Phase 1 Phonics

How is Phonics Taught?

Phonics is taught in phases, starting in the preschool setting and continuing until year 2.

• Phase 1 is usually covered in the preschool setting as well as in Reception and is all about speaking and listening.
• Following on from this, Phase 2 begins to introduce children to single letter sounds, such as a followed by simple digraph phonemes, such as ck.
• Phase 3 looks at trickier digraphs, such as ai and oa and trigraphs such as igh.
• Phase 4 is a consolidation of all phonemes learned so far, especially within CCVC (consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant) words such as slip, and CVCC words such as tent. Furthermore, children will be taught to segment and blend polysyllabic words.
• Phase 5 is about broadening their knowledge of graphemes and phonemes for use in reading and spelling. They will learn new graphemes and alternative pronunciations for these and graphemes they already know.
• Phase 6 is about reading words and teaching spelling; introducing and teaching the past tense; suffixes; longer words and the application of this spelling within writing. This is covered in year 1 and 2. 
• High Frequency words will be learned throughout.

This blog post looks at all things relating to Phase 1 Phonics.

A Parents’ Guide to Phonics

If you haven’t already done so, watch our webinar, ‘A Parents’ Guide to Phonics’. It is free and will give you a great introduction to phonics and how it all works.

Phase 1 Phonics

Phase 1 is usually covered in the preschool setting as well as in Reception. It focuses on speaking and listening and it is split into seven different aspects:

1. Environmental sounds
2. Instrumental sounds
3. Body Percussion
4. Rhythm and rhyme
5. Alliteration
6. Voice sounds
7. Oral blending and segmenting

Activities and Games for Phase 1 Phonics

• Listening Walks

Take a walk outside and ask children to listen carefully to the sounds around them. Encourage them to identify and describe the different sounds they hear.

• Sound Scavenger Hunt:

Create a list of specific sounds (e.g., a dog barking, a car driving, a bird tweeting) and children have to listen for and check off each sound they hear.

• Reading Books

Reading books with ‘noises’. The Listening Walk by Paul Showers is a great one.

• Musical Instruments

– Allow children to experiment with various musical instruments to explore the different sounds they can produce. Can they make a loud sound? Can they make a quiet sound?

– Instrument hide and seek. Hide instruments around the house/garden and get your child to find it. Once they find it, play different rhythms on the instrument and see if they can copy it.

• Sound Boxes

Fill small boxes or containers with objects that make distinct sounds (e.g., a bell, crinkly paper, a jingling keychain). Children can shake the boxes and guess what’s inside based on the sound.

• Identify the Mystery Sound

Check out this online game where children have to work out what the mystery sound is!

• Body Percussion

– Investigate the sounds they can make with their body – clapping, stamping, clicking, shuffling etc.

– Investigate the sounds they can make with their voice – snoring, breathing, singing, whispering, high noises, low noises, quiet noises and loud noises.

– Play ‘Guess the noise’ where they close their eyes and you make a sound with your body and they try and guess how you made it. 

• Rhyme Time!

Provide a collection of objects or pictures, some of which rhyme (e.g., hat, cat, mat) and encourage children to find the pairs that rhyme.

– ‘I spy with my little eye, something that rhymes with…’ Can they guess what it is? This is a great one for car journeys!

– Guessing the odd one out. Say three words where one does not rhyme. Can they identify it?

• Rhythm Clapping:

Create simple rhythmic patterns and have children clap along. You can use your hands, or introduce simple rhythm instruments like tambourines or shakers.

• Alliteration Games:

Practice coming up with words that start with the same sound (e.g., “big bear,” “silly snake”). Encourage children to make up their own alliterative phrases.

• Nursery Rhymes and Songs

Singing familiar nursery rhymes and songs helps children become more attuned to the sounds of language.

• Hearing the Sound

Make a ‘silly soup’ by adding ingredients that start with the same sound. Stir them in and encourage children to choose the right objects that start with that sound.

What’s Next?

Some nurseries begin to introduce phase 2 phonics in the preschool year and all children will be taught phase 2 phonics once they begin Reception. It’s important to remember there shouldn’t be any pressure to ensure your child knows all their sounds before they start school. However, if they are showing enthusiasm to hear, recognise and learn sounds, then embrace this and give them the opportunities to learn more. Take a look at our Phase 2 Phonics Blog Post.

Phonics Books

We have written several phonics books, which are designed to support your child with phonics. Our books are ideal in supporting and reinforcing phonics for Reception children in England. Reception children are those entering the first year of primary school (4-5 year olds). Children now follow a structured phonics-based programme. Whilst schools can choose their own programme, it is often taught in six phases which starts in nursery and ends in Year 2 and our books do the same, so they will fit well with your child’s own school teaching of phonics.