The Allanson Street Approach to Teaching Phonics
Subject leaders: Miss Ellis and Mrs Onyett
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr Seuss.
At Allanson Street, we want our children to be given every opportunity in life and as such we strive to build in them the ability to read for pleasure and the skills and knowledge to become independent, life-long learners – both of which we know are possible when children have a secure phonological knowledge.
At Allanson Street Primary School, we are using the Read Write Inc (RWI) programme, which is a method of learning based upon letter sounds and phonics. We are determined that all of our children will become fluent, confident readers who love a good book!
The programme is for:
· Children in Nursery from the summer term
· Children in Reception to Year 2 who are learning to read and write.
· Children in Year 2 who have completed the RWI programme and moved onto RWI Comprehension.
· Children in Years 3 and 4 who need to catch up rapidly.
· Children in Years 5 and 6 who require further support and, as such, access the Fresh Start Programme.
Below is a simple guide to the RWI programme along with some useful links. Please take the time to read this invaluable information as it will help you to support your child with their reading. Miss Ellis is our Read Write Inc lead teacher, so if you have questions about RWI, please contact her via the school office.
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics programme which helps all children learn to read accurately, and at speed, so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling. It also allows them to spell
effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into composing what they write.
Small group phonics lessons are taught daily by trained staff with consistent expectations applied across the range of abilities. Pupils are taught to work effectively with a partner to explain and consolidate what they are learning. This provides the teacher with opportunities to assess learning and to pick up on difficulties, such as problems with blending or alphabetic code knowledge. At the end of each half term, the children are assessed to check on their progress and regrouped where necessary.
We make sure that children read books that are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and the common exception words. This is so that, early on, they experience success and gain confidence in themselves as readers. We use the RWI story book bag books, which are sent home each week, alongside the story books read in school. Children who are beginning to blend, take home sound blending books to practise blending at home.
This is what they look like:
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Other phonetically decodable books will be set via ‘Oxford Owl’ and are accessible to read at home and in school. Each child will be provided with their individual log-in information for Oxford Owl by their class teacher. You will find it on the inside cover of their home school diary.
Teachers also regularly read a wide range of stories, poetry and non-fiction to pupils during dedicated story time each day
Five key principles underpin teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:
Purpose – To ensure both staff and children understand the purpose of the activity.
Participation – To ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning.
Praise – To ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability.
Pace – To teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning.
Passion – For adults to demonstrate their passion for the teaching of reading so that children develop this same level of passion and love of reading for themselves.