What is Read Write Inc?

Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics complete literacy programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling.  The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. At Hazel Slade Primary Academy we begin our phonics programme in Nursery by starting with getting ready to listen before starting the RWI programme. We will continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7 if they still need support in their reading.

​

How will RWI be taught?

All children are assessed regularly and are grouped so they work with children at the same level. This allows complete participation in lessons.

 

Nursery

When appropriate, children will be introduced to the initial sounds in short five minutes sessions.

 

Reception

In Reception all children will learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down.

 

Reading

The children:

• learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts – see below

• learn to read words using Fred talk and sound blending

• read from a range of storybooks and non-fictions books matched to their phonic knowledge

• work well with partners

• develop comprehension skills in stories by answering 'Find It' and 'Prove It' discussion questions

  

Talking

The children

• They work in pairs so that they:

• answer every question

• practise every activity with their partner

• take turns in talking and reading to each other

• develop ambitious vocabulary

​

Year One & Year Two

Children follow the same format as Reception but will work on complex sounds and read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics last for 30 minutes. 

 

Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:  

Purpose – know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about

Participation – ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning

Praise – ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability

Pace – teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning

Passion – be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally.

 

Children will be taught how to read as follows:

Before you start to teach your child, practise saying the sounds below. These are the sounds we use to speak in English.

 

Fred Talk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We use pure sounds (‘m’ not’ muh’,’s’ not ‘suh’, etc.) so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily.

At school we use a puppet called Fred who is an expert on sounding out words! We call it, ‘Fred Talk’.

E.g. m-o-p, c-a-t, m-a-n, sh-o-p, b-l-a-ck.

 

 

The children are taught the sounds in 3 sets.

 

Step 1:

Set 1 Sounds are taught in the following order together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

Children will also use pictures for each sound to help recognise the sound and then form the shape of the sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2:

The children are then taught Set 2 Sounds - the long vowels. When they are very confident with all of set 1 and 2 they are taught Set 3 Sounds.

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nonsense words (Alien words)          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

As well as learning to read and blend real words children will have plenty of opportunities to apply their sound recognition skills on reading ‘Nonsense words’. These words will also feature heavily in the Year One Phonics Screening check in the summer term. 

 

Step 3:

Children will be introduced to ‘Ditty books’ when they successfully begin to read single words.

Children will then be challenged to use their developing phonic knowledge to write short sentences in their other lessons.

Within all the books children will have red and green words to learn to help them to become speedy readers. Red words are words that are not easily decodable and challenge words to extend children’s vocabulary. Green words are linked to the sounds they have been learning and are easily decodable.

 

Here is an example of these:

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

       

 

Dots and dashes represent the sound each letter makes.

 

During the RWI session children will read the book three times and at each new reading they will have plenty of opportunities to practise using their developing comprehension skills. You may have heard your child talking about ‘hold, edit or build a sentence’.

Hold a sentence is an activity that encourages children to remember a whole sentence while focusing on spelling and punctuation.

Build a sentence is to give children the opportunity to create their own sentence to that shows the meaning of a word and edit a sentence allows the children to critique a sentence using their knowledge of spelling punctuation and grammar. Children complete a longer piece of independent writing, which gives them the opportunity to show off their creativity and to practice their spelling, grammar and punctuation.

 

Spelling Quiz

 

A spelling quiz will be held each week (This will only start in Reception when children are ready to write and form their letters).  Children will use first use ‘Fred fingers’ to first sound out a word before they write it down.  Children learn how to spell rather than just get tested. Furthermore, this way of teaching spellings allows children to use Fred fingers whenever they get stuck with spelling a word. Children pinch each sound on fingers before writing the word.

 

Order of Story books: Children will hopefully follow the order listed below. The expectation is that all children will leave Key Stage as confident speedy readers, ready to take on the challenges of Year Two.

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

To help at home:

Your child will start to bring books home when they are confident readers. Please help them to read and give lots of praise! Your children have a reading record which we use to track reading at home; please help your child by reading with them regularly.

​

Phonics Screening Check Year One

What is the Year 1 phonics screening check?

The Year 1 phonics screening check is a short, light-touch assessment to confirm whether individual pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard.

It will identify the children who need extra help so they are given support by their school to improve their reading skills. They will then be able to retake the check so that schools can track pupils until they are able to decode.