Read Write Inc; a systematic approach to the teaching of phonics programme:

At Poplars Primary School, we teach phonics using the Read Write Inc (RWI) programme developed by Ruth Miskin.

The programme is for:

● Pupils in the nursery will be introduced to RWI;

● Pupils in Year R to Year 2 who are learning to read and write;

● Any pupils in Years 2, 3 and 4 who need to catch up rapidly.

Children who are not yet able to read fluently at an age-expected standard will continue to receive intensive support so that no effort is spared during their time at Poplars to prepare them for their next stage.

We teach pupils to:

 ● Decode letter-sound correspondences quickly and effortlessly, using their phonic       

    knowledge  and skills;

● Read ‘tricky’ words on sight;

● Understand what they read;

● Read aloud with fluency and expression;

● Write confidently, with a strong focus on vocabulary and grammar;

● Spell quickly and easily by segmenting the sounds in words;

● Acquire good handwriting.

In addition, we teach pupils 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 pupils’ poor articulation, or problems with blending or alphabetic code knowledge. We aim to group pupils homogeneously, according to their progress in reading rather than their writing. This is because it is known that pupils’ progress in writing will lag behind progress in reading, especially for those whose motor skills are less well developed.

In Early Years we emphasise the alphabetic code. The pupils rapidly learn sounds and the letter or groups of letters they need to represent them. Simple mnemonics help them to grasp this quickly. This is especially useful for pupils at risk of making slower progress. This learning is consolidated daily. Pupils have frequent practice in reading high frequency words with irregular spellings – ‘tricky words’.

We make sure that pupils read books that are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and the ‘tricky words’. This is so that, early on, they experience success and gain confidence that they are readers. Re-reading and discussing these books with the teacher supports their increasingly fluent decoding.

Our aim is for pupils to complete the phonics programme as quickly as possible. The sooner they complete it, the sooner they will be able to choose books to read at their own interest and comprehension level.

As part of the programme the children have a daily 60 minute phonic lessons and during this lesson they will have: 

• Speed sound lesson – introduced to new sound and recap all sounds (a new sound is taught every day working from Set 1, Set 2, Set 3 and Extra Sounds) 

• Read Green Words (words that contain a new sound or a previously taught sound – see further information below) 

• Read Red Words (non-decodable high frequency words – see further information below) 

• Read ‘Alien Words’ (made up from all sounds) 

• Fred Finger Spelling 

• Spelling rule activity 

• Hold a Sentence (dictation – based on new or previously taught sound – see further information below) 

Green Words 

Green words are important words that the children will encounter in the story that they can phonetically decode. They are split into Speedy Green (Words that children will encounter often) and Story Green (Words that are specific to the story). 

Firstly, children practise reading these words together with their teacher. They discuss the meanings of these words where needed so that children understand this new vocabulary before they begin reading. 

Children then practise reading their green words. 

Red Words 

These are words that children cannot use their sounds to read and need to be recognised by sight. Children practise and discuss these words with their teacher. 

Hold a sentence 

This is a dictation activity. The teacher will read a sentence and practise saying this whole sentence with the children. Next, the teacher will model how to write this sentence using the correct punctuation. This will then be hidden. The children then write this sentence from memory. Finally, the children check their sentences against the teacher model.