Read Write Inc

At St Meriadoc Infant Academy we use a synthetic phonics programme called 'Read Write Inc' produced by Ruth Miskin.
Read Write Inc is a method of teaching reading which is centred around learning the sounds of the letters (phonics), and then blending them together to read words. The children also learn to break down words into individual sounds in order to write them. We begin Read, Write, Inc Phonics in Dragonfly Nursery - see Nursery RWI Map.

The document 'RWI Expectations of Progress' sets out what the children should be achieving at key points of the year throughout their Read Write Inc pathway at St Meriadoc Infants. This document 'What to teach when' shows the progression of teaching and how children move through the different stages and book colours.

How it works

The children are assessed and grouped according to their ability.

They work in small groups with a teacher or teaching assistant.

At the end of each half-term the children will be assessed again to check they have made progress. In addition to the Read Write Inc programme the children will also be working on writing skills and storytelling in their classes with their own class teacher.

Reading

Using Read Write Inc the children learn to read effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into understanding what they read.

When using 'Read Write Inc' to read the children will:

Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple picture prompts

Learn to read words by blending the sounds together

Read lively stories featuring words they have learnt to sound out

Show that they understand the stories by answering 'Find It' and 'Prove it' discussion questions.

Writing

Read Write Inc allows the children to spell effortlessly so that they can put their energy into working out what they want to write.

When using 'Read Write Inc' to write the children will:

Learn to write the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds (graphemes)

Learn to write words by sounding them out and then writing the corresponding graphemes

Learn to write simple and then increasingly complex sentences

Compose a range of texts using discussion prompts
Compose stories based on picture strips.

Talking

When using 'Read Write Inc' the children work in pairs to:

Answer questions to practise every activity

Take turns talking to each other

Give positive praise to each other.

Blending

Children learn to read words by blending the letter-sounds that are in the Speed Sound sets
(shown further down the page).

Help your child learn to read words by sound-blending e.g. c-a-t = cat

Help children to say the pure sounds, as quickly as they can, and then to blend the sounds together to say the whole word.

Set 1 sounds

Set 2 sounds

Set 3 sounds

What else can I do to help my child to read?

Read a variety of books (fiction, non-fiction, rhymes etc).

Discuss the different features of various books.

Talk about the books and other reading materials that you have shared.

Explain the meaning of new words.

Most importantly though, show the fun that can be gained by listening to stories and reading a range of texts.e.g. reading and then following a recipe together

Don't forget you don't have to read just books, cereal packets, shopping lists, road signs, web pages, magazines, newspapers are useful ways to practise reading.

It’s very important to say the pure sounds as this enables children to blend quicker and easier in order to read. Here is a video to help you pronounce the sounds with your child.

See below for videos to support RWI at home: