Dear Parents and Carers
Below is some information that may be used to help your child on their way to become an independent reader and writer. At Berrycoombe School we use Read Write Inc to introduce sounds. Each sound has a saying to help us remember it i.e. mmmmmountain; 'ay' may I play? (indicated in blue below). We also have a saying to help us remember to write the letters correctly (indicated in red below). We then use the sounds to 'make' and read words.
This is a link to a video for the sound pronounciation clip
Ruth Miskin Training
Below is some information that may be used to help your child on their way to become an independent reader and writer. At Berrycoombe School we use Read Write Inc to introduce sounds. Each sound has a saying to help us remember it i.e. mmmmmountain; 'ay' may I play? (indicated in blue below). We also have a saying to help us remember to write the letters correctly (indicated in red below). We then use the sounds to 'make' and read words.
This is a link to a video for the sound pronounciation clip
Ruth Miskin Training
Supporting at home
With Read, Write Inc we are using pure sounds, ('m' not' muh', 's' not 'suh', etc) so that
your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily. Have fun learning them!
These first sounds should all be stretched slightly. Try to avoid saying uh after each one:
m - mmmmmmountain (keep lips pressed together hard)
Down Maisy, up, mountain, mountain
s - sssssnake (keep teeth together and hiss - unvoiced)
Slide down the snake
n - nnnnnnet (keep tongue behind teeth)
Down Nobby, up, over his net
f - ffffflower (keep teeth on bottom lip and force air out sharply - unvoiced)
Down the stem and draw the leaves
l - llllleg (keep pointed curled tongue behind teeth)
Down the long leg
r - rrrrrrobot (say rrr as if you are growling)
Down the robot, up and over his arm
v - vvvvvvulture (keep teeth on bottom lip and force air out gently)
Down a wing, up a wing
z - zzzzzzip (keep teeth together and make a buzzing sound)
Zig-zag-zip down the zip
th - thhhhank you ( stick out tongue and breathe out sharply)
Down the tower, across the tower, then down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back
sh - shhhh said the horse to the hissing snake (shhh noise as in 'be quiet!')
Slide down the snake, then down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back
ng - thinnnnngg on a strinnnngg (curl your tongue at the back of your throat)
nk - I think I stink (i.e 'nk' in oink)
These next sounds cannot be stretched. We say that they are 'bouncy' sounds. Make the sound as short as possible avoiding uh at the end of the sound:
t - t-t-t tower (tick tongue behind the teeth - unvoiced)
Down the tower, across the tower
p - p-p-p pirate (make distinctive p with lips - unvoiced)
Down the plait, up and over the pirate's face
k - k-k-k kangaroo (make sharp click at back of throat)
Down the kangaroo's body, tail and leg
c - c-c-c caterpillar (as above)
Curl around the caterpillar
h - h-h-h horse (say h as you breathe sharply out - unvoiced)
Down the horse's head to the hooves and over his back
ch - The caterpillar's hairs make the horse sneeze ch-ch-ch (make a short sneezing sound)
x - x-x-x exercise (say a sharp c and add s - unvoiced)
Cross down the arm and leg and cross the other way
You will find it harder to avoid saying uh at the end of these sounds.
d - d-d-d dinosaur (tap tongue behind the teeth)
Round the dinosaur's bottom, up his tall neck and down to his feet
g - g-g-g girl (make soft sound in throat)
Round the girl's face, down her hair and give her a curl
b - b-b-b boot (make a short, strong b with lips)
Down to the heel, up and over the toe
j - j-j-j Jack-in-the-box (push lips forward)
Down his body, curl and dot
y - y-y-y yak (keep edges of tongue against teeth)
Down a horn, up a horn and under the yak's head
w - w-w-w worm (keep lips tightly pursed)
Down, up, down, up the worm
qu - qu-qu-qu queen (keep lips pursed as you say cw - unvoiced)
Round the queen's head, up to her crown, down her hair and curl
The short vowels should be kept short and sharp:
a - a-a-a apple (open mouth wide as if to take a bite of an apple)
Round the apple and down the leaf
e - e-e-e egg (release mouth slightly from a position)
Cut, take off the top and scoop out the egg
i - i-i-i insect (make a sharp sound at the back of the throat - smile)
Down the body and dot for the head
o - o-o-o orange (push out lips, make the mouth into o shape)
All around the orange
u: u-u-u umbrella (make a sound in the throat)
Down and under, up to the top and draw the puddle
The long vowel sounds are all stretchy sounds
ay: ay, may I play?
ee: ee, what do you see?
igh: fly high
ow: blow the snow
oo: poo at the zoo
oo: look at a book
ar: start the car
or: shut the door
air: that's not fair
ir: whirl and twirl
ou: shout it out
oy: toy for a boy
All our teachers and teaching assistants have been trained in the Read, Write Inc programme and they can show you how to pronounce these sounds. We hope that you will not hesitate to ask for any help.
The children are taught the sounds in 3 sets. Reception Class are presently focusing on Set 1 and set 2.
Set 1 Sounds are taught in the following order:
m a s d t
i n p g o
c k u b
f e l h sh
r j v y w
th z ch qu x ng nk
The children are then taught Set 2 Sounds - the long vowels.
Set 2 Sounds
ay : may I play
ee : what can you see
igh : fly high
ow : blow the snow
oo : poo at the zoo
oo : look at a book
ar : start the car
or : shut the door
air : that's not fair
ir : whirl and twirl
ou : shout it out
oy : toy for a boy
Set 3 Sounds (trickier long vowels)
a-e : make a cake
ai: snail in the rain
ea : cup of tea
e: he me we she be
i-e: nice smile
o-e: phone home
oa: goat in a boat
u-e: huge brute
ew: chew the stew
aw: yawn at dawn
are: share and care
ur: nurse for a purse
er: a better letter
ow: brown cow
oi: spoil the boy
ire ire: fire fire!
ear ear: hear with your ear
ure ure: sure it's pure?