Proven synthetic phonics with inspiring

professional development

‘The diligent, concentrated and systematic teaching of phonics is central to the success of all the schools that achieve high reading standards in Key Stage 1. This requires high-quality and expert teaching that follows a carefully planned and tightly structured approach to teaching phonic knowledge and skills.’HMI Ofsted report on

‘Reading by Six’, 2010

Developed by Ruth Miskin60% of schools featured in the recent HMI Ofsted report ‘Reading by Six. How the best schools do it’, use Read Write Inc. Phonics

Dear Colleague

When I was the headteacher of a primary school, I saw my key role as making sure that the children learnt to read. That was, and is, the most important thing they can learn. Children who read a lot are more successful than those who do not. Reading enriches their vocabulary, their writing and their spelling. They have access to the wider curriculum and their self-esteem is enhanced because they realise they are succeeding. The more quickly they learn to read, the more they want to read and the more they understand; the less they struggle with spelling, the more capacity they have for writing what they want to say. Importantly, if they read and write fl uently, they can draw ideas together – a key skill for effective learning at any age.

Nothing in teaching was more rewarding for me than seeing children learning to read and write successfully and quickly. I know that teachers and teaching assistants really enjoy teaching Read Write Inc. Phonics for the same reason.In addition, because so much of the practical, detailed planning is already done, they have plenty of energy to devote to the teaching itself.

Ruth Miskin

Read Write Inc. Phonics can be used for all children aged 4-7 as well as those children who have not grasped reading in Years 3 and 4 /P4-5.

‘Effective teachers are highly trained to instil the principles of phonics, can identify the learning needs of young children, and recognise and overcome the barriers that impede learning.’ HMI Ofsted report ‘Reading by Six’, 2010

The principles behind Read Write Inc. Phonics

Read Write Inc. Phonics is underpinned by the ‘Simple View of Reading.’ It teaches

children how to understand written language and how to decode it – together.

This is how it is done.

A key element of the Read Write Inc. approach

is that practice across the school is completely

consistent. This is achieved because the

headteacher, all the teachers and teaching

assistants, from the Foundation Stage to Year 6,

are trained to teach reading.

This means that everyone has a shared

understanding of the ‘Simple View of Reading’,

how letters and sounds in English are related

(the alphabetic code), and how to teach all

children to read and write.

After the training, the Read Write Inc. manager

coaches the teachers and teaching assistants so

that everyone is then teaching as effectively and

as consistently as possible. The headteacher and

the Read Write Inc. manager monitor progress

together until every child can read. No child is left

behind to struggle.

A consistent approach

For whole-school training, one of the experienced trainers comes to your school to lead two days of training, and train all your teachers and support staff from Foundation to Year 6. www.ruthmiskinliteracy.com

Assessment and teaching principles

Assessment andgroupings All the children are grouped, across the school,

in terms of their reading ability. This means

that they are reading at their own level, every

day. The more homogeneous the group, the

more focused the teaching can be in terms of

children’s progress.

Children who are progressing faster or more

slowly than their peers move quickly to another

group. Children who continue to struggle

have one-to-one tutoring (starting from the

Reception year), so that they catch up again as

soon as possible. Children who have special

educational needs are supported, for however

long it takes, until they can read. No separate

programme and no extra funding are needed:

teaching assistants have already been trained

and they are used strategically across the

school, wherever they are needed, to make sure

that children are making progress.

Teaching principlesHigh-quality teaching is an essential part of the

Read Write Inc. Phonics programme so that

children learn to read and write as quickly, as

effectively and as successfully as possible. Five

key principles, which feature strongly in the

Read Write Inc. Phonics training, underpin all

the teaching:

• Participation

• Praise

• Pace

• Purpose

• Passion

Simple teaching strategies ensure that all

children participate fully in the whole lesson

– there is no chance for children to lose

concentration and miss key elements of the

teaching. A lively pace keeps all the children fully

engaged. During parts of each lesson, they work

together, as partners, to teach and praise one

another, taking turns to do this. Focused praise,

from teachers and teaching assistants, motivates

them. Because of the planning that has already

been done, each activity – whether it teaches

decoding, encoding (spelling) or understanding

(language comprehension) – has a very clear

purpose. In every lesson, teachers and teaching

assistants are encouraged to be passionate

about teaching children to learn to read and to

enjoy reading.

‘The fi rst, most overt feature of headship in these schools is the determination that children will learn to read. Teaching reading is the avowed core purpose of the schools.’ HMI Ofsted report ‘Reading by Six’, 2010

Teaching and learning: The cycle of instruction

Teacher modelling The teacher explains and uses direct instruction

for every activity – ‘My turn, your turn’, ensuring

that all the children in the group are watching

her and mirroring what she is doing. The

children then take it in turns to teach their

partners the same thing. The teacher observes

and listens carefully, picking up on any errors

or uncertainties. She repeats the activity until

all the children are confi dent at every step.

Revision and consolidation at the start of the

next day’s lesson are vital in embedding the

learning, step by step.

