Phonics Foundations
Introduction
Phonics Foundations is a collection of resources for teaching foundational reading and spelling skills to adult learners. The resources have been designed for the adult migrant English classroom and they can also be used with individuals, They are designed to be adapted for different beginner levels.
There are core resources which teach letter sounds, blending and spelling (which is the reverse process of blending). Research into reading programs for beginners of all ages strongly supports the teaching of these three skills. The sounds have been grouped into seven sets so that they are taught sequentially. These sets of sounds are aligned with Jolly Phonics https://www.jollylearning.co.uk/jolly-phonics/
Sets of sounds
Set 1: s a t i p n
Set 2: ck e h r m d
Set 3: g o u l f b
Set 4: ai j oa ie ee or
Set 5: z w ng v oo oo
Set 6: y x ch sh th th
Set 7: qu ou oi ue er ar
There are also additional resources for use in the classroom across the week to reinforce the sounds, blends and spelling skills in fun and engaging ways.
Summary of content
Core resources
- PowerPoint slides
- YouTube videos
- Reading Word docs
- Spellling Word docs
Additional resources
- SPELD SA readers (stories that correspond with the sets of sounds)
- Dictation
- Matching tasks for comprehension
Teaching strategies
* Learn/ revise the letter sounds before you teach your students. A great way to do this is by watching the Jolly Phonics video below The order of sounds presented in the video corresponds with the order in the Jolly Phonics sets.
*Implement a 15 minute session each day with your students where you teach the core skills (letter sounds, blending/reading and spelling).
*Develop a schedule for your class so that all teachers are teaching the same sets of sounds across the week. How quickly you progress through the sounds will depend on your class and this may take some trial and error.
*The teacher instructions for reading and spelling are at the top of the page of corresponding Word docs. Sets 4 and above for the reading and spelling Word docs have additional word lists for post beginner students at levels EAL 1+. These are higher level words (e.g. have more letters) to provide an extra challenge.
*In a 15 minute session, teach the letter sounds from one set that your class is working on that week. Do this by showing the class the PPT slides with the relevant set of sounds. The YouTube videos can also be used for this purpose in class if the teacher prefers. Quickly review some of the sounds from previously learnt sets (ongoing revision is important). Do some word blending (refer to the PPT slides and YouTube videos) and there are additional words to blend on the corresponding reading Word doc. Choose some words for the students to spell from the corresponding spelling Word doc.
*Ensure that you as the teacher model the skills for the students and then ask them to repeat after you. For example model the sound of a letter and then ask the students to repeat. This ensures that they hear the hear the correct pronunciation first. The same applies to blending words.
*A general teaching strategy is 'read, say, write'. These three learning modes give students the best chance to remember what they have learnt as they reproduce the skills in different ways.
*Each week send your students the YouTube video link that corresponds with the set of sounds you are practising in class. Encourage your students to practise the sounds at home.
*Here's a demonstration of the core teaching strategies in an adult migrant English class:
About the program developer...
Anna has been teaching EAL to adult migrants and international students for 17 years and she currently teaches at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.
Prior to teaching English, Anna worked for 18 years as a psychologist in the field of educational and developmental psychology. She combines her knowledge of cognitive processes involved in learning with her passion for teaching engaging evidence- based EAL lessons.
Phonics Foundations is currently being used by Swinburne teachers in the Migrant English program across three campuses. This website enables teachers beyond Swinburne to use these resources in their own classrooms and tutoring.
Enjoy the phonics journey!
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Anna Fishley
Master of Science (Psychology)
Master of Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages