Phonics and Early Readers

At Marlborough Primary School we teach our phonics using the Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) phonics programme. It teaches children to read by identifying the phonemes (smallest unit of sound) and graphemes (written version of the sound) within words and using these to read words. In Reception and Year 1 the children have a daily phonics lesson led by the class teacher. When they start school in Reception they will start with the Phase 2 sounds and progress through phase 2, 3, 4 and 5. As each sound is introduced your child will learn a rhyme to help them remember what the letter looks like and what sound it makes. Each of the phases have a grapheme information sheet that we have linked below for you. Please also watch the ‘Pure Sounds’ video as this will help with the pronunciation of each sound. We hope that these resources will help you to support your child on their reading journey. 

Beginning of Phonics

• Alliteration Guide for Parents download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineAlliteration Guide for Parents
• Body Percussion Guide for Parents download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineBody Percussion Guide for Parents
• Environmental Sounds Guide for Parents download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineEnvironmental Sounds Guide for Parents
• Instrumental Sounds Guide for Parents download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineInstrumental Sounds Guide for Parents
• Oral Blending and Segmenting Guide for Parents download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineOral Blending and Segmenting Guide for Parents
• Rhythm and Rhyme Guide download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineRhythm and Rhyme Guide
• Voice Sounds Guide for Parents download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineVoice Sounds Guide for Parents

Learning Resources

 Video 1 - Pure Sounds

https://youtu.be/UCI2mu7URBc?t=4

Video 2 - How to Blend

https://youtu.be/vqvqMtSNswo

• Early Reading and Phonics October 2023

Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS)

ELS Guide for Parents - Grapheme Information Sheet - Phase 2

grapheme sheet phase 2.pdf

 ELS Guide for Parents - Grapheme Information Sheet - Phase 3

grapheme sheet phase 3.pdf

 ELS Guide for Parents - Grapheme Information Sheet - Phase 5

grapheme sheet phase 5.pdf

Pure Sound Pronunciation

We must use pure sounds when we are pronouncing the sounds and supporting children in reading words. If we mispronounce these sounds, we will make reading harder for our children. Please watch the videos below to hear how to accurately pronounce these sounds.

Pure Sounds Phase 2 Pronunciation

Pure Sounds Phase 3 Pronunciation

Pure Sounds Phase 5 Pronunciation