As we head into a fresh term, it’s the perfect time to revisit and refresh your phonics teaching strategies. Whether you’re a teacher, TA, or support staff, our Phonics Refresher Toolkit is packed with practical tips and resources to help you feel confident and ready to inspire your learners. Here’s everything you need to know to start the term on the right foot.

Revisiting the Basics: The 5 Key Skills of Phonics

Phonics success starts with mastering the essentials. Let’s go over the five key skills:

• Learning the letter sounds: Use songs and actions to make the 42 letter sounds stick. If you don’t have them, make them up!
• Learning letter formation: Encourage proper letter formation through fun, multi-sensory activities like air writing and tracing.
• Blending: Focus on blending sounds to form words, starting with simple CVC words for beginners.
• Identifying sounds in words (Segmenting): Make segmenting enjoyable with sound buttons or clapping syllables.
• Tricky words: Gradually introduce common tricky words with memorable phrases or actions to support retention.

Quick Start Activities for Your Classroom

Jumpstart your lessons with these engaging activities:

Warm-Up Ideas

• Phonics Simon Says: Combine actions for sounds with a fun game to energise your class.
• Sound Treasure Hunt: Hide objects around the room that match your target sounds and let students find them.

Blending Games

• Roll a Word: Use dice with letters to create and blend simple words.
• Sound Splat: Write sounds on sticky notes and let students “splat” the correct one with a flyswatter.

Segmenting Practice

• Word Stretchers: Use a stretchy band or stretch out your arms to break down sounds in a word (e.g., /s/ /a/ /t/ ).
• Picture Match: Match pictures to their segmented sounds for a hands-on learning experience.

Checklists for Teachers

Ensure your phonics sessions are effective with these handy checklists:

Planning Tips

• Schedule a daily 20-minute phonics session.
• Balance your lessons with revision, new content, and application.
• Keep activities fast paced and engaging to maintain attention.

Classroom Environment

• Set up a dedicated phonics corner with tools like sound cards and blending boards.
• Create a sound wall to reinforce learning visually.
• Use colourful flashcards and posters as visual aids.

Take the January Phonics Challenge!

Start the term with a fun challenge for your staff! Each week, focus on one of these goals:

• Try a new blending game with your class.
• Share your favourite tricky word activity with a colleague.
• Introduce a new multi-sensory tool into your phonics lessons.
• Observe a peer’s lesson or swap ideas with a fellow teacher.

This Phonics Refresher Toolkit is your go-to guide for creating engaging, effective lessons. Share the challenge with your team, and let’s make January the best start to the term yet! Got any favourite phonics tips or activities? Share them in the comments below!