In Reception we teach children how to read using phonics sounds. Learning the sound and name of each alphabet letter is a part of the Early Learning Goals that children are aiming to achieve by the time they leave Reception. As the children progress with the sounds, they use this knowledge to also help them to learn to spell words independently by sounding out the different sounds and writing them down individually to form a word, for example c-a-t.
In class we have been teaching the children that every alphabet letter can have a different sound and when some of those sounds are combined together, they make ‘special friends’ and create a new sound. Phonics sounds in reading and writing are used throughout the day both through continuous provision lessons and activities set by the teacher during lessons. The children have been making excellent progress with this and developing their own independence in learning to read the green words. One of the activities we encourage the children to do is to ‘play teacher.’ They then take it in turns to hold up the green words for their partner to practice sounding out and reading. Then they swap over and allow their friend to have a turn. You can encourage your child to play this game with you at home to practice the words they are learning.