Primary School - January 2019

Last week was an exciting time in Year 1, as a new literacy programme was introduced. Read, Write Inc. is a method of learning centred around letter sounds and phonics, which helps children learn to read, while also developing a wide range of vocabulary and encouraging a love of stories. Using RWI, the children learn to read effortlessly, so that they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read. It also allows them to spell with ease so that they can put all their energy into composing what they write.

Year 1 have been split up into small groups and every morning they work on the reading and writing skills along with Fred the frog. To help with decoding words, we use Fred Talk which is where we sound out the word using the sounds we know, for example; b-e-d bed, sh-o-p shop. This is something you can practise at home with your child if they are struggling to read the word.

Each lesson comprises of a fast speed sound session at the start which recaps previously learned sounds. The children will then be introduced to a new sound where they learn a rhyme for example: ay - may I play? The class will then do some reading of green words using Fred talk. These words are easily decodable from sounds they have already learned. They also read red words daily which are tricky words that cannot be decoded for example; me, I, she. After reading these words, the class move on to the main bulk of the lesson which is story based. The format of the activities stays the same for each book, so the children become familiar with the structure. The story book will change weekly, and throughout the course of the week, the children will complete a variety of different activities including; holding a sentence, comprehension activities and writing sentences.

The teachers are looking forward to assessing how this will impact on your child’s reading and writing abilities and sharing the successes with you throughout the year. There will be an opportunity for parents to attend a workshop and presentation in February if you would like to find out more about the programme and how you can help at home.

Libby Antonic
Year 1 Teacher