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Contents

Introduction Fun with Phonics resources Best-practice teaching of synthetic phonics Glossary of terms Using the sections in the Whiteboard Active Assessment and intervention Lesson outlines Teaching the alternative spellings for ai Teaching the alternative spellings for ie Teaching the alternative spellings for f Teaching the alternative spellings for r Teaching the alternative spellings for ch Resources section Spelling activity sheets Simple spelling superstars sheets Alternative spelling cards Individual 44-phoneme grid Sound sort grid Assessment of phonic knowledge Assessment test for reading and spelling the 44 phonemes Assessment test for alternative spellings of vowel digraphs and vowels with r Word lists for main alternative spelling patterns

3 4 6 8 9 13

14 15 16 17 18

19 23 27 43 44 45 46 47 48

Introduction
Words and Pictures Fun with Phonics Whiteboard Actives and E Big Books are interactive resources for use in the classroom for whole-class teaching, group work, and paired or individual computer work.

In Fun with Phonics 3 Vowel Digraphs, this same pattern continues and develops, with vowel digraph phonemes and vowel phonemes with r. In Fun with Phonics Letters and Sounds Phase 5, the children are introduced to the concept of alternative spellings for reading and writing (phonemes can be written down in other main ways) and alternative pronunciations (a letter or letters can make more than one sound).
As the childrens skills develop through the four Whiteboard Actives, they are introduced to sentence-level work for both reading and spelling. Phonically irregular words, called tricky words are also taught, to enable progression from word level to sentence level.

Fun with Phonics Letters and Sounds Phase 5 Whiteboard Active

In Fun with Phonics Letters and Sounds Phase 5 Whiteboard Active, the 44 phonemes of the English language are taught with the corresponding graphemes (letters) and alternative spelling patterns, along with the key skills children need for literacy:

letter/sound matching blending phonemes together to read an unfamiliar word segmenting a word into its individual phonemes and writing it down.
These skills are taught at a fast pace, usually during the first term of the Reception Year. The children are taught how to recognise the phonemes written down as letters (graphemes), how to blend and segment and how to write the letters. The 44 phonemes and graphemes are reviewed using clips from the BBC schools programmes Words and Pictures: Fun with Phonics. A table containing the phonemes covered in this and the previous three Fun with Phonics Whiteboard Active CD-ROMs is shown on page 4.

In Fun with Phonics 1 Alphabet Sounds and Letters, the children move from phoneme level to word level. In Fun with Phonics 2 Alphabet Sounds, Letters and Consonant Digraphs, the children move from phoneme level to word level introducing consonant digraphs.
In these two Whiteboard Actives, the children review individual phonemes, blend and segment three-phoneme words, then four-phoneme words with end consonant clusters, followed by words with initial consonant clusters and finally, five-phoneme words. They also learn consonant digraph phonemes.

Fun with Phonics resources

Whiteboard Active title Fun with Phonics 1 Alphabet Sounds and Letters Fun with Phonics 2 Alphabet Sounds Letters and Consonant Digraphs Phonemes covered satpin m d g o c/ck e urhbfl v w x y z qu ch sh th ng Word type 3-phoneme words 4-phoneme words with end and initial consonant clusters 3-phoneme words 4-phoneme words with end and initial consonant clusters 5-phoneme words 3- and 4-phoneme words with consonant digraphs 3-, 4- and 5-phoneme words Sentence-level work

Fun with Phonics 3 Vowel Digraphs

ai ie ee oi ue oa ou oo OO er or ar air ear ure

Whiteboard Active title Fun with Phonics Letters and Sounds Phase 5

Phonemes covered and their alternative graphemes for spelling c: k ck ch (qu x) j: g dge m: mb n: kn gn r: wr s: se v: ve e: ea o: (w)a ch: tch ng: n(k) oo: u oul ear: ere eer air: are ear ere Phonemes covered and their alternative graphemes for spelling and reading f: ph w: wh ai: ay a-e ey ee: ea e-e ie ey y ie: i-e igh y oa: ow o-e oe OO: ew ue u-e ou: ow er: ir ur or: aw au al oi: oy Alternative pronunciations covered i a e o u c g y ou ow ie ea er ch ey

Word type 3-, 4- and 5-phoneme words Sentence-level work

The Letters and Sounds Phase 5 Whiteboard Active in the Words and Pictures: Fun with Phonics series comprises: animation sequences from Words and Pictures: Fun with Phonics BBC television programmes for reviewing the focus phoneme and teaching its alternative spelling patterns activities to teach the alternative spelling patterns of each phoneme activities to develop blending skills using the alternative spelling pattern word- and sentence-level work to apply blending skills activities to develop segmenting skills word- and sentence-level work to apply segmenting skills audio sequences for teaching and learning alternative pronunciations of phonemes.

In the Whiteboard Active, the children are taught the alternative spelling patterns of each phoneme and then practise reading and segmenting words with these patterns. Next, they move on to sentence work. The E Big Book provides opportunities to practise using these skills when reading phonically regular text, as well as an opportunity to begin to develop focused comprehension work.

The Teachers book

This Teachers book provides notes and materials to support classroom teaching of synthetic phonics at the alternative-spelling level (see DfES Letters and Sounds: Principles and Practice of High Quality Phonics). Lesson outlines are provided to support the teaching of alternative spelling of phonemes, incorporating alternative pronunciations as well as work on alternative spellings for reading and writing. There are also activity sheets to provide practice with blending and segmenting at word- and sentence-level work with sentence-completion activities. Additional resources include: photocopiable alternative spelling cards word lists for alternative spelling patterns assessment sheets and a phonic knowledge check list 44-phoneme grid sound sort grid.

A multi-sensory approach
Through a multi-sensory approach that develops concentration, attention and good listening, the children continue to practise key literacy skills. In this CD-ROM, the children continue to move from phoneme level to word level to sentence level as they are introduced to the concepts of alternative pronunciations and alternative spellings of phonemes. The children review the phonemes that have been taught initially in Reception and learn that these phonemes can be written down in other main ways the phoneme ai can also be written down as ay as in play and a-e as in name. They also learn that consonants and vowels can have more than one pronunciation the letter a can be pronounced a as in hat, ai as in acorn, ar as in fast and o as in was. The letter c can be pronounced c as in cat and s as in cell. This represents a new level of complexity in the childrens learning. Additional tricky words, phonically irregular words, are included in the activities in both the Whiteboard Active and the E Big Book to enable progression from word level to sentence level.

DfES guidance on the teaching of phonics

Letters and Sounds Phase 5 is based on the DfES guidance on the teaching of phonics, as detailed in Letters and Sounds: Principles and Practice of High Quality Phonics.

Fun with Phonics Letters and Sounds Phase 5 E Big Book

The teaching in this Letters and Sounds Phase 5 Whiteboard Active can be supplemented with the Letters and Sounds Phase 5 E Big Book. This provides the children with phonically regular text using some of the alternative spellings found on this CD-ROM, so that the children can move from sentence-level to text-level work.
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Best-practice teaching of synthetic phonics

The 44 phonemes
Synthetic phonics is all about sounds. In synthetic phonics, children are taught 44 speech sounds of the English language, how to match sound to letter and then how to use the key skills of blending (for reading) and segmenting (for spelling).

Progression
As the childrens skills develop, they are encouraged to progress from sound, to word, to sentence for both reading and spelling. At word level, children work with CVC words, CVCC, CCVC and CCVCC words, using 44 phonemes. In a lesson, the progression is: sound, to word, to sentence, with the key skills of letter/sound match, blending and segmenting included. An additional skill, phoneme manipulation (swapping the sounds of an existing word to make a new word), is also used. This has been shown to be very effective in helping all children acquire literacy skills, particularly slow-to-start children and children with Special Educational Needs. In this CD-ROM, the children move on to learning about alternative spellings of phonemes. The children are taught that the phonemes with which they are familiar can be written down in other main ways. They learn to read and write these alternative spelling patterns of the phonemes.

Letter/sound match
After learning to identify individual phonemes, children are shown these phonemes (the smallest units of sound), written down as a letter. It is explained that these graphemes (letters) are the picture of the sound written down. In this way, the relationship between letter and sound is established for the phonemes, both the single alphabet graphemes (one sound represented by one letter) and digraphs (one sound represented by two letters). An action to go with the phoneme (sound) can also be taught so that the children learn in a multi-sensory way. This incorporates a variety of learning styles and helps the children to learn quickly and easily.

Blending
The children are introduced to 44 phonemes, including single alphabet letters (graphemes) and consonant and vowel pairs (digraphs) over a short period of time, usually no more than eight weeks. They are then taught how to blend (synthesize) these sounds together to read unfamiliar words. They sound out the letters and say the word.

Teaching
When planning synthetic-phonics teaching for the classroom, reinforcement and repetition of earlier learning needs to be included; for example, the children practise the phonemes previously taught, not just the new ones taught that day or that week. This strengthens the childrens learning and provides a secure basis for new learning.

Segmenting
For spelling and writing, the children say a word and break it down (segment it) into its individual phonemes and then write it down. In synthetic phonics there are three essential tools for literacy: letter/sound matching, blending and segmenting. It is important for first-time teaching that these phonemes and related skills are taught at a fast pace, so that the skills become automatic and can be applied fluently. In this multi-sensory method of phonics teaching, the progression of skill acquisition goes from simple to complex so that children work with three phonemes, then four phonemes, then five, when blending and segmenting at word level.

Attention and concentration

At the start of the lesson, children listen actively by looking at the teacher, sitting appropriately, ready to interact. The children are also expected to remember previous learning and to recall it. In this way, concentration and attention skills are developed. Teaching is delivered at a lively pace in a multi-sensory and interactive way. This approach supports focused behaviour as well as learning.

A multi-sensory approach
During the lesson, children see, hear and do. Little and often is the best practice, so that by frequent and regular practise of the key skills of letter/sound matching, blending and segmenting, the childrens skills become fluent and automatic.

The lesson
Within each lesson, both reading and spelling, opposite sides of the language processing system, are used. The progression within the lesson is sound, word, sentence for reading and spelling. The key skills of letter/sound matching, blending and segmenting are always included. Phoneme manipulation (changing the sounds within a word) provides vital experience in working at phoneme level. As the children work on reading and spelling in the same lesson, they learn that the alphabetic code is reversible, so they can write down what they say and read back what they write. Letters and sounds for reading, sounds and letters for spelling: literacy skills for all are enhanced.

series of activities, the alternative spelling patterns for the phonemes are taught. In Phase 5, the children move from phoneme level to word level to sentence level. The children review individual phonemes, learn alternative spelling patterns and then blend and segment three-phoneme words and four-phoneme words using the alternative spelling patterns of the focus phoneme. This represents a new level of complexity. As the childrens skills develop they are introduced to sentence level work for both reading and writing. Phonically irregular words called tricky words are also taught in this CD-ROM to enable progression from word level to sentence level.

Development
For children to acquire the key tools for literacy, they need the skills of:

letter/sound (phoneme) match blending phonemes together to read an unfamiliar word segmenting a word into its individual phonemes and writing it down.
The 44 phonemes and the matching graphemes of the English language are taught to the children at a fast pace. Usually this occurs during the first term of the Reception year. The children are taught how to recognise the phonemes written down as letters, how to blend, segment and to write letters (graphemes). As soon as the children have been taught four consonants and two vowels they are able to begin developing these skills. In this Letters and Sounds: Phase 5 Whiteboard Active, the alternative spellings of phonemes, both consonants and vowels, are taught. Clips from the BBC programme Words and Pictures: Fun with Phonics are used to review the first-time teaching of the phoneme and then through a

Glossary of terms
Glossary of terms
This glossary defines the terms used frequently in synthetic phonics teaching, and throughout this book. Manipulation: this is the skill of reading a word, identifying the individual phonemes in the word and then changing a sound to make a new word (e.g. rat becomes ran, then man, then men). Oral comprehension: asking questions using who, what, where and when to help children understand the text. Why questions can also be used, but require inference and deduction to find the answer, rather than simple retrieval of information from the text. Phoneme: this is the smallest unit of sound. It is only one sound, but it can be represented by one or more letters (e.g: ng, ai, th, ar).

Blending
Visual blending: this is the skill of recognising letters (graphemes) in print, saying the sounds and sliding them together to say an unfamiliar word. Oral blending: the skill of blending can be practised orally before introducing print, as in the Robot Game, where the robot says the sounds, then the child says the sounds and blends them together to get the word. This is particularly helpful for children who are finding literacy skills difficult. CCVC word: a word with the pattern consonantconsonant-vowel-consonant. The vowel sound is short, as in crab, spot, twig. CCVCC word: a word with the pattern consonantconsonant-vowel-consonant-consonant. The vowel sound is short as in s-t-a-m-p and g-r-a-n-d. Consonants: these are the alphabet phonemes that are not vowels. They are made by the tongue or lips contacting the mouth and changing the air flow (e.g: b, d, t, m). CVC word: a word with the pattern consonantvowel-consonant (e.g. pig). In these words the vowel is short, as in peg, fan, lip, dog, gun. CVCC word: a word with the pattern consonantvowel-consonant-consonant. The vowel sound is short, as in lamp, mist, sand. CVVC word: a word with the pattern consonantvowel-vowel-consonant. The vowel sound is long as in r-ai-n, and b-oa-t. Digraph: one phoneme written down by two letters (e.g: ng, sh, ie, oi, er). Grapheme: this is the phoneme (sound) written down using a letter or letters.

Segmenting
Segmentation: this is the skill of breaking down a word into the individual phonemes (e.g. cat = c-a-t). The phonemes are written down as letters to make a word. Oral segmentation: is when the spoken word is broken down into single phonemes. Using a multi-sensory method is helpful for segmentation. The child says the word cat then says the individual phonemes that make up the word and flicks up a finger for each one. This stage can precede the written stage. Tricky words: phonically irregular words that need to be remembered by sight. Vowels: these are phonemes made by changing the shape of the mouth cavity (e.g: a, e, i, o, u, ai, ee, ie, oa, ue).

Using the sections in the Whiteboard Active

Reviewing the phonemes
Once the children have learned the 44 phonemes and can blend and segment them in words and sentences, they move on to learn that each phoneme has other main ways of being written down. Check that the children are actively listening with a good sitting posture, are looking at the speaker, have their attention engaged and are ready to listen for the phonemes. To ensure that the childrens knowledge of the phonemes is secure, review the focus phoneme by going to the Introduce and teach activity pages. Go to the Introduce and teach video pages to show the children the sound and its grapheme. Say the sound, for example, ai and play the video to show the sound written down. Ask the children to say the phoneme and to write the letter (or letters) accurately with a finger in the air and then write it down on a small, lined whiteboard. The Word Sort Game is described in the notepad to help the children practise reading and sorting words containing the focus phoneme. These words can also be dictated so that reading and spelling skills develop together. Review the alternative spellings and words on the page to give extra practice and to ensure that the childrens learning is secure. In Unit 2: Alternate graphemes for spelling and reading, you can use the Look, say and read activities to help the children identify the different spelling patterns of the focus phoneme. Ask the children to say the word represented by the picture, then click on the picture to show the word. Ask the children to blend the sounds and underline the alternative spelling pattern in the word using the draw tool.

Class/group activities
For additional practice recognising the alternative spelling patterns of the focus phoneme: Play the Grab game: Using the alternative spelling cards, place twelve cards on the table-top. The children sit in a U-shape around the table with hands in laps, looking at the cards, ready to start. Say a word with an alternative spelling for the focus phoneme and the children grab the card with the correct spelling pattern. This is repeated until all the cards have been won. The children read back the cards they have won, saying a word that contains the spelling pattern and the winner is declared. Writing the alternative spelling patterns for the focus phoneme: Give the children individual, small, lined whiteboards and pens. Say a word with the alternative spelling pattern for the focus phoneme and ask the children to write the pattern down. Repeat using words with the other spelling patterns until all the alternatives for the focus phoneme have been written down. Ask the children to read back the spelling patterns they have written and to say a word with each pattern in it. Monitor correct formation, orientation and position of letters on the line. For examples of words containing the focus phoneme see the resources section of the Teachers book. Matching the alternatives: A sheet matching a picture to the correct alternative can be found in the resources section of the Teachers book.

Teaching the alternative spelling patterns

Explain to the children that long ago when our language was first written down, there were several ways of writing down a phoneme, for example, ai. Go to the Introduce and teach video pages. Click on the markers and ask the children to read the alternative spelling patterns as they appear and then to blend and read the words containing that pattern. For ai, the spelling patterns a, ay, a-e and ey will be shown. Further activities to develop this learning can be found in the notepad. Click on the page numbers to find the activities.

Blending
Visual blending When the children come across a word they do not know, ask them to sound it out, matching letter to sound, for example, t-r-ai-n and then ask them to say the word. All phonically regular words can be sounded out in this way. For the split digraph (one sound represented by two letters but split by a consonant as in gate) the children are taught that the pattern a-consonant-e, a-e, still says ai.

Reading the alternative spelling patterns

To practise blending the alternative spelling pattern of phonemes, go to the Look, blend and read activity pages:

Click on the audio buttons to hear different sounds for the focus phoneme. Ask the children to blend the sounds of a word at the bottom of the page, say the word and then drag the word with the alternative spelling of the focus phoneme into the correct box. Repeat until all the words with the alternative spelling pattern of the focus phoneme have been dragged into the box. Not all of the words have an alternative spelling of the focus phoneme and should not be dragged into the box. To develop the childrens reading skills from word level to sentence level, go to Reading and sentence writing: word detectives and spelling superstars.

There are six pictures on each page. Ask the children to name them. These pictures will represent the alternative spelling pattern of the phoneme you have chosen. Click on each picture so that the words are revealed. Ask the children to blend and read the words. Next, ask the children to underline the different spellings of the focus phoneme using the draw tool and to comment on the position of the alternative spelling pattern in the word. The words for blending can be found in the notepad. For additional practice and blending accuracy go to the Sort it! activity pages: Ask the children to read the words in the box at the bottom of the page before reading the sentences with the missing words. Next, ask the children to complete the sentences by dragging the missing word into the correct sentence and reading it again. Repeat until all the sentences are completed. The answers and additional activities are listed in the notepad.

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For children who are finding visual blending difficult, play the Robot game: Say that there is a robot that can say the sounds but cannot get the word. Say a CVC (consonantvowel-consonant word) in a staccato voice, phoneme by phoneme, moving your arms like a robot and saying:

Say a word from those listed on the first page of the notepad. The children repeat the word and segment it, using phoneme fingers. Fingers are folded, the word is repeated, then as each phoneme is said, the children flick up a finger as in t-r-ai-n. Drag the letters on the page into the boxes to make the word and ask the children to say the word again. With a sequence of letters and six words, practice is given in segmenting and spelling words. Cover the page using the mask tool and dictate the words from the notepad to the children, who segment the words using phoneme fingers and then write them on small, lined whiteboards. Finally, the children read back the words they have written. Use Show me to monitor the accuracy of the spelling and letter formation.
Once the childrens spelling skills are secure at word level, move on to sentence level work. Go to the Sentence writing: spelling superstars activity pages:

r-ai-n
The children copy the movements, saying the phonemes and then saying the word. Repeat until the children are able to get the word quickly and easily. When this oral skill is secure,move on to visual blending with single written words. Oral blending activities can also be found in Fun with Phonics 3 Vowel Digraphs in the Whats the word? activity pages.

Segmenting
Top tip
Phoneme finger game Oral segmenting: to help the children to listen carefully to the individual sounds in words, ask children to fold their fingers, say the word after the teacher and then flick up a finger as they say each phoneme. This multi-sensory approach helps the children remember the teaching and supports spelling skills. To develop segmenting skills, go to the Practise segmenting: make a word activity pages:

Ask the children to read the words in the box at the bottom of the page before reading the sentences with the missing words. Next, ask the children to complete the sentences by dragging the missing word into the correct sentence and reading it again. Repeat until all the sentences are completed. Cover the page using the mask tool and dictate the words from the notepad to the children, monitoring accurate spelling and letter formation.

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 Once the childrens spelling skills are secure at word level, move on to dictation sentences.

Class/group activities
For children who are experiencing difficulty with visual segmenting, playing the Phoneme Finger Game in a small group with the teacher is helpful as extra practice segmenting words: The teacher says a word. The children flick up their folded fingers for each sound in the word to practise accurate segmentation. Next, the children hide their hands under the table and the teacher says a word (two-, threeor four-phoneme words can be used, depending on the childrens skill level). The children count the phonemes on their fingers. The teacher calls phoneme fingