What is Read Write Inc phonics?

What is Phonics?

Phonics is a way of teaching children to read quickly and skilfully. They are taught how to:

Recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes;
Identify the sounds that different combinations of letters (Special friends) make – such as ‘sh’ or ‘oo’; and
Blend these sounds together from left to right to make a word.
Children can then use this knowledge to ‘de-code’ (Fred Talk) new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read.

How will RWI be taught?

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

Reading

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.

Writing

The children:

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 

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

1. Purpose – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about
2. Participation – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning
3. Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability
4. Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning
5. Passion – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally.

Daily handwriting

Children learn the correct letter formation as part of their daily Speed Sounds Lesson. We use the mnemonics to help children visualise the letter before they write it down. In the ‘Write the letters’ activity in the lesson, children practise saying the handwriting phrase and the sound as they form the letter in the air and then write the sound on paper. 

Fred Talk

Fred the Frog puppet plays an important role in our Read Write Inc lessons. Fred is only able to speak in sounds, not whole words. We call this Fred Talk.

For example, Fred would say m-a – t we would say mat. Fred talk helps children read unfamiliar words by pronouncing each sound in the word one at a time. Children can start blending sounds into words as soon as they know a small group of letters well. During lessons children are taught to hear sounds and blend them together in sequence to make a word. We start with blending oral sounds, then progress to reading the letters and blending them together to read the word.