Phonics
What is phonics?
- It is the knowledge of how alphabetic sounds work and how these sounds are combined to correspond to the spoken word.
- It includes the skills of blending for reading and segmentation for spelling. Blending is the skill of building words by merging phonemes together
- this is used when reading words. Segmentation is breaking down a word into its component phonemes
- this is used when spelling words
- A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a word. It is generally accepted that there are 44 different phonemes in the English language. In phonics the children are taught each of these phonemes and the alternative graphemes (different ways of writing) these phonemes.
- A grapheme is the written symbol of a phoneme
- Some phonemes are written with two letters
- these are called digraphs. Some phonemes are written with three letters
- these are called trigraphs.
- Split digraphs are two letters that make one sound, but the letters are not adjacent in a word (they are split by another letter).
- High frequency words (or tricky words) are words which children are unable to read using their phonic knowledge. These are taught as a whole word.
At Hanley St. Luke’s, we believe that phonics is the key to helping every child become a confident, fluent reader and writer. We use the Supersonic Phonic Friends programme—a fun, active, and highly engaging approach to teaching systematic synthetic phonics from Nursery to Year 2, and beyond where needed.
Rooted in the Letters and Sounds framework and aligned with the Early Years Foundation Stage and National Curriculum, the programme provides a clear and consistent structure across the school. Children go on an exciting phonics adventure, guided by memorable woodland characters, rhymes, and actions that make learning meaningful and enjoyable.
Our aim is simple: to give every child the strongest possible start in reading and writing—and to inspire a lifelong love of books and learning.
For more information click here.
Here are some useful websites to support phonics. Please speak to your child's class teacher for log in details or for more information.