Help with teaching phonics?

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

DD is 5yo (April born) and in FS2. Her reading is coming on brilliantly and the teacher is trying to challenge her a bit by putting her up a level. she's come home with a level four book which is introducing the long I sounds ie igh and i as in 'rice'.

what is the correct way to teach the i as in rice one? do they learn magic e? her teacher hasn't given me any hints on what Im supposed to say to her when she questions it. obviously words like these aren't exactly decodeable like earlier cvc words. it isn't just a case of blending a sound. any hints or tips?

teacher said she is well above average with her reading in her class and they are pushing her because she enjoys it so much. at home we read a lot but i don't want to teach her differently to school. it's a bit difficult to approach teachers as it's always in morning/afternoon rush that we see them. any advice would be great

My 6yo calls it 'split i' and no, magic e isn't taught anymore, though I still remember the song about the cap becoming a cape and the mat becoming mate because of magic e and that was 35+ years ago

I would put a note in her reading record and ask the question. Whenever I've done this the teacher has been very good at replying and giving me a mini phonics lesson .

Some schools will call it a split vowel digraph, some just a split digraph and others a split spelling.

My dd's school recommends
this phonics site which has guidance for parents.

thanks ill look on.that site next time im on the laptop. im sure i learned with magic e too but we didn't do phonics i think we did look and say.

ill definitely put a note in her record that's a good idea. i love seeing her learning and i can see her getting better and better each week

if i do tell her about magic e will i get in trouble with the teacher? what's so wrong with it? i think it's on alphablocks so it can't be that bad?

Alphablocks mentions it being a split digraph too, tbh their song about turning 'i' to 'igh' sound was the one my kids really got.

Hi - retired TA (male) here :

When I first worked in school as TA (1993) 'magic e' was the accepted term. Things change (and not necessarily for the better) but see mrz explanation above. However, in more recent times when teaching 'split digraph' I sometimes used to tell children "We used to call it 'magic e' but we aren't supposed to say that now," and they enjoyed the slightly 'naughty' element.

It's not so much the who's right and who's wrong element that matters; it's the can the children understand what you're saying?

I've got to be honest I've never taught in a school where it has been called "magic e" but it was the way I was taught way back in the dark ages (yes I am that old)