Page 72: When is the right time to begin to teach phonics?
A hot topic in educational debate in regard to teaching in the EYFS is when to introduce formal learning. I'd like to make the obvious note that in the EYFS learning is happening all the time, everywhere. From traditional group learning sessions where we learn basic mathematics principles, to played based continuous provision learning as well as the all important listening and attention life skills and handy bits and bobs such as putting on a coat, today I am going to propose my opinion on 'formal teaching' in the EYFS, in particular phonics.
To put it simply, when delving into both research as well as personal experience and discussions with both school teaching staff and previous discussions with university lectures, there is no right time to begin. Children's brains at this age are like sponges, they absorb everything around them so in my personal opinion, there is not need to waste any time and jut get started. In regard to 'just getting started', I do not mean in the first few weeks of school age 3 children sitting for formal phonics session but what I do mean is to start the first stage - sound discrimination. Before delving into graphemes, phonics schemes and establishing that vital grapheme-phoneme correspondence, children need to have a firm foundation of sound awareness and be able to discriminate sounds.
What is sound discrimination?
Discriminating sounds is the ability to process environmental sounds and deciding the similarities and differences between the sounds. Examples of these include animals and musical instruments.
We start this in Nursery as soon as our children start full time. We integrate bits and bobs throughout the day such as using our tambourine to stop, but from the end of September, the children start their 'phonics sessions' focussed all about sounds in the environment around them.
I will share how this session looks in my classroom. Each half term, we have a focus poem (nursery rhyme), I always begin this session of the day by reciting and performing the poem. After this, we then complete the desired sound discrimination session for the day and end with a story (usually a rhyming story) before we set the children off into morning provision.
In regard to the main input of discrimination sounds, I use a combination of my own ideas, whilst taking inspiration from Phase 1 Letters and Sounds. (Letters and sounds is not a SSP and cannot be used as a schools scheme. However, it does have some fantastic sound discrimination activity ideas that we use before our children start Read, Write, Inc in January).
Here are three of my favourites:
1. Teddy is lost in the jungle
One child (the rescuer) is taken aside while a teddy bear is hidden somewhere in the room. Tell the other children they are going to guide the rescuer to the teddy by singing louder as the rescuer gets closer to, or quietly as the rescuer moves further away from the teddy. Alternatively lead the children in singing a familiar song, rhyme or jingle, speeding up and slowing down to guide the rescuer.
2. Mrs Browning has a box
Turn a box on its side with the opening facing away from the children. One by one place between four and six familiar noisy items (e.g. a set of keys, crisp packet, squeaky toy) into the box, pausing to name them and demonstrate the sound each one makes. Sing to the tune of ‘Old MacDonald’ but using your own name or one of the children’s: Mrs…has a box ee i ee i o And in that box she has a… Stop. Gesture and ask the children to listen. Handle one of the objects in the box, out of sight, to make a noise. The children take it in turns to guess what is making the sound. Continue the song but imitating the sound using your voice. With a zzz zzz here and a zzz zzz there… Allow the children to take a turn at making a noise from inside the box and use their names as you sing.
3. Describe and find it
Set up a model farmyard. Describe one of the animals but do not tell the children its name. Say, for example: This animal has horns, four legs and a tail. Ask them to say which animal it is. Ask them to make the noise the animal might make. When they are familiar with the game let individual children take the part of the adult and describe the animal for the others to name. This activity can be repeated with other sets of objects such as zoo animals, toy sets based on transport (e.g. aeroplane, car, train, bus, boat) and musical instruments. It can be made more challenging by introducing sets of random objects to describe and name.I hope you have found this insight into teaching phonics useful and join me next week where I explore the early stages of mathematics - the 5 principles counting.
- Miss Yeoman.
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