Across the country, schools are working harder than ever to fill their nursery places. With falling pupil numbers and funding linked to enrolment, headteachers and EYFS leads know how important it is to attract families early on and keep them with the school for the long term. The challenge is clear: parents have choices. From …
What is Phase 5 phonics? Phase 5 phonics is usually taught in Year 1 and marks a shift from learning new sounds to broadening phonics knowledge. Children explore alternative ways to spell familiar sounds, encounter new graphemes, and tackle more challenging words. This phase helps develop fluency, confidence and more accurate spelling — all vital …
Continue reading “Your Guide to Teaching Phase 5 Phonics: Graphemes, Digraphs & More”
What is Phase 4 phonics? Phase 4 phonics is all about strengthening the skills children have developed so far — particularly blending and segmenting. No new graphemes are introduced at this stage. Instead, children learn to read and spell words with adjacent consonants, such as trap, frog, and clamp. These blends can be tricky to …
What are the tricky words in Phase 3? As children move into Phase 3, they start to come across words that can’t be decoded using their current phonics knowledge — and that’s where tricky words come in. These are words that don’t follow the usual phonics rules or include sounds that haven’t been introduced yet. …
What is Phase 3 phonics? Phase 3 phonics builds on the knowledge children gain in Phase 2. Once they’re confident with single-letter sounds and can blend simple CVC words, Phase 3 introduces them to more complex graphemes — including digraphs and trigraphs — so they can read and spell a wider range of words. It’s …
Phase 1 sets the foundations for everything that comes next — and in my view, it’s the most important phase of phonics. Once children are confident with listening skills, sound discrimination and oral blending, they’re ready to move on to Phase 2. This is where they start learning specific letter–sound correspondences and begin reading and …
Continue reading “What Is Phase 2 Phonics? Everything EYFS Teachers Need to Know”
If you’ve been teaching phonics for any length of time, you’ll know that not every word plays by the rules. That’s where tricky words come in. These are the words that can’t be sounded out, and children need to recognise them as whole words. In this post, we’re breaking down what tricky words are, how …
Continue reading “What Are Tricky Words in Phonics? A Guide for EYFS & KS1 Teachers”
Sound buttons are marks placed under letters or graphemes to show the sounds (phonemes) in a word. They help children segment and blend because the sounds are mapped clearly onto the word. They are useful in daily phonics sessions, guided reading and interventions, especially when pupils need support hearing each sound and blending them back …
Continue reading “What Are Sound Buttons in Phonics? A Practical Guide for Teachers”
Time-saving year 2 phonics screening check resources and information for year 1 and 2 teachers.
Time-saving year 1 phonics screening check resources and information to help you prepare for the check.
Time-saving year 1 phonics screening check resources and information to help you prepare for the check.
Read about our exciting range with Katie from Phonics Family – making phonics fun and creative!
Get a summary of the main points of the DfE Reading Framework 2021.
Remember to check our our new FREE online phonics games! Coming up with free phonics play ideas is actually easier than it sounds! Since children who are learning phonics are usually in the 3-7 age range, it also makes total sense to make any phonics learning activities as fun and playful as possible. But how …
Phonics games are fun! And here’s one that’s super easy to make both for teachers and parents at home with their own children. We’ve put together an Obb and Bob Phonics Sorting Game resource pack for you to try, either for preparation for the Phonics Screening Check or just for consolidation in your phonics sessions. …
Continue reading “How to Make an Obb and Bob Phonics Sorting Game”
Do you want a fresh approach to the Phonics Screening Check 2020? Need some phonics screening resources that are a bit different to what you used last year? Then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve been working really hard to make phonics screening resources that give you the information and content you need, and …
