Teaching students to read is so valuable, not only for their future studies but in their later life too. Not only this, reading can also be a passion, as children can escape into the pages and immerse themselves in a whole new world with different characters and plots – reading can be so much fun!
A while back, the Department for Education found that evidence pointed at phonics being an effective way for teaching students to read. Following this, they also set a phonics test for 6 year olds – the Phonics Screening Check.
Teaching phonics, such as through phonics games, is great for helping children to learn all about the sounds that make up words and to assist them in spelling and decoding them.
EducationCity has a whole host of phonics resources to help children learn to read, as well as helping teachers prepare their students for the Phonics Screening Check.
The phonics content on EducationCity is available via three programmes as Phonics Bundles, those being Letters and Sounds, Jolly Phonics and Read Write.
You can find the phonics content in these areas:
- England: F2 & Year 1
- Scotland: Early*, Early** & Early***
- Wales: Nursery & Reception
- N. Ireland: Pre-School & P1
Phonics Screening Check
Our Phonics Screening Check Topic Tool is great for giving students much needed practice to prepare themselves for the test, as well as getting them used to the format.
The tool can be found here:
- England: Year 1 and 2
Here’s Where Parents Can Help!
Parental involvement in a child’s reading brings loads of benefits. Here’s what parents can do:
- Read Regularly with Your Child: if you read regularly at home, children will pick up valuable skills such as how to read the print and to use pictures to help decode words, which will be beneficial for their development.
- Make Reading Part of Your Home: newspapers, magazines and books in your home will help children to view reading positively, especially if they see adults read too! If you’ve magazines or books your children enjoy reading, they’ll be encouraged to read and see that it’s fun.
- Chant Rhymes: by chanting rhymes with your children, they’ll pick up sounds to help their phonics learning.