Partner work Partner work for teaching and discussion is

established for all the lessons. Story-time has a

high profi le. In every lesson, the teacher models

sentence-building, using ambitious vocabulary and

showing children how they can extend sentences,

building them up gradually. This develops the

children’s understanding of how a sentence should

sound. Choral speaking is used after each stage of

modelling. Children discuss questions with their

partners – ‘Turn to your partner’. The teacher then

selects individual children to give feedback after the

discussions with their partners.

Children are assessed and grouped according to their phonic knowledge. Each child reads books

that match their phonic knowledge

The forty-four sounds and corresponding

letters are introduced and taught

systematically

Children use short ‘ditties’ to practise early

reading and writing and are taught

more letter/s-sound correspondences

Children read a series of levelled decodable texts – both fi ction and non-

fi ction, and do integrated writing activities, including

handwriting practice

Ongoing assessment means that groups are constantly adjusted to

ensure the best progress for every child

Assessment First Phonics

First Words

Levelled Progression

DevelopingReading and

Writing

‘Working with partners is completely consistent, one child acting fi rst as ‘tutor’, then as pupil, so both remain engaged and active. This is fail-safe, interactive learning.’ Case study from Woodberry Down Community Primary, Read Write Inc. model school, HMI Ofsted report on ‘Reading by Six’, 2010

An effective teaching sequence

Teaching and learning: Reading and writing

Reading The alphabetic code is taught fi rst and fi rmly

embedded. The children rapidly learn sounds

and the letter or groups of letters they need to

represent those sounds. Simple and enjoyable

mnemonics help all children to grasp this quickly,

especially those who are at risk of making slower

progress or those who are new to learning English.

This learning is taught and consolidated every

day. High-frequency words that are not phonically

regular are taught as ‘tricky’ words and practised

frequently. Well-written, lively phonic books are

closely matched to children’s increasing knowledge

of phonics and ‘tricky’ words, so that, early on, they

experience plenty of success. Repeated readings of

the texts support their increasingly fl uent decoding.

Discussion of each story helps children both to

understand what they are reading and to build up

their knowledge of how texts work.

WritingAs with reading, the alphabetic code is embedded

fi rst, so that children can write simple consonant-

vowel-consonant words early on and build on their

success. The children write every day, rehearsing

what they want to say orally and composing,

sentence by sentence, until they are confi dent

to write independently. They write at the level of

their spelling knowledge, that is, they use their

knowledge of the alphabetic code and the ‘tricky’

words they have learnt.

In every lesson, they are rapidly building up their

knowledge, so that they are soon able to spell

more complex words confi dently, accurately

and fl uently. The children can use adventurous

vocabulary in their writing because they have

encountered such language in their reading and

they have talked about what the words mean.

‘The techniques and classroom skills we developed in our Read Write Inc. lessons have transferred easily to all other areas of the curriculum and overall classroom management, resulting in stronger, more focused teaching in all areas throughout the day.’Clare Fletcher, Headteacher, North Walsham Infant School, Norfolk

Proven to work

Used successfully in thousands of schoolsRead Write Inc. is used in thousands of

UK primary schools and there is a strong

correlation between Read Write Inc. Phonics

and improved SATs Performance. See our

results page at theRead Write Inc. website at

www.oxfordprimary.co.uk

See it for yourself!Headteachers of Read Write Inc. model

schools across the country are happy to

share their experiences with you.

They include schools from a range of

backgrounds, sizes and catchment areas.

Why not call them or visit to fi nd out more?

For a full list of our model schools see www.oxfordprimary.co.uk

‘Read Write Inc. has been instrumental in our quest that ‘no child can slip through the net’. Every child deserves the best. The impact has been remarkable. We see children learning to read very quickly because of the structured and rigorous teaching of phonics. Their writing and comprehension skills also improve. Because of the structured nature of the programme and the use of talk partners to keep children active and engaged, boys also respond well and remain motivated.’

Mr Shahed Ahmed, Headteacher,

Elmhurst Primary School, Newham

‘The introduction of Read Write Inc. in our school has been hugely positive. In the fi rst four months the average child in our inner city primary made over a whole level progress in their ability to decode texts. The programme has been particularly helpful in enabling newly arrived children with EAL (and with no previous schooling) to rapidly acquire the skills to read and write.’

Literacy coordinator, Easton CE Primary School, Bristol

Taking the next steps If you are interested in Read Write Inc. Phonics, you may also want to evaluate our other Read Write Inc. programmes.

tel 01536 452610 email schools.orders.uk@oup.comfax 01865 313472 web www.oxfordprimary.co.uk

Looking for a matching approach to Maths?See our inspiring new maths programme, Maths Makes Sense, created by Richard Dunne, at www.oxfordprimary.co.uk

K50756

To fi nd out more about any of our products, to order, or to book a visit from your local educational consultant, call our friendly customer services team on 01536 452610. Or fi ll in the enclosed order form.

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In-depth literacy

programme for

children who can

now read.

Ages 7-9

A dynamic, effective

way to teach all

your literacy.

Ages 9-11

Just 10 minutes

a day for spelling

success.

Ages 7-11

Proven intervention

for struggling

readers.

Ages 9-11

‘Every teacher should attend Ruth Miskin Literacy Training – it is not just about ensuring every child can read and write, it’s about securing a voice for every child. The most uplifting two inset days we have ever had.’ Pauline Beaton, Parsonage Farm School, Essex