We are starting the journey of learning to read... concerned with reading book instruction

[kiwidreamer]

DS is two weeks into his school career, barely 4yrs old but settling well so far knocks wood Friday saw his first reading book sent home, v exciting!! However I'm a bit concerned with the 6 key words we have been instructed to help him learn 'spot these words in the reading book and in the world around them. The foundation team will check child's progress and re-new the words ever few weeks' the words this week are - I - the - to - no - go - into -

This isn't how phonics works is it???? We have a parents meeting on Wed night to explain to us how the school teaches reading so I'm being impatient I guess, does a good phonics program exclude all forms of HFW / sight learning or can the two approaches compliment each other?

But you would need to know that the 'I' in these words represents the word 'I'; otherwise what would stop you from reading them is im and id (to rhyme with dim and and did)?

Of course the "I" in I'm , I'll and I'd represents the words "I" but if you are 4 and have been told that "I" is the word "I" would you know that I'm is the same and if you know "I'm" is "I" with a "m" would you know that "It" or "If" or "Is" at the beginning of a sentence isn't "I" ?

No, I don't suppose you would; in which case, how would you stop your 4 year-olds reading 'It', 'If' and 'Is' as Ite, Ife and Ice?

We teach that usually the letter is how we write the sound /i/ as in pig or bit but sometimes it can be the way we write the sound /igh/ so first we try /i/ and if it doesn't sound right we then try /igh/. So "im" doesn't sound right so we try igh-m