Our Top Tips for Teaching Phonics
We have been asked to write a blog on our top tips for teaching phonics, so we have thought very hard about what we would suggest as our top tips for phonics. Below are our top tips for delivering successful phonics in the early years and key stage 1.
1. Make teaching phonics playful: Vygotsky famously said “In play children are a foot taller than themselves!”. As a company we wholeheartedly believe that is true, we see the capacity (or Zone of Proximal Development) of what children can achieve extended in play and interactions with others. Although, we cannot make phonics play in it is truest form, as play is uninterrupted, child-led and without objectives or outcomes; however, we can make it playful. Use props, toys, games, arts and crafts get creative!
2. Make teaching phonics hands on and interactive: Young children are physical and were not designed to sit still and listen, so make teaching hands on, physical and interactive. Children need to move their bodies when they are learning and to be active participants in the process. Do activities that encourage children to cross the midlines in their bodies, we know that this has been proven to help brain development – so let’s get moving in teaching phonics.
3. Make sure you know how to pronounce the sounds properly: Although this one might sound really obvious the way that children are taught phonics now to the way we learnt as children is probably different and it is important, we learn the sounds right. Otherwise we are going to add confusion or sounds to their writing, for example, common mistakes are things such as ‘s’ is said as ‘sa’ adding the ‘a’ sound to the end, or ‘u’ becomes ‘ur’ or ‘n’ as ‘na’. Which then becomes a problem if children are spelling out word as sun become saurna. There are plenty of youtube videos showing how to correctly pronounce sounds and it is well worth looking and using them as well as sharing these links with parents.
4. Work with parents as partners in learning: Parents are such a valuable asset they are who spend the most time with the children and are there primary educators. So, make sure that you work well with parents, sharing with them what you are doing and learning and how you teach. Things such as doing a parent workshop, inviting them into a phonics session to join in activities, leaflets, home learning phonics bags or sharing videos/activities at home ideas.
5. Use your children’s interests: If you follow you children’s interests and motivations you are far likely to see a higher level of engagement and learning within the activity. For example, if you have a child who is really interested in the fire service then incorporate this into your phonics activities. You could do things such as using a hose to wash of the letters in flames on the fence, or setting up a fire tuff tray and rescuing the magnetic letters from the fire with a magnet.
6. Using rhymes and songs: rhymes and songs are so important when we are teaching phonics, they help children develop those all-important communication and language skills, extending children’s vocabulary, listening skills, awareness of rhyme and rhythm and alliteration.
7. Teach phonics outside not just inside: Phonics does not have to be just inside sat at a table; it doesn’t have to be in the ‘traditional’ box of teaching. There are plenty of opportunities for phonics outside as well as inside. For example, going on letter hunts, mark-making in mud, weaving phonics activities into the mud kitchen and so on; the possibilities are endless.
8. Weave phonics activities throughout your continuous provision: Phonics activities can easily be weaved throughout your continuous provision like all areas of learning children do not learn in isolation all areas are intertwined and interlinked to one another. For example, within your small world area you can set up phonics activities such as cross the river or intertwine that into children’s play. Practice using the sounds you are learning in the mud kitchen to make menus and take orders.
9. Observe your children and monitor engagement: It is really important that we take the time to stand back and observe children and monitor levels of engagement in phonics activities that we have set up. For example, while fishing for letter shells in the water tray, are they children focused and engaged, do they use the activity, how long are they staying at it, are they being extended to say the sounds they find, does an adult need to support the learning intention, is it okay they have taken the activity in their own direction, what learning skills and peer collaboration can we see?
10. Reflect on your environment: I cannot recommend doing this enough it is so important and insightful to practise. I highly recommend doing a tracking observation where you look and see what areas of your environment (I tend to draw a map) children and adults are in at different intervals throughout a session. This will give you insights such as ‘the writing area is never used’ – why is that? Is it inviting? Do you need a writing area? Could it be incorporated into all areas of the environment? Is it what is to offer in that area? Or another example is, ‘tuff tray with mark-making opportunities in coloured sand and letters, used for first five minutes and not used for the rest of session’ – why is that? Was it an engaging activity, did children need an adult to model, did it appeal to the groups interests – would another group of children have of stayed longer? It is really worth doing and will give you lots of valuable insights!
Written by Pauline Milsted
Director at Growing Together
Creative Ways of Using Phonics Flashcards
We are probably all guilty of having a pack or two of phonics flashcards in our classroom, nursery or preschool; even though this may be considered by some a dated practice and a form of traditional education that is no longer perceived as developmentally appropriate practice. Over recent years we have learnt a lot about how children learn and develop, we know that children are active learners, who learn through play and exploration and hands-on experiences.
The great theorist Piaget believed that children construct knowledge around them through developing mental structures (schemas) that we develop and change through our experience and interaction with the world around us. Where children either accommodate (adapt current ideas to include new ones) or assimilate (create new ideas) as a result of new knowledge and experiences. (McCloed 2018). Piaget was famously quoted to say that “Children have real understanding only of things in which they event!” He felt that it was important to allow children to explore and construct knowledge through play and being given the opportunities to develop their ideas for themselves. They do not learn and develop through being told, but by experiencing and doing is where true learning comes.
Similarly, Vygotsky theorised that children are always a foot taller than themselves in play. He recognised that when children are playing and exploring, they show a greater depth and understanding of learning. They use more in-depth language, higher social skills and skills that are far beyond their normal activities. This is why when we are using our phonics flashcards, we want to make it playful and engaging for children, although, we recognise that this is not true play rather just playful. As true play is uninterrupted, child-led and doesn’t have a planned outcome. Nevertheless, though I do believe that by making our use of phonics flashcards playful, interactive, hands-on and more engaging there is a higher level of learning then simply showing children a flashcard and getting them to repeat the sound.
So, let’s get creative and dust of the phonics flashcards and develop some interactive activities/hands on experiences for children.
1. Letter formation in small trays – use phonics flashcards alongside small trays of items such as salt, coloured sand, coloured rice, paint or PVA glue. Encourage children to copy the formation of the letters in their small individual tray, you can be creative and use a wide range of things to mark-make from fingers, paintbrushes, cars, trains, sticks, fir cones, to feathers.
2. Hide and seek phonics flashcards – hide phonics flashcards around your indoor or outdoor area and go on a sound hunt. Get the children to say the sound they have found, or model the sound to them.
3. Phonics flashcard snap – turn your phonics flashcards into a turn taking game of snap. Great for developing turn-taking and concentration skills.
4. Phonics flashcard memory game – turn your phonics flashcards into a memory game. Take it in turns to find pairs that match. Again, perfect for developing turn-taking skills, concentration skills, learning rules and boundaries of games and developing those all-important memory skills.
5. Phonics Flashcards Walk – Hole punch the flashcards and put them on some string that can go around children’s necks comfortable. Go on a walk and see how many times your children can find the sound they are wearing. You can introduce mathematics doing simple tally charts. Or ICT by taking photographs of them with the sound that they are wearing.
6. Hunt the phonics flashcards in the sand pit – hide the phonics flashcards in the sandpit so the children have to dig and find them. Saying the sound as they find them.
7. Phonics flashcards movement game – Pop the different phonics flashcards around the room or outdoor area where children can see them and get them to move in different ways. For example, can you jump to the ‘s’? This is great for developing skills to listen and follow instructions and moving in different ways.
8. Phonics flashcards pass the parcel – Play pass the parcel with the phonics flashcards, pop the flashcards in a basket or box and pass it around the circle as the music plays. When the music stops the child holding the basket or box has to pick a flashcard and say the sound.
9. Phonics flashcards fishing – Staple the flashcards and put them in a tray of rice coloured blue. Use magnets to fish out your phonics flashcards.
10. I spy letters – Place your flashcards under a rectangle-based glass dish. Put a jar upside down in the glass dish, place in some coloured water of your choosing. Do not lift up the glass jar and it will create a viewing of what is below. Slide the jar around and see what sounds you can find hidden under the water.
11. Phonics flashcards bottle lid hockey - put a large piece of paper on the floor and divide the paper into sections. On either side of each section (up the left hand side and right hand side) place a phonics flashcard with some of the sounds you are learning. On each bottle lid write a vowel or diagraph you are learning such as ‘oo’. The children choose a bottle lid and push it along the paper to see how far it can go. They then read the sounds, for example c - a -t makes cat and have a list to write real and nonsense words.
12. Phonics flashcards hoop leap - Place a phonics flashcard in each hoop e.g. s - a - t and as children jump from one hoop to another they blend the sounds and say the word. You can also get them to make their own words and decide whether they are a nonsense word or a real word.
Growing together offers online 45-minute webinars on overview to phase one phonics and playful phase two phonics. We also offer packages where you can train your whole team (up to 30 people) online for £175 and we provide you with a three-hour training session on phonics (which can be split up across different days). To look at our current online training options please click here or email pauline@growingtogetherearlyyears.co.uk.
Written by Pauline Milsted
Director of Growing Together Developing Early Years