Introducing phonics to DD starting reception.

[passthewineplz]

Hi, my DD is due to start reception class in September. Can anyone recommend a good website to help me introduce her to phonics, and recommend any good YouTube songs/rhymes as the ones I've found are mainly American (not 100% sure if there's a difference. But I know they say Z differently).

TIA

The issue is that while most children will be fine with learning the letter names first there are a number of children who it causes a lot of problems. And you never know which children those are going to be until it's too late.

So best practice would be to avoid it until children are secure with reading just in case.

Rafa, I totally agree what you are saying.

Irvine I'm not suggesting you are against phonics only trying to explain why teachers leave letter names until later. You've obviously done a good job with your son and that's great. The problem we have as teachers is that we can't predict which children will find letter names confusing and which, like your son will cope, so we err on the side of caution.

Thank you, mrz. I understand.

I can understand the teacher's approach but most toddlers will learn the name of the letter earlier than starting school. I don't really see a big problem as they all will do phonics.

Similar to writing, most toddlers learn a printed letter and in school they learn cursive. No 3 year old has the fine motor skills to do cursive but most are desperate to "write".

As long as you are consistence when it comes to learn to read and write in school they are fine. A friend taught her DD the letters only phonetically, I don't know if that was the reason she could read before she started school but 2 years down the line her DD and my DD read the same level.

Why would most toddlers learn letter names and printed letters?

Maybe because that was how their parents were taught mrz? Parents that read ahead and think about education (and ask on MN!) might do phonics sounds, but most just do it the way they did as children.

I can't think of any parents - or nurseries - that have taught anything other than printed writing to 3 yr olds who wanted to write. I'm trying it with DD, but not sure if it will take, CM and now preschool show her printing if she asks.

I don't see fine motor as being a barrier though noramum. Pre-cursive worked brilliantly for DS at school and he couldn't even hold a pencil properly when he started.

IME most 4 year olds don't know many/all the letter names or many letter-sound correspondences when they start school - the teacher will prefer to teach them themselves anyway. About half can write their names.

Often the ones who start school "writing" can struggle because their letter formation is poor and they find it difficult to be corrected. Those that start ready to write (enthusiastic mark makers, good gross an fine motor skills, an interest in print) take to it much easier!

Also, my eldest started school at just 4 in September not even writing his name, and has just spent this morning writing a story, completely independently, about "a cowboi, a wich and a crokudighl" . They pick it up quickly when they are ready.

Often the ones who start school "writing" can struggle because their letter formation is poor and they find it difficult to be corrected.

That's interesting, of DS's cohort we saw the opposite - even though none of them arrived at school writing in cursive, those that arrived writing remained good at writing in the new style. Whether that's because they had the fine motor skills or because they had the interest I can't say. The ones that struggled were where the parents said they weren't having any of this cursive rubbish and continued to encourage printing at home.

Catkind there are so many other things for toddlers to learn about the world. Perhaps it's just my local area but it's very unusual for children in nursery or beginning reception to know letters or how to write them.

It's interesting (and yes antidotal) but the children who've just left us having achieved level 5/6 weren't reading or writing at all when they started reception, most still weren't writing after a term in school but all achieved expected or exceeding (old point 8/9) at the end of EYFS.

It could well be your area/cohort. In the school I was in it was very unusual for children to know any letters. Among the children I know outside of that, it's quite unusual for children not to know any at all. Some of those children will be able to write a few of them with correct formation too.

My friends in teaching (especially secondary ) seem to worry about it and start early. My friends who are early years trained tend to be much more relaxed and I don't think it would occur to neighbours.

Thanks for the advice. I was worried I wasn't doing enough with her regarding reading and writing, especially as she'll be one of the older children and will be nearly five when she starts school in September.

I've been doing eye spy, and sounding words out rather than using the letter name - so I'll continue with that. And I've been trying to get her to recognise her name - and she can now recognise the letters in her name when she sees words when we're out and about.

I've also asked her Grandma to sound words out, as she has been showing her to write her name when she stays at grandma's to help stop her getting confused.

Nothing will be expected, regardless of her age. What you are doing sounds fine. If she's interested and wants to learn then go with it (in a fairly relaxed, rather than hothousing way). If not, then leave it.

It doesn't make a great deal of difference to attainment in the long run.

Have you checked the schools website? My children's school have a section on phonics and games and work sheets and bits :-)

Catkind there are so many other things for toddlers to learn about the world. Perhaps it's just my local area but it's very unusual for children in nursery or beginning reception to know letters or how to write them.
Hmm, yes, I think most of DS class would have learned some letters before they started. The preschools teach them if nothing else. DS was one of few who couldn't at least write their name. He caught up in reading but not in writing.

DD wants to learn everything that DS learns so she's pretty much unstoppable even if we wanted to. Sometimes I think it's good she goes to preschool to enforce some running around playing dressing up time

passthewineplz, sounds like you're doing just fine.

I've taught for 25 years and have only twice come across 4 year olds who could genuinely read fluently . Not just in my classes but in the many schools I've worked ,.Both , I may add ,were self taught .

Not to steal your post OP , but I wonder do children who read at two actually exist in real life?
Tales of toddlers and Tolstoy make for anxious parents .

My advice is to do puzzles and play board games , bingo and matching cards with your child. They don't necessarily need to be alphabet or numeracy orientated but are valuable for learning to take turns and following instructions .Teach yourself the phonic sounds and then play i spy and ask her to find things beginning with the phonic sounds in books etc.

Of course they do yalla - why would people make it up? mrz is a teacher, I think she knows if her son's reading fluently or not!

A couple of friends' kids were reading confidently before school, one via phonics, one via sight reading. DD is I'd say pretty fluent at 3, very few words she stops to sound out. Is it really that rare? Maybe it's getting more common in the age of toddler-friendly phonics apps and alphablocks.

Pretty rare, yes. I generally see a handful of 4 year olds per class (usually older in the year) who are reading to some extent when they start school but very few who are fluent. I have never met a 2 year old who reads fluently unless memorising a favourite story counts! The vast majority of three year olds cannot read.

I've only seen a handful of children in 30 years. We rarely have a child enter reception already reading, either self taught or taught by parents/nursery.

In my son's case his early reading is related to his autism.

Yalla, my ds was able to read most of the words he came across confidently, but I'm not saying that he was able to read something like Harry Potter at that age!(2 1/2)
He started reception with Orange level books, than jumped to Purple few weeks later and jumped again to lime during spring term.
I am not making it up!( I don't think it was good idea though...because later on I realized his comprehension wasn't so good. Back then, I didn't know MN, so I was clueless and never questioned teacher.)

You're lucky your school's so open-minded irvine. DD learned quickly on arrival in reception but through R and Y1 it's been a constant struggle with the school insisting she needs to spend ages on each band. Constant lectures about comprehension - there's no issue with comprehension at all. They just like all their kids to move through the colours in an orderly manner . They know bloody well what she reads at home and pretend it has no bearing on the situation.

It depends on the individual perception of fluency . The rare readers I have encountered could properly read like an adult . Of course they lacked expression but one had brilliant comprehension .
My children's school has a Pre-School who introduces phonics so most enter a Reception recognizing all the alphabet and knowing the sounds , some will be reading short phrases . They use the Read write inc system , which I find excellent and very similar to the way I was trained to teach taught phonics for SEN.

I work in a different school ( as a specialist teacher )and one with a U.S.A curriculum . There is absolutely nothing but play and exploration at Reception level .