Year 1
Key Information
PE Day - Thursday
Phonics
In Year One the children continue the journey into reading and spelling. We follow the ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised’ programme, learning the link between the sounds in words and how these are written down.
In Year One we recap and review the sounds that the children learned in Reception and cover phase five.
Little Wandle Letters and Sounds: Year One Overview
The Year One Programme Overview shows the progression of the sounds and the tricky words that we teach term by term.In school we use a Year One Grapheme Mat to support the children during writing, which you can also use to support your child at home.
You can download a guide to how the children were taught to say the sounds in Reception Autumn 1, Reception Autumn 2 and Reception Spring 1.
You can also visit the website to watch videos showing you how to pronounce the sounds and how we teach phonics.
Grapheme Mat
In school we use a Grapheme Mat to support the children during writing, which you can also use to support your child at home.
Lexia
Lexia is a fun computer-based program. The activities focus on developing reading skills in six areas: phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The program is designed to allow the children to complete the activities independently. It will move the children on when ready, and it provides additional support when needed.
As well as being given time to complete Lexia activities within the school week, your child will also benefit from spending at least two additional twenty minute sessions at home.
Lexia can be accessed by clicking on the logo below:
Reading
In school we will read with your child three times a week, using Collins Big Cat books that exactly match the ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised’ programme. We read the same book three times – first we focus on decoding the words, then we focus on reading the book with expression, and finally we focus on understanding the text.
The children also get reading books to read at home. The children will receive reading practice books from the Oxford Reading Tree scheme, matched to their phonic stage that they can read independently. To begin with these might have no words in. Please share the book with your child and talk about what is happening in the pictures. When they are able to decode letters together they will receive a book with some with simple words in. Please encourage your child to sound out the letters and blend them together to read the words.
Please read with your child every day. Re-reading the same book enables children to develop their fluency and understanding of the book. Please put a comment in their reading record book to indicate that you have read with your child.
They will also bring home a sharing book for you to enjoy together. It will enable them to enjoy listening to an adult reading a book, possibly as a bedtime story. If children are to become lifelong readers, it is essential that they are encouraged to read for pleasure.
The books will be changed once a week, but please ensure that your child has their books in their book bag everyday.
Spellings
Alongside the weekly spellings that the children receive in their spelling books it is important that they also learn to easily read and spell the first 100 High Frequency Words (the words that are regularly used). These are divided into 4 groups according to the phase of Letters and Sounds that your child is working on. There is a further 200 High Frequency Words following these 4 groups.In addition there are lists of words that the children need to learn that do not follow the spelling “rules”. These are referred to as key stage one Common Exception Words.
Year 2 Spelling Rules