2 children work towards graduating on from the Read Write Inc phonics program. They learn to read accurately and fluently and to comprehend what they are reading.
Children in years 1 and 2 who access the RWI programme will bring home two stories each week. The first story is their Book Bag Book which contains the sounds children have learnt at school, so they will be able to read this decodable book to you! The second book is a story to share, and this should be read by an adult as it contains ambitious vocabulary children can’t yet read for themselves.
Children in Year 1 take part in a phonics screening in June of each year. Children in Year 2 who do not meet the threshold in the first screening will be screened again in June of Year 2. The Phonics Screening Check is designed to confirm whether your child has learned to decode sounds and blend them together to read words.
Read Write Inc teaches your child everything they need to know to succeed in the Phonics Screening Check. Please see the video below for more information.
