Video 1 – General information on the literacy programme we implement at St Angela Schools:

–          Children learn how to read and write sounds in groups

–          Children learn how to read by blending sounds

–          Letter names are NOT used at this phase of the programme but shall be eventually used when they go to primary school

–          At St Angela we prepare children to read the simplest of Word Families in the English language (mainly CVC – e.g. cat, hat, dog)

–          Using this method child shall be able to use a SKILL to read a large number of words which are mainly CVC

–          Read a lot of stories to your children

Video 2 – Using Sound blending to read words

–          The flashcards mentioned in this video are the ones parents buy at the beginning of year at St Angela schools

–          Sounds are organised in particular groups – the first group is m,a,s,t,d

–          As soon as the first group is covered, children will be taught how to blend sounds to read regular words

–          Ask the children to look at you while you say the sounds

–          First say the sounds (/m/ /u/  /d/) and then say the word mud

–          Use the cards (letter side) while you say the sounds and put them together to form a word

–          Then ask the children to say the sounds and read the words without your help

Video 3 – Information for Parents – Understanding Phonics

–          Cat has 3 sounds (/c/ /a/ t/)

–          Ship also has 3 sounds (/sh/ /i/ /p/)

–          In KG the children are only taught the simple sounds – this helps them master the skill of reading rather than overwhelming them with a lot of information

–          The more complex sounds are taught in the coming years – mainly in year 1 and year 2 – the secret is teaching them gradually and not all at once

–          AT ST ANGELA WE FOCUS ON TEACHING OUR YOUNG LEARNERS TO MASTER READING OF SIMPLE CVC WORDS – thus giving them the time to adapt and grow

–          Please follow our curriculum to support and develop reading skills in your children

Video 4 – Learn how to say the sounds

–          Practice saying the sounds correctly

–          Do not add the /uh/ sound at the end

–          Sounds are stretchy or bouncy

–          Set 1 sounds are the sounds that shall be covered by the end of KG 2 (with the exception of sh, ch, th)

–          At this stage, the aim is to give the children the skill to read words by blending – this will empower the children and will not put a lot of effort on their memory

Video 5 – Why read to your children?  Teaching Literacy at school is not enough!

–          Students whose parents read them a lot of stories, come to school with better skills to develop literacy

–          Read aloud to your children to develop love for reading

–          Reading aloud with your children helps to develop vocabulary and other important skills

–          Reading aloud helps your children to understand the use of punctuation

–          Children need to see that YOU love reading too.

Video 6 – 10 things to think about when you read to your child

–          Make reading fun

–          Find a quiet spot

–          Show curiosity

–          Read the story several times

–          Talk about the story with your child

–          Avoid testing your child what they remember

–          Link the stories to children’s experience

–          Use different voices for different stories and characters

–          At this stage use the books indicated by your school – children are just beginning to read, giving them the wrong levelled book may do more harm than good

Video 7 – Reading the stretchy sounds with your child

Video 8 – Reading the bouncy sounds with your child

Other videos you might use to teach reading of cvc words:

You can also follow the Literacy Unit within the Secretariat for Catholic Education Facebook Group by clicking on the the link.