Systematic Synthetic phonics is a method of teaching where words are broken up into the smallest units of sound (phonemes). It teaches children how to identify all the phonemes in a word and match them to a letter in order to be able to spell correctly. At our tutoring centre in Bondi, children are taught to segment a word into individual sounds, using their knowledge of letter sounds, e.g. /b/a/t/ and then blend all the way through the word. Synthetic phonics means that children learn how to read a variety of easily decodable words. At our tutoring centre in Bondi, we have seen how it develops phonemic awareness along with letter- sound correspondence and the progress that children make through learning phonics, is remarkable! Phonics is important for all subject areas and increases children’s overall attainment. At our tutoring centre in Bondi, we believe that learning phonics allows children to become confident and fluent readers, excellent spellers and excel throughout primary school.
What is a grapheme?
A grapheme is a letter or a number of letters that represent a sound (phoneme) in a word. Another way to explain it is to say that a grapheme is a letter or letters that spell a sound in a word.
Examples of graphemes:
- 1 letter grapheme: ca t. The sounds /k/ is represented by the letter ‘c’.
- 2 letter grapheme: l ea The sound /ee/ is represented by by the letters ‘e a’.
- 3 letter grapheme: n igh The sound /ie/ is represented by the letters ‘i g h’.
- 4 letter grapheme: th r ough. The sound /oo/ is represented by the letters ‘o u g h
At our tutoring centre in Bondi, we know that once your child starts to gain phonemic awareness, their progress in both reading and spelling accelerates. Learning how to decode, segment and blend words correctly means that children can read any word, including made up words/alien words. E.g. If a child has learnt the grapheme ‘ai’, they will be able to read alien words such as, ‘zaish.’
What makes Synthetic Phonics so effective?
At our tutoring centre in Bondi, we believe it is:
- Thorough – children learn all 44 phonemes of the English language to ensure there are no gaps in reading and spelling.
- Very explicit – the structure of Synthetic Phonics means that is very clear and easy for children to understand and follow.
- Systematic – it grows in complexity as a child moves from Kindergarten to Year 1 to Year 2
- Consistent – it is the same approach through K-2, so the message about how to read and spell unknown words is consistent
At Discover Learning, we are thorough and consistent in our approach to Systematic Synthetic Phonics. At our tutoring centre in Bondi, our teachers have undergone ‘Read, Write, Inc,’ and ‘Letters and Sounds’ training in the UK, and we carry out best practise in our Education and Tutoring centre in Bondi . With children who require intensive tutoring for phonics, we use Phonics screening checks, to monitor the progress of the children and to see which sounds children are still struggling with. They act as a guidance for our planning and assessments at our tutoring centre in Bondi.
What are the main benefits of learning phonics?
Our teachers in our tutoring centre in Bondi have noted that:
- Learning phonics helps children to decipher words
- Expands children’s vocabulary
- Makes children more able writers
- Helps children develop strong thinking skills
- Makes learning reading and writing fun!
Contact Discover Learning Now and visit our Tutoring Centre in Bondi to see Systematic Synthetic Phonics in action!