jolly phonics teacher checklist

8/12/2019 Jolly Phonics Teacher Checklist

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Jolly Phonics Teacher Checklist

Teacher: _________________________________ Class/Grade: _____________ Date: _______________________

This checklist is mainly for an administrator to use, perhaps with lesson obser ation, to e aluate how faithfully Jolly Phonics is bein! used"

Y N Further information1. General

1.1 Are the skills of learning the letter sounds, letter formation, blendingand identifying sounds in words being taught from the beginning?

It is important that all these skills are taught from the beginning, and not just the letter sounds.The introduction of tricky words is delayed but is then taught alongside the other skills.

Comments :

2. Learning Letter Sounds

.1 Are the letter sounds being taught initially !not the letter names"? Introducing letter names is delayed until the third group of letter sounds has been taught toa#oid confusion.

. Are the $ letter sounds being taught at a fast pace !%&' a week"? Teaching fewer than % letter sounds a week is not #ery stimulating and should be a#oided, ifpossible.

.% Is there regular practice of the letter sounds taught so far? It is important to pro#ide the class with some (uick practice in e#ery lesson. It is also importantto monitor indi#idual performance.

.$ Are the $ letter sounds being taught, including the digraphs?

.) Are the main alternati#e spellings being introduced once the initial$ letter sounds ha#e been taught?

These should be introduced gradually !1& a week", at a pace that suits the class. *upport canbe gi#en to the slower learners.

Comments :

3. Letter Formation

%.1 Is the class being taught how to hold a pencil properly, from thebeginning?

The tripod grip is recommended. This teaching is most important in the initial stages.

%. Is the class being taught how to form each letter correctly?

%.% Is the class being gi#en regular practice in letter formation? +egular letter&sound dictation pro#ides the opportunity to check on the formation of letters.

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Y N Further information

%.$ Is the class being monitored to ensure correct formation and neathandwriting?

%.) Is the alphabet being introduced at an appropriate stage? It is recommended that the class learns how to sing or recite the alphabet once the third lettersound group has been taught.

%.' Is the class being taught how to form the capital letters correctly? apital letters are not introduced initially, but are taught once the alphabet has beenintroduced.

Comments :

4. Blending

$.1 Is the class being taught how to blend sounds into words? +egular practice is important. In the initial stages, the teacher may say the sounds for theclass to blend. -#entually, e#eryone should be able to read and blend the word themsel#es.

$. Are words, phrases and sentences being pro#ided for blending? +egular whole class and indi#idual practice is needed to de#elop uency in this skill. The te/tsshould only use the letter sounds and tricky words taught so far.

$.% Are decodable books being used in indi#idual reading practice,once the skill of blending has been ac(uired?

0ecodable books only use the letter sounds and tricky words taught so far. A wider choice ofbooks can be gi#en to those in the class who ha#e uency of reading and who blend new,unfamiliar words automatically.

Comments :

5. dentif!ing the Sounds in "ords #Segmenting$

) .1 Is the class be ing taught to identi fy a ll the sounds in words? or spel ling , i t i s impor tant that all the sounds in a word can be identi2ed, and not just theinitial sound.

). Are words being dictated to the class on a regular basis? Initially, words for dictation should a#oid double or silent letters and be restricted to those ofthe $ letter sounds that ha#e been taught so far.

).% Are model sentences being written on the board for the class? 3odel writing demonstrates how to write a gi#en sentence !eg starting with a capital letter,writing letters for the sounds in words, lea#ing spaces, spelling the tricky word, etc". A goodtime to start is when the tricky words are being taught.

).$ Are sentences being dictated, using the letter sounds and trickywords taught so far?

It works well to gi#e sentence dictation at least twice a week, in preparation for independentwriting. 4owe#er, it is best to do this once most of the class can write words from dictation.

).) Is the class being encouraged to write independently , once the initial$ letter sounds ha#e been taught?

Comments :



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Y N Further information

%. &ric'! "ords

'.1 Is the class being taught the tricky words? 5enerally, the tricky words are introduced once 6th6 has been taught.

'. Is the class being taught to identify the awkward bits of tricky words

for reading and spelling?

or e/ample, in the word 7said7, the 6s6 and 6d6 sounds are regular but it must be remembered

that the 8ai9 spelling has an 6e6 sound.'.% Is the class being gi#en regular practice in reading and writing the

tricky words?

Comments :

(. Struggling Students

.1 Are those who are struggling to learn the letters sounds beingidenti2ed at an early stage?

It should be possible to identify strugglers by the time the second group of letter sounds hasbeen introduced. *low learners of the letter sounds tend to ha#e a poor #isual memory. Theyneed e/tra practice and support from the teacher or a buddy.

. Are those who are struggling with any of the other skills !letterformation, blending, segmenting and tricky words" being identi2ed asearly as possible?

-ach weakness needs attention. Those struggling to blend and segment ha#e poor auditoryskills. They will need more practice than the rest of the class, either in small groups orindi#idually.

.% Is e/tra practice and support being gi#en to those who need it? The earlier the inter#ention, the more effecti#e it will be and the more likely that furtherdif2culties will be a#oided. Any impro#ement should be demonstrable, either in achie#ement!eg the number of letter sounds known, impro#ed motor skills, etc" or against something likethe spelling6reading age.

Comments :


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