Phase 4
Your child is now ready to learn Phase 4. The main aim of this phase is to consolidate the children's knowledge and to help them learn to read and spell words which have adjacent consonants, such as trap, string and milk.
Below is our usual phonics routine which would usually last around 20 minutes. I have shared this with you for some guidance however, please just do what is manageable for you and your child.
The first activity would be to revisit sounds that we have previously learnt. This would be a short, quick recall activity. It is important to continue to practise these, so your child has secure knowledge of ALL the sounds, especially with those tricky vowel diagraphs and trigraphs. You can use these to help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU2vWZKS7rY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2HYM9VXz9k
Next, we would learn a new consonant blend. During this time, we learn how to pronounce the blend, how to write the blend and read some words that contain our new blend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR_IgfIgz10 (this video will help with the pronunciation if you are unsure)
After that we practise segmenting and blending words containing the new and previously learnt sound in a game. This part can be tricky but is really important to support reading and writing.
Finally, we apply all our phonics knowledge, this usually involves reading or writing sentences using some words that involve the new consonant blend.
See the resources below for some activities and websites for support.