Letters And Sounds In Reception

[Guest]

Hi all, would really welcome some advice re: Letters and sounds.

I have to take over a reception class after easter as current teacher on long term sick. With regard to letters and sounds, the assessments show that the children are half way through phase 2 activities. The TA has told me that teacher I'm covering only ever does phase 1 and 2 in reception, whereas I had always thought children completed phase 1,2 and3 in reception then did 4 and 5 in Y1. I have been in nursery for so long, I am happy to stand corrected, but I just want to know- how far shouold you expect reception children to get with letters and sounds by the end of reception?

Thanks for any replies.

[Marion]

Hi all, would really welcome some advice re: Letters and sounds.

I have to take over a reception class after easter as current teacher on long term sick. With regard to letters and sounds, the assessments show that the children are half way through phase 2 activities. The TA has told me that teacher I'm covering only ever does phase 1 and 2 in reception, whereas I had always thought children completed phase 1,2 and3 in reception then did 4 and 5 in Y1. I have been in nursery for so long, I am happy to stand corrected, but I just want to know- how far shouold you expect reception children to get with letters and sounds by the end of reception?

Thanks for any replies.

 

I'm afraid Letters & Sounds covers phases 2, 3 & 4 in reception phase 5 in Y1 and 6 in Y2

Phase 1 is from nursery to Y2+

 

I don't use L&S but usually cover up to phase 6 in reception

Edited March 27, 2010 by Marion

[Guest]

You have to go with the children and where they are. I have children between Phase 2 and 5 at the moment. As long as they continue to learn and progress we journey on through the phases according to their needs.

[Marion]

I worry that teachers get so hung up over the phases and some children never progress past phase 2 because teachers are waiting for them to know all the phonemes before moving on.

[Guest Cathryn1974]

Can I just ask how you formally assess the children's readiness to move onto the next phase. We do this informally in our own groups but we currently don't carry out any formal summative assessment.

 

Thanks

 

Cathryn

[Guest LornaW]

The expectation with L&S is that children would be secure in Phase three by the end of reception. Also that Phase One is for pre schools but the aspects, as marion says, of pahse one go on through phases 2 - 6.

 

Certainly many schools in my LA using L&S have found that many children are secure in phase 3 and phase 4 by the end of reception.

 

Marion I agree whole heartedly with you as regards waiting for children to know the phonemes and this tend to hold them back which is why we suggest mixed ability groups in YR and children see what others can do and aspire and achieve becasue of this.

 

Lorna

[Marion]

Can I just ask how you formally assess the children's readiness to move onto the next phase. We do this informally in our own groups but we currently don't carry out any formal summative assessment.

 

Thanks

 

Cathryn

 

I don't use L&S so don't use the phases All children move through the 42 phonemes learning a new sound every day and revising ones previously taught and once all 42 phonemes have been taught we move on quickly to learn the alternatives.

[Guest]

I adapt the Phases as needed (for example, using longer words than CVC for those who are able to 'do' CVCs confidently), but once I have taught the Phase 2 sounds, those who can securely segment/blend move on, but those who can't work more on that. So chn are grouped, but chn move groups as and when they need to. I have a group working on Phase 3 (beginning of), and group towards the end of Phase 3, a group on Phase 4 and a group on Phase 5.

[Marion]

The expectation in my LA is that children are secure in phases 2-4 in reception (as this follows the L&S overview)

I introduce CCVC and CVCC words from the 3rd week of teaching. with words such as s t o p and n e s t

Edited March 28, 2010 by Marion

[Guest]

Hi

I recently went to a course ran by an advisor who recommended that in Reception we should all be teaching phase 3. I am teaching week 9 next week. I teach in a Foundation Unit where we have 60 4-5 year olds. We did try spliting the children for Letters and Sounds so that I taught the children who were at Phase 3 and the other teacher taught Phase 2 children. We were firmly advised that we should not be doing that. We were told that although the children's knowledge was at Phase 2 they should not be held back from Phase 3 they should still be part of the same lesson.

 

However our adult directed activiites are differentiated according to the differnet phases.

 

Brownie xx

Edited March 28, 2010 by Guest

[Guest]

We have a whole school approach to phonics. We assess children in Sept and then work out how many adults available and hence how many groups we can have. daily everyone moves around for a 20 min session and the older juniors do grammar or similar sessions so that any children who need to come from those classes can do. We assess again after christmas and rejig groups. My current group has a very bright rec child, some year 1s and a year 2 working on phase 5. Two of the groups are just reception, one working on phase 1/2 (bits of both) and the other on phase 3. We did hope to be a bit more flexible with movement between groups but find that difficult once well into it so now only do that in Sept and christmas.

 

Do people find that the verbal skills are readily transferred to written work etc. We found that children did really well orally but weren't using knowledge except in reading. We now do quite a mix of games, oral, modelling, writing so each phase takes a bit longer to get through.