Read Write Inc (RWI) at Tregony CP School
At Tregony, we use RWI to give your child the best possible start with their English development. We aim for all our children to become fluent, confident readers, who are passionate about reading.
The Importance of Reading
Children who read regularly, or are read to, have the opportunity to open doors to so many different worlds! More importantly, reading will give your child the tools they need to become independent life-long learners. We can achieve this together through:
- Using the Read Write Inc program to help your child to read at school
- Encouraging children to develop a love of books and fluency by reading daily at home and at school
- Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a complete phonics/literacy programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed, so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. The programme is designed for children ages 4-7. However, at Tregony, we begin to expose children in our nursery to skills that will help them access the taught programme in Reception. If needed, we continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7, as we use a stage, not age approach. RWI was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at https://www.ruthmiskin.com/parents/
How will my child be taught to read?
We start by teaching phonics to the children in Reception Class. This means that they learn how to 'read' the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell well. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters.
Reading
The children:
- Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts (see below)
- Learn to read words using 'Fred Talk' (see below) and sound blending
- Read from a range of storybooks and non-fiction books matched to their phonics knowledge
- Work well with partners
- Develop comprehension skills in reading by answering 'find it' and 'prove it' discussion questions
Writing
The children:
- Learn to write and form letters/letter groups correctly, which represent the 44 sounds with the help of fun phrases
- Learn to write words using 'Fred Talk'
- Learn to build sentences by practising what they want to write out loud before they write them
Talking
The children work in pairs so that they:
- Answer every question
- Practise every activity with their partner
- Take turns in talking and reading to each other
- Develop ambitious vocabulary
Progressing through stages
Children in Year 1 and 2 follow the same format as Reception, but will work on complex sounds and read books appropriate to their reading level. Daily sessions of RWI phonics initially last 15 minutes, progressing to hour long sessions by the end of the reception year. Once children become fluent, speedy readers, they will move on to the RWI comprehension programme.
Five key principles that underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:
Purpose- know the purpose of every activity and share it with the children, so they know the one thing they should be thinking about
Participation- ensure every child participates throughout the lesson. Partnership work is fundamental to learning
Praise- ensure children are praised for effort and learning, not ability
Pace- teach at an effective pace and devote every moment to teaching and learning
Passion-be passionate about teaching so children can be engaged emotionally
Children will be taught how to read as follows:
Before you start to teach your child, practise saying the sounds below. These are the sounds we use to speak English. Children initially begin using picture for each sounds; this will help them recognise the sound and then form the shape of the sound.
Fred Talk
We use pure sounds ('m' not 'muh', 's' not 'suh' etc.) so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily. In RWI lessons, we use a toy called Fred (the frog), who is an expert in sounding out words! We call it 'Fred Talk' e.g. m-o-p, c-a-t, m-a-n, sh-o-p, b-l-a-ck.
RWI set 1,2 and 3 sounds
Set 1 sounds are taught together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending. Children learn if the sounds are 'stretchy' or 'bouncy' sounds.
Click the files below to see the Set 1 sounds and rhymes to help support your child's letter formation.
Click below to see the Set 2 and 3 sounds, and the phrases used to help children remember the sounds.
Reading Sessions:
Within all the RWI storybook sessions, children will be exposed to red and green words to learn which will help them to become speedy readers. Red words are words that are not easily decodable and challenge words to extend children's vocabulary. Green words are linked to the sound they have previously learnt and are easily decodable.
Dots and dashes represent the sound each letter makes. Dots represent a single letter sound, and dashes represent sounds which have 2 or more letters. These types of sounds are called 'special friends'. Children are encouraged to spot if there are any special friends in a word, before reading it. During the RWI session, children will read the storybook three times and, at each new reading, they will have plenty of opportunities to practise using their developing comprehension skills.
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Writing Sessions:
You may have heard your child talking about 'Hold, edit or build a sentence.'
Hold a sentence is an activity that encourages children to remember a whole sentence while focusing on spelling and punctuation.
Build a sentence gives children the opportunity to create their own sentences to that shows the meaning of a word and edit a sentence allows the children to critique a sentence using their knowledge of spelling, punctuation and grammar. Children complete a longer piece of independent writing, which gives them the opportunity to show off their creativity and to practise their spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Proof reading
Children learn the importance of checking and proof reading their writing in order to spot and correct any mistakes they may have made. This important skill is taught from the start of the Green Get Writing book, and requires children to find and correct errors that have been made in a short sentence.
Help at home:
Your child will start to bring RWI books home when they are confident readers, relating to their reading stage. They will bring home 2 phonics based books (a copy of the storybook they have been reading in class and a bookbag book, a story linked to the storybook); this will aid application, speed and fluency-developing speedy reading!
Useful websites for Parents
Please find a list of websites that you may find useful in helping you and your child learn about phonics. Games and fun activity websites are also included.
https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/ - Information and resources to support phonics learning at home
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/ - fun games for the children to play
http://www.ictgames.com/literacy.html - fun games for the children to play
http://www.firstschoolyears.com/ - fun games for the children to play
BBC Bitesize - many games to play covering all areas of the curriculum
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RWI parent's leaflet 1 Ukrainian.pdf
RWI parent's leaflet 1.pdf
RWI parent's leaflet 1 Polish.pdf
RWI parent's leaflet 2 Polish.pdf
RWI parent's leaflet 2.pdf
RWI parent's leaflet 2 Ukrainian.pdf
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