phonics homework rwi

Read Write Inc. – A guide for parents

Welcome to the Read Write Inc. page on Oxford Owl for Home.

Read Write Inc. is a popular phonics scheme. Like all phonics schemes, it teaches children the sounds in English, the letters that represent them, and how to form the letters when writing. Read Write Inc. Phonics includes reading books written using only the letters they have learnt at each level (and a small number of separately taught tricky words ). The children will quickly feel confident and successful.

Here you can find lots of free resources to support your child’s learning.

Free eBooks | Videos  | Set 1 resources | Set 2 resources | Set 3 resources |  Kits and flashcards to use at home

• Read Write Inc. Phonics

We have lots of free Read Write Inc. Phonics resources to help your child, including eBooks, practice sheets and parent films. We suggest you start by watching this film for parents: What is Read Write Inc. Phonics?

Speed sounds and Read Write Inc. Stages

If your child is learning to read at school with Read Write Inc. Phonics , they will be at one of the following stages:

Learning Set 1 Speed Sounds

These are the Set 1 Speed Sounds written with one letter:

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

These are the sounds written with two letters (your child will call these ‘special friends’):

sh  th  ch  qu  ng  nk  ck

Check if your child can read these sounds. Make sure they say sounds like ‘mmm’, not letter names like ‘em’. Watch the Sound Pronunciation Guide video to help you.

If your child is learning Set 1 Speed Sounds, help them to:

• Complete the Speed Sounds practice sheets for the Speed Sounds they have learnt.

Learning to blend with Set 1 Speed Sounds

Your child is learning to read words containing Set 1 Speed Sounds by sound blending. For example:

m-a-t  mat c-a-t  cat g-o-t  got f-i-sh  fish s-p-o-t  spot b-e-s-t  best s-p-l-a-sh  splash.

If your child is learning to sound blend, help them to:

• Read the Sound Blending eBooks  in order.
• You could watch the Sound Blending video to help you support your child with sound blending.

Learning Set 2 Speed Sounds

These are the Set 2 Speed Sounds:

ay  ee  igh  ow (as in blow )  oo (as in zoo ) oo (as in look ) ar  or  air  ir  ou (as in out )  oy

Check if your child can read these sounds.

If your child is learning the Set 2 Speed Sounds, help them to:

• Read the eBooks at Red Ditty level, then Green level and then Purple level, in order.  We recommend children read each eBook three times, as they would at school: once to read the words correctly, a second time with more fluency, and a third time in a ‘storyteller voice’ that shows their understanding.

Learning Set 3 Speed Sounds

These are Set 3 Speed Sounds:

ea (as in tea ) oi  (as in spoil ) a–e (as in cake ) i–e  (as in smile ) o–e (as in home ) u–e (as in huge )   aw (as in yawn ) are (as in care ) ur (as in nurse ) er  (as in letter ) ow (as in brown ) ai  (as in snail ) oa (as in goat ) ew (as in chew ) ire (as in fire ) ear (as in hear ) ure (as in pure )

If your child is learning Set 3 Speed Sounds, help them to:

• Complete the Speed Sounds practice sheets  for the Speed Sounds they have learnt.
• Read the eBooks at Pink level, then Orange level and then Yellow level, in order. We recommend children read each eBook three times, as they would at school: once to read the words correctly, a second time with more fluency, and a third time in a ‘storyteller voice’ that shows their understanding.

Reading books with Set 1, 2, and 3 Speed Sounds

If your child has learnt all three sets of Speed Sounds, they need to practise them and read books with words made up of those sounds. They could:

• Complete the Speed Sounds practice sheets  for the Set 3 Speed Sounds.
• Read the eBooks  at the Blue level and then the Grey level, in order.  We recommend children read each eBook three times, as they would at school: once to read the words correctly, a second time with more fluency, and a third time in a ‘storyteller voice’ that shows their understanding.

You will find a useful phonics audio guide to all these sounds in our Sound Pronunciation Guide video . It is really important to say the sounds clearly to help your child learn them. We say ‘ mmmm ’  not ‘muh’ and ‘ lllll ’  not ‘luh’ when teaching the sounds. This really helps children when they learn to blend sounds together to read words.

What is Fred Talk?

If your child’s school is using   Read Write Inc. Phonics , teachers will introduce your child to a toy frog called Fred once he or she is ready to start reading words.

Fred can   only   say the sounds in a word and needs your child to help him read the word. Fred will say the sounds and children will work out the word. For example, Fred will say the sounds   c–a–t , and children will say the word   cat . This is Fred Talk: sounding out the word.

Watch our parent tutorials to learn all about how to support your child as they learn with  Read Write Inc. Phonics , with detailed ideas and advice on pronouncing pure sounds, blending, and digraphs.

Why read to your child?

Find out why it’s important to read to your child.

10 things to think about

Tips to make the most of reading to your child.

Understanding phonics

Find out what phonics is and how it’s used.

What is Read Write Inc.?

Find out how Read Write Inc. Phonics helps your child.

How to say the sounds

Learn how to pronounce the Read Write Inc. sounds.

What is Sound-blending?

Ruth Miskin’s way of teaching children to blend sounds.

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• Age 9–10 (Year 5)
• Age 10–11 (Year 6)
• Phonics guide
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• Comprehension
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• Encouraging boys to read
• Reading for pleasure
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• Read Write Inc (RWI) Phonics
• Teaching and Learning

Phonics at Hadrian Park Primary School 

At Hadrian Park we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their Literacy development.  Miss Loizou is our Read Write Inc lead teacher, so if you have questions about RWI, contact school who can refer you to her.

Understanding Phonics

Reading at Hadrian Park

  At Hadrian Park Primary School we aim for all our children to become fluent , confident readers who are passionate about reading.

Children who read regularly or are read to regularly have the opportunity to open the doors to so many different worlds!

More importantly, reading will give your child the tools to become independent life-long learners.

We can achieve this together through:

• Read Write Inc, a program to help to your child read at school
• Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily, at home and at school
• Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home

What is Read Write Inc?

Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics complete literacy programme which helps  all  children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling.  The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. However, at HPPS we begin to expose children in Nursery to skills that will help them access the taught programme in Reception. We continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7, as we use a stage not age approach. 

RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at  https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/ .

Parent video: What is Read Write Inc Phonics

How will my child be taught to read?

We start by teaching phonics to the children in the Reception class. This means that they learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell well. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters.

The children:

• Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts – see below
• Learn to read words using Fred talk and sound blending
• Read from a range of storybooks and non-fictions books matched to their phonic knowledge
• Work well with partners
• Develop comprehension skills in stories by answering 'Find It' and 'Prove It' discussion questions
• Learn to write and form the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds with the help of fun phrases
• Learn to write words by using Fred Talk
• Learn to build sentences by practising sentences out loud before they write 

The children

• They work in pairs so that they:
• Answer every question
• Practise every activity with their partner
• Take turns in talking and reading to each other
• Develop ambitious vocabulary

Read Write Inc Progression of skills

• Progression of Skill RWI.pdf

Progressing through the stages

Children in Early Years are introduced to initial sounds. Children then begin to learn how to 'read' the sound in words and how those sounds be can be written down. As children progress, they follow the same format as Early Years but will work on complex sounds and read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last 30 minutes. Once children become fluent speedy readers they will move on to the RWI Spelling programme.

Five key principles underpin the teaching in all  Read Write Inc . sessions:  

Purpose  – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the  one  thing they should be thinking about

Participation  – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning

Praise  – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability

Pace  – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning

Passion  – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally.

Children will be taught how to read as follows:

Before you start to teach your child, practice saying the sounds below. These are the sounds we use to speak in English. Children initially begin using pictures for each sound, this will help children recognise the sound and then form the shape of the sound. 

We use  pure sounds  (‘m’ not’ muh’,’s’ not ‘suh’, etc.) so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily.

At school we use a puppet called Fred who is an expert on sounding out words! we call it, ‘Fred Talk’. E.g. m-o-p, c-a-t, m-a-n, sh-o-p, b-l-a-ck.

The following video is an example of blending sounds with Fred.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEzfpod5w_Q

RWI Set 1, 2 and 3

The children are taught the sounds in 3 sets.

Set 1 Sounds  are taught in the following order together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending.

At this stage we do not use the letter names

Use the link below to support your pronunciation  sounds correctly.

https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/#lg=1&slide=3

The children are then taught  Set 2  Sounds  - the long vowels. When they are very confident with all of set 1 and 2 they are taught  Set 3 Sounds.

Nonsense words (Alien words)- What 'a load' or nonsense!        

As well as learning to read and blend real words children will have plenty of opportunities to apply their sound recognition skills on reading ‘Nonsense words’. These words will also feature heavily in the Year One Phonics Screening check in the summer term.  These words provide endless opportunities for children to apply and practice their thinking in a range of different contexts. 

How to say the sounds

Within all the  RWI sessions/books children will be exposed to  red  and  green  words to learn to help them to become speedy readers.  Red  words are words that are not easily decodable and challenge words to extend children’s vocabulary.  Green   words are linked to the sounds they have been learning and are easily decodable.

Dots and dashes represent the sound each letter makes.

During the RWI session children will read the book three times and at each new reading they will have plenty of opportunities to practise using their developing comprehension skills. You may have heard your child talking about ‘ hold, edit or build a sentence’.

Hold a sentence  is an activity that encourages children to remember a whole sentence while focusing on spelling and punctuation.

Build a sentence  is to give children the opportunity to create their own sentence to that shows the meaning of a word and edit a sentence allows the children to critique a sentence using their knowledge of spelling punctuation and grammar. Children complete a longer piece of independent writing, which gives them the opportunity to show off their creativity and to practice their spelling, grammar and punctuation.

To help at home:

Your child will start to bring books home when they are confident readers, relating to their reading stage. You will find they will bring home a phonics based book, this will aid application, speed and fluency- developing speedy reading!  Following on from this, they will bring a comprehension based book which will begin to enrich their reading, which will require decoding skills.  Only then, children will bring home enriched reading books which will enhance their understanding via inspirational language promoting depth to their understanding.

Parent video: Sound blending

Parent video: Reading the digraphs with your child

Parent video: Reading the bouncy sounds with your child

Useful websites for Parents

Please find a list of websites that you may find useful in helping you and your child  learn about phonics. Games and fun activity websites are also included.

https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/  - Information and resources to support phonics learning at home

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/  - fun games for the children to play

http://www.ictgames.com/literacy.html   - fun games for the children to play

http://www.firstschoolyears.com/   - fun games for the children to play

BBC Bitesize  - many games to play covering all areas of the curriculum

Read Write Inc guide for parents 

The following links provides lots of free  Read Write Inc. Phonics  resources to help your child, including eBooks, practice sheets and parent films. 

• Read Write Inc. guide for parents

Unfortunately not the ones with chocolate chips.

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Phonics – Read Write Inc.

Parent information:

RWI parents handout

Visit the parent pages on the Ruth Miskin Training website go to:

• https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents

Watch phonics videos using Set 1, 2 & 3 sounds:

• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo7fbLgY2oA_cFCIg9GdxtQ

Join Ruth Miskin Facebook:

• https://www.facebook.com/miskin.education

Read Free e-books for home reading:

• http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/Reading/

Use Oxford Owl for more help with Read Write Inc:

• https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/

What is Read Write Inc?

Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics complete literacy programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling.  The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. However, we continue to support our children if they still need support in their reading.

RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/ .

How will RWI be taught?

All children are assessed regularly by our RWI lead teacher so they work with children at the same level. This allows complete participation in lessons.

When appropriate, children will be introduced to the initial sounds in short sessions. To begin with we learn a sound a day. We use pure sounds so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily. 

In Reception all children will learn how to ‘read’ and ‘write’ all of the sounds in Set 1 and then taught how to blend these into words. Fred the frog helps the children to blend the sounds together which is then used to help children read. The teachers will often use the phrase ‘fred talk’ to sound out words. 

The children take part in lessons every day progressing to reading books. They also learn how to spell red words (words that cannot be sounded out) and 3/4 letter words during these lessons. 

Year One & Year Two

Children follow the same format as Reception but will work on complex sounds (Set 2 and 3 sounds) and read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last for one 40 minutes.  Once children become fluent speedy readers they will move onto the Language and Literacy programme in Year 1.

Speed Sounds: Set1, Set 2 and Set 3

Once your child knows all Set 1 sounds by sight and sound and uses them to blend to read words, we start teaching Set 2 initially and then Set 3 long vowel sounds. Your child will need to learn that most vowel sounds have more than one spelling.

There are 12 Set 2 ‘speed sounds’ that are made up of two or three letters which represent just one sound, e.g. ay as in play, ee as in tree and igh as in high. It is important that your child does not pronounce these as 2 or 3 separate sounds. When your child sees the ‘speed sound’ letters together in a word, they must say just one sound for these letters.

Set 1 Sounds are taught in the following order together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending.

RWI letter formation

Set 2 & 3 Sounds:

The children are then taught Set 2 Sounds – the long vowels. 

When they are very confident with all of set 1 and 2 they are taught Set 3 Sounds.

Home Reading

All children in EYFS and KS1 are given school books to read at home and there is an expectation that all pupils in EYFS, Y1 and Y2 read at home daily. Reading books are selected so that children take home blending books or reading books containing the sounds that have been taught in school. This gives the children the opportunity to embed the sounds that they have learned and to read with fluency. We ask that the children read their home reading book twice before selecting a new one. We also ask that the parents continue to read stories to their children to develop a love of storytelling and learn new vocabulary. 

How to use Oxford Owl Website for School and Home (video)

*Book bags go home weekly and must be returned on time. 

Children will also be able to login to the Oxford Owl website and have the opportunity to read their RWI e-books online. 

We are always happy to help support reading with your child at home. If you would like any more information about supporting your child to read, please ask your child’s class teacher or Mrs Murat or Mrs Azhar who will be more than happy to help.

Additionally, here are some fun phonics games that children can play at home to continue to practice reading.

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk

https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.co m/

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/5-7-years/letters-and-sounds

www.phonicsplay.co.uk

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Read Write Inc - Phonics

Transforming reading progress for every child in every school., jump to:   what is read write inc.   |   on-demand webinar   |   teacher resources   |   student resources   |   download evaluation pack.

• a comprehensive, robust, curriculum-aligned literacy program
• a ‘phonics first and fast’ approach, with all aspects of literacy connecting
• a program where every teacher is trained and confident to teach every child
• best implemented as a whole-school, consistent, systematic approach
• proven in both the UK and Australia as a program that delivers results.

The science of reading in practice

Join Pam McLeay, Oxford National Phonics Specialist, in exploring the science of reading research, how the research supports classroom teaching practices and the implications for primary educators. This webinar is presented in conversation with an expert panel of Primary educators who share their insights on how they have each achieved student success with a rigorous program of reading instruction.

Read Write Inc. Training

Read Write Inc. Phonics teaches children to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension. Our dynamic Ruth Miskin trainers demonstrate the activities step-by-step, using footage of real lessons. They help you practise and prepare before teaching and use management strategies to engage children and speed up progress. New blended packages combine the online training subscription with face-to-face training. View Training Information

Read Write Inc. Case Studies

Read more about how Dundee Beach School and Tennant Creek Primary School, Northern Territory, Toowong State School, Queensland and Coober Pedy Area School, South Australia implemented Read Write Inc. Phonics

See how Tennant Creek Primary School (NT) is using Read Write Inc to create fluent, enthusiastic readers, confident speakers and willing writers.

Video duration: 2m 39s

Teaching resources

• Includes all of the resources you'll need to successfully implement Read Write Inc. Phonics in your classroom.

• This Handbook contains detailed teaching notes for teaching Speed Sounds Sets 1, 2 and 3, and for reading and writing lessons for the Red to Orange Storybooks, Non-fiction books and Get Writing! books.
• Guidance on assessment and timetabling is also included for easy implementation.
• Now also included as part of Read Write Inc. Phonics Online.

• This Handbook contains detailed teaching notes for teaching Speed Sounds Sets 1, 2 and 3, and for reading and writing lessons for the Yellow to Grey Storybooks, Non-fiction books and Get Writing! books.

Reading Leader Handbook

• This Handbook contains everything you need to manage Read Write Inc. in your school.
• It provides the Reading Leader with advice on how to build an effective team of reading teachers, with guidance for day-to-day coaching and monitoring.
• There are detailed assessment, grouping and tracking systems to ensure students complete the program quickly.

Speed Sounds posters support the teaching of sounds and graphemes and provide a quick review of letter–sound correspondences.

Speed sounds cards introduce the 44 sounds and corresponding graphemes to enable students to decode words easily..

Green and Red Word Cards help students gain fluency when reading the words independently.

• Magnetic Sound Cards help children identify letter shapes and develop skills of blending and segmenting.
• Fred the Frog beanie toy is used to teach Fred Talk.

Student resources

TAB 1: 195553 - Storybooks

TAB 2: 195588

TAB 3: 195595

TAB 4: 195571

• Allow for practice of known graphemes, and new graphemes and introduced in a controlled sequence.
• Closely match the students' increasing knowledge of phonics.
• Activities at the start of the books help children to practise the sounds and words they will encounter in the story.
• Questions to talk about at the end of the story provide an extra opportunity for developing childrens comprehension.

• Fully decodable take-home readers, uniquely matched to Read Write Inc. Phonics Storybooks.
• Provide practice for children learning the Set 1, 2 and 3 Sounds.
• Contain a wide range of stunning illustrations and a variety of text types including fiction, non-fiction, letters, diaries, fairy tales, and more!
• Contain supportive notes for parents and carers.

• Guidance is given on teaching vocabulary and synonyms in dedicated vocabulary activities
• A six-step writing process is provided, from rehearsing sentences to writing extended compositions.
• Activities are matched to the reading materials at every level of the program.
• Students practise transcribing and correcting sentences, and are taught how to write fiction and non-fiction texts.

eBook Library

The Read Write Inc. Phonics eBook Library Subscription on Oxford Owl for School gives you access to 109 eBooks: the core Storybooks, plus some additional non-fiction titles. Subscribers can also access end-of-book quizzes for each eBook, plus interactive activities for phonics practice at home covering Speed Sounds Sets 1, 2 and 3, Green Words and all the Red Words. The eBook Library is designed to support student learning at home – whether that’s for consolidation or for remote learning. Teachers can assign eBooks to individual pupils, groups of pupils, or a whole class, and track what they have read, helping to ensure that pupils are reading books at exactly the right phonic level.

Series contains: 95 Read Write Inc. Phonics core Storybooks – from Sound Blending through to Grey level 14 Read Write Inc. Phonics non-fiction titles – from Green to Grey level End-of-book quizzes for each eBook Interactive activities for phonics practice at home

Register and download your Read Write Inc. Phonics Evaluation Pack:

Uncover the features of Read Write Inc. with this evaluation pack that showcases sample pages from the series. REQUEST EVALUATION PACK

What's inside Read Write Inc. Phonics?

Detailed and easy-to-follow handbooks for implementation, assessment and tracking progress, and lesson plans for phonics, reading, writing, spelling and grammar, 100 lively, fully decodable storybooks and 35 non-fiction titles, matched writing books to develop writing from simple sentences to extensive texts, sounds cards, friezes, posters, magnetic sounds cards and word cards to support teaching, plentiful online resources.

Teacher resources

Handbook 1 contains everything you need to teach the Red to Orange lessons. Handbook 2 contains everything for the Yellow to Grey lessons. Each handbook includes day-by-day lesson plans that integrate Speed Sounds lessons and comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, handwriting and composition lessons.

The handbook provides:

• advice on how to build a strong team of reading teachers
• constructive guidance for day-to-day coaching and monitoring
• detailed assessment, grouping and tracking systems to ensure students complete the program quickly
• one-to-one tutoring plans to ensure every student succeeds.

• There are eight levels of storybooks from Red Ditty books to Grey Storybooks.
• They closely match the students’ increasing knowledge of phonics.
• Non-fiction is included at every level to give variety and depth.
• All the Storybooks allow for practice of known graphemes, and new graphemes are introduced in a controlled sequence.
• Black-and-white versions of the books are available for students to take home.

• 75 Book Bag Books, for take home reading, matched to Read Write Inc. Storybooks, from Set 1 Green to Set 7 Grey.
• Review of Story Green Words and phonic content from the corresponding Read Write Inc. Storybook increases opportunities for reading practice, leading to faster progress.
• Comprehension activities in each book, including brand new, highly visual 'Retell the Story' and 'Questions to Chat About'.

Read Write Inc. Phonics training

Download our phonics whitepaper

Explore the Read Write Inc. series

Request a Read Write Inc. Phonics consultation

Oxford professional development hub, enhance your teaching skills with our wealth of insights informed by research and classroom practice..

Explore our new destination for quality educator resources featuring live professional learning events, over 15 hours of on-demand videos, complimentary access to our latest research and advice and an extensive collection of teacher education books to help you succeed in the classroom.

Oxford Education Blog

The latest news and views on education from oxford university press..

Help your children become confident readers for the Phonics Screening Check

The phonics screening check takes place every year in the summer term in England for Year 1 children. This is an informal process for checking the phonics knowledge of each of your children. However, it’s not a formal test, so it’s important that when children sit down with you, their teacher, they are relaxed, comfortable and as confident as they can be to undergo the 40-word phonics screening check.

Read Write Inc. Phonics has some great resources that can support your children and give them that extra practice they might need before they do the check. Best of all, the activities are fun and children will love trying them out.

Here’s a round-up of the different Read Write Inc. Phonics resources available to you, so you can support your children in the classroom as well as at home.

My Speed Sounds Books        

These two pocket-sized books provide excellent Read Write Inc. Phonics Speed Sounds practice at home and include clear notes for parents so they can support their children’s reading. You can find more product information here .

Pocket-sized books provide excellent Speed Sounds practice at home, for Sets 1, 2 and 3 .

Sound Blending Books                           

These simple, one-word-per-page books provide extra practice for those children who are learning to blend words and are great to send home.  They can be used for individual or partner practice. Find out more .

Additional Speed Sounds Cards                       

The Read Write Inc. Phonics Online subscription on Oxford Owl provides additional Speed Sounds cards to help you and your children prepare for the phonics screening check. You can download and print these easily, as part of your subscription.

Phonics Practice at Home activities  

Did you know there are over 100 quizzes on the Read Write Inc. Phonics eBook Library to help with Speed Sounds practice? As a subscriber, you can also support your children by giving them access to interactive activities for phonics practice at home.

Speed Sounds slideshows

Children can have lots of fun with the Speed Sounds slideshows for Sets 1, 2, and 3 and Additional Speed Sounds on Oxford Owl . Children really enjoy seeing how quickly they can say the sounds, as the slideshows can be speeded up to suit the children.

Free Speed Sounds practice sheets  

You can download these free practice sheets for consolidation and practising writing the graphemes from the Read Write Inc. parents page on Oxford Owl for home . Again, these are perfect for sending home for extra practice.

Useful resources in Oxford Owl

Find a list of key resources that are most useful for preparing for the phonics screening check available in your Read Write Inc. Phonics Online subscription in one place .

Additional support for parents and carers

Don’t forget that there is lots of useful support for parents on Oxford Owl for home including this handy information guide on the phonics screening check.  Share this link with them so they know what to expect and can support their child at home.

Ruth Miskin Training

The RMT  Online Subscription  includes a wealth of training films, resources, and a special PSC module to get you straight to the support that will make the biggest difference. The  Get to grips with graphemes  regional training also runs this time of year – find it under ‘Leadership Training’. And in-school Development Days, part of the RMT training package, give bespoke support to help you find solutions that will work for your school and for your children.

Looking for more PSC support? Visit our new PSC support hub for more guidance on how to best prepare to make the biggest difference for phonics screening success this year.

Read more blogs from the Oxford Primary team:

• Ruth Miskin: How to help every child climb to the top of the reading ladder
• What’s next after Floppy’s Phonics?
• What’s next after Essential Letters and Sounds?
• How to get your classroom ready for Read Write Inc. Phonics

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Rwi phonics set 1

Comprehensive RWI Read Write Inc Phonics Bundle: Sets 1 , 2, and 3 sounds

RWI Set 1 Green Word Flashcards for Phonics Mastery: Practice Decoding Sounds

RWI phonics set 1 , set 2 & set 3 Reading Comprehension bundle ( Set of 4 books)

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Rigid approach to teaching phonics is 'joyless' and is failing children in England, experts warn

E xperts have released robust research to show that phonics should be taught hand-in-hand with reading and writing to encourage true literacy and a love of reading, not through narrow synthetic phonics.

There is widespread disagreement globally across academic and educational spheres about the best way to teach children to learn to read and write. Despite a growing international trend towards a narrow approach to synthetic phonics, experts suggest there is a 'better way' to teach reading and writing.

In England, the system is among the most prescriptive in the world with 'synthetic phonics' being the method required by government. Yet in England, in 2023 the national tests at the end of primary education showed that 27% of children did not meet the standard in reading and 29% did not meet the standard for writing.

Latest research, including a new paper published in Literacy and featuring in upcoming book The Balancing Act , shows that the evidence does not support the efficacy of this approach—and experts are calling for an overhaul of the system to bring 'joy' back into reading.

"We know that being literate not only sets the foundation for better academic and socio-economic outcomes, but also that reading can support personal, social, and emotional development, enabling better mental health and greater capacity for empathy and critical thinking—we must stop letting children down," authors and education experts Dominic Wyse and Charlotte Hacking explain.

Synthetic phonics

Schools in England are required by the national curriculum to teach reading and writing using a system called "synthetic phonics," which involves a narrow emphasis on learning about sounds (phonemes) and the letters that stand for those sounds.

But Wyse and Hacking say these policies are in danger of harming children's education and are "a product of political ideology not in children's best interests."

Although synthetic phonics schemes can now be found in many classrooms across the world, the latest trend initially started in England. Wyse and Hacking explain how in England, teachers face a unique set of pressures to adopt synthetic phonics as the only approach.

They outline how schools are very strongly encouraged by government Department for Education (DfE) policies to buy often expensive commercial synthetic phonics schemes, and the synthetic phonics policy is also enforced by the inspectorate Ofsted. Children aged 6 are tested in phonics and the results are entered into the national pupil database, with those data used to hold the schools and teachers to account.

Wyse explains, "When children in England are about age six (Year 1) they must all sit a national test to decode a list of individual words that includes nonsense words. In 2023 21% of children did not achieve the expected standard—this is despite more than a decade of this synthetic phonics approach. Clearly, it isn't working. Our research shows a more effective way to teach reading and writing."

Previous research, laid out in the book, shows that the potential consequences for children not progressing sufficiently well in reading and writing are profound, and include being less able to access vital services in society; higher probability of poorer mental health, lower wages in life, and even of ending up in prison.

"Despite a wealth of research and scientific evidence to show there are multiple effective ways to teaching reading and writing, the only permitted way is synthetic phonics," Hacking explains.

A balanced approach

In 2022 a landmark research paper by Wyse and Alice Bradbury concluded that a balanced approach to teaching reading was more effective than a narrow synthetic phonics approach.

The paper provided some clear evidence-based recommendations about changes to policy and practice, which were not taken up. The Balancing Act goes further, not least by giving a vivid and detailed account of a new approach to teaching.

Hacking and Wyse, who have extensively examined the evidence, are now promoting a "balanced approach," focusing on using beloved children's texts to systematically teach the key elements that are vital to learn to read and write, including phonics.

This approach to teaching is explicitly built on new analyses of the most robust research studies undertaken to determine what are the most effective ways to teach phonics, reading, and writing.

They explain: "With this approach, the importance of comprehending and composing the meaning of written language is carefully balanced with the acquisition of a range of skills and knowledge. This enables pupils to see the real purposes for reading and writing.

"Instead of focusing narrowly on the sounds that letters represent, this approach also prioritizes the comprehension of text, the grammar of sentences, and teaching writing to help reading. The balanced approach is about understanding the structure of words and language as a whole." Contrary to a myth that some people have promoted, a balanced approach is not 'whole language' teaching in disguise.

This approach is summarized in a new theory and model, called "The Double Helix of Teaching Reading and Writing" . The underpinning research of the "The Double Helix of Reading and Writing," has also been published in Literacy .

Using 'real' books

Underpinning this balanced approach is the use of "real books," which are of "outstanding quality, inclusive, and diverse in their representations of people and places."

Under synthetic phonics schemes, children are usually given formulaic "decodable" texts designed to repeat a certain sound to encourage familiarization with the sound and a limited number of simple words. In some stages of the synthetic phonics program, the reading of whole texts may even be discouraged, but Wyse and Hacking believe the emphasis should be much more strongly on comprehending and enjoying real whole texts.

"Delighting in real books brings learning to life. This engages children and sustains their motivation to read and write for real purposes and for pleasure," they explain.

Wyse continues, "Instead of the drive to support money-making from synthetic phonics schemes our approach puts the work of authors of books for children center stage. Otherwise, children miss out on the art of outstanding illustrator authors, puns, wordplay, imagination, curiosity, creativity and so much more. Our approach is a far cry from narrow synthetic phonics lessons, which even when taught expertly simply haven't the same appeal for children."

"Meaning drives our approach to teaching reading and writing. It is the essence of human language, hence it should be the essence of teaching," Hacking continues. "Teaching about sounds is meaningless unless it is contextualized in words, sentences and whole texts."

The experts argue that motivating children to read and write is foundational to the balanced approach, and it begins with engaging children through high-quality books.

More information: Dominic Wyse et al, The Balancing Act: An Evidence-Based Approach to Teaching Phonics, Reading and Writing, Literacy (2024). DOI: 10.4324/9781003442134

Dominic Wyse et al, Decoding, reading and writing: the double helix theory of teaching, Literacy (2024). DOI: 10.1111/lit.12367

Provided by Taylor & Francis

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• Phonics screening check: information for parents
• Standards & Testing Agency

Phonics screening check 2024: information for parents (text only version)

Updated 21 May 2024

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] .

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phonics-screening-check-information-for-parents/phonics-screening-check-2024-information-for-parents-text-only-version

1. Do you have a child in year 1 at primary school?

If so, your child will take part in the phonics screening check in June.

The phonics screening check is a check of your child’s phonics knowledge. It helps your school confirm whether your child is making the progress expected in the national curriculum.

With some exceptions, all pupils who have reached the age of 6 by the end of the school year must take the check during that academic year, including those in maintained nursery schools. For most pupils, this will be in year 1.

In 2024, the check will take place during the week commencing Monday 10 June.

2. What is phonics?

Phonics is an effective way of teaching children to read. By ensuring high quality phonics teaching, we want to improve literacy levels and give all children a solid base to build on as they progress through school.

Through phonics, children are taught how to:

• recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes
• identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make, such as ‘sh’ or ‘oo’
• blend these sounds together from left to right to make a word

Children can then use this knowledge to ‘decode’ new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read.

3. What is the phonics screening check?

The phonics screening check contains 40 words divided into two sections of 20 words. Both sections contain a mixture of real words and pseudo-words.

Pseudo-words are words that are phonically decodable but are not actual words with an associated meaning. They are included in the check specifically to assess whether your child can decode a word using their phonics skills.

All pseudo-words in the check are accompanied by a picture of an imaginary creature. Children are taught that when a word has a creature next to it, it is a pseudo-word. This ensures that they are not trying to match the pseudo-word to a word in their vocabulary.

The check is designed to give teachers information on how your child is progressing in phonics. It will help to identify whether your child needs additional support at this stage so that they do not fall behind in this vital early reading skill.

4. Do I need to do anything to prepare my child for the check?

Phonics works best when children are given plenty of encouragement and learn to enjoy reading and books. Parents play a very important part in helping with this.

You can highlight the phonics sounds when you read with your child. Teaching how sounds match with letters is likely to start with individual letters such as ‘s’, ‘a’ and ‘t’ and will then move on to two-letter sounds such as ‘ee’, ‘ch’ and ‘ck’.

With all books, encourage your child to ‘sound out’ unfamiliar words and then blend the sounds together from left to right rather than looking at the pictures to guess. Once your child has read an unfamiliar word, you can talk about what it means and help them to follow the story.

Your child’s teacher will also be able to suggest books with the right level of phonics for your child. These books are often called ‘decodable readers’ because the story is written with words made up of the letters your child has learnt. Your child will be able to work out new words from their letters and sounds, rather than just guessing.

Most schools use book bags and a reading record, which is a great way for teachers and parents to communicate about what children have read. The reading record can tell you whether your child has enjoyed a particular book and shows problems or successes they have had, either at home or at school.

5. How will the results be used?

Schools will have access to all their pupils’ results to identify those who need additional support and make plans to help them improve.

The Department for Education does not publish school-level results for the phonics screening check, but schools will have access to  national, regional and local authority results  to allow them to benchmark their pupils’ performance.

6. Will I receive feedback on my child’s check?

Your child’s teacher will share your child’s score with you in the second half of the summer term.

If your child has found the check difficult, the school should tell you what support they have put in place to help your child improve. You might like to ask how you can support your child to take the next steps in reading.

Children who have not met the standard in year 1 will re-take the check in year 2. The results of any re-take will also be shared with you.

7. Further information

Your child’s teacher will be able to answer any questions about the phonics screening check. For further details, you can also visit  www.gov.uk/STA .

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Read Write Inc Set 2 - Home Learning Pack 1

Subject: English

Age range: 5-7

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

14 January 2021

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This is the first in a series of packs that use the order that sounds are taught in the Read Write Inc phonics scheme.

This pack covers the sounds ay ee igh and ow . The pack is designed to be used at home to support learning but can also be used for interventions in school.

The pack includes these activities for reading and writing:

• revising previous taught sounds
• identifying focus sound
• letter formation ideas
• word reading
• identifying correct spellings
• sentence reading
• revise spelling words using the focus sounds
• revise reading words using the focus sounds

This pack contains 27 pages which includes a front cover and credit page.

Creative Commons "NoDerivatives"

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Super resource for Year 1 homework. Thanks :)

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