Clld Planning - Pre Writing & Letters And Sounds

[Guest]

Hello everyone! I hope you're all settling in ok!

I just wanted to ask what you are doing for literacy at the moment - we haven't started with letters and sounds yet, think we are going to introduce s and a this week. I have forgotten what I should be doing for whole class literacy sessions this time of year. I know last year we rushed into focus group activities too quickly and it went horribly wrong...and I've misplaced my memory sticks...!

 

Also, my FS coordinator who is also the nursery teacher taught my children last year and introduced each letter of the alphabet and each sound with each jingle. There are a few of children that have grasped the concept of the sound. I plan to use the Letters and Sounds schedule so will be teaching blending and segmenting with that. What do I do about those children that know their sounds a - z (not including double grapheme) Will I be holding those children back if I keep at the Letters and Sounds pace - I just don't want to expect children to be blending when I havent actually taught them the strategy? My fs coordinator is a bit panicky that I'll be holding those children back... can you advise what I should do please? Thank you so much!

 

Tash X

[Guest]

I have several children who have come to school from nursery (not a school nursery - we don't have one) who apparently 'know all letter sounds and can form most correctly' - yeah right!!

 

Have started doing my own assessments and a few do recognise letter sounds (certainly can't form correctly, if at all, not that I would expect them to be able to), and a couple can actually read and spell CVC words.

 

So once we start letters and sounds, most will be starting at Phase 2, with Phase 1 reinforcement, but the ones who are beyond this will start where they need to - which will probably be a couple of weeks revision and teaching of the Phase 2 tricky words, then onto Phase 3.

 

I find it difficult when parents have been told by nursery that they can do 'xyz', but that must be easier than your FS co-ordinator saying they can. If they can indeed do what she is saying, they will need to continue from where they got to, but if they are not/have forgotten it, they will need to redo.

 

Sorry if that doesn't help and I have rambled on!!

[catma]

They may have phoneme grapheme correspondence, but it's the using and applying of blending and segmenting that makes the difference - so you could whizz through phase 2 but focus on the blending/segmenting whilst assessing their independent competence with these PGCs and application into writing/reading and then get smartly into phase 3 - however they may know letters but have no oral blending/segmenting skills in which case as said above a hefty dose of strand 7/phase 1 is called for. Just go with what they need - the pace of the programme is dependent on your professional judgement.

cx

Edited September 9, 2008 by catma

[Guest]

Thank you very much ladies! when you say they can read and spell cvc words, do you mean they are blending and segmenting or is that just from sight recognition? they can't possibly have been taught those strategies in nursery?! also, once i have gone through phase 2 with those children who have PGC should I split the class up and move those children on with phase 3 while my TA takes those ch still on phase 2 and does activitis based on those sounds?

thanks so much for your time!

Tash X

[Guest]

Amazingly, a few can read and spell CVC words by segmenting and blending! 3 have been to what I would call a very 'pushy' nursery (lots of the others who can apparently recognise/use letter sounds also went there), 1 didn't go there and I'm not yet sure where/how he learnt! He has a very good sight memory as well, so making 100% sure he is able to use phonics will be fun! I should point out that most recognise only a few letter sounds (or none at all), and of these, some can orally blend and/or segment, and some can't - I haven't got a totally amazing class!

 

In answer to your other question, I use my TA for phonics so if we need two groups, we have them.

[Guest]

Thanks so much for your reply!

TashX