Children entering phase two will have experienced lots of listening activities, including songs, stories and rhymes. They will be able to distinguish between speech sounds. Many will be able to blend and segment words orally. Some will also be able to recognise spoken words that rhyme and provide a string of rhyming words. If children are not experienced with rhyming, they can still move into phase two, as these activities continue.
By the end of the phase many children are expected to:
- know at least 19 letters
- be able to read some vowel-consonant (VC) and consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words
- be able to spell words, using magnetic letters or by writing the letters on paper or whiteboards
- learn to read the high-frequency, irregular (‘tricky’) words: ‘the’, ‘to’, ‘go’, ‘no’.
This phase moves children from oral blending and segmentation to blending and segmenting with letters. It also introduces children to the reading of two-syllable words and simple captions.
Development expectations
Early Years practitioners can see which specific letters, sounds and words children are expected to recognise and write by the end of phase two of Letters and Sounds. This is part of a six-week phonetics programme within Communication, Language and Literacy Development (CLLD).
Teaching approaches
Early Years practitioners can see how phase two of Letters and Sounds uses letter sets and word lists to build children’s skills and understanding. There is information on the benefits of using magnetic boards and letters. This is part of Communication, Language and Literacy Development (CLLD).
Activities
Early Years practitioners can see how teaching is focused throughout phase two of Letters and Sounds with activities that build children’s skills in stages. This is part of Communication, Language and Literacy Development (CLLD).
- Practising letter recognition and recall
- Oral blending and segmentation
- Teaching letters: example sessions
- Blending VC and CVC words
- Segmenting VC and CVC words
- Teaching irregular and high-frequency words
- Reading and writing captions
- Words for reading and spelling practice
- Captions for reading practice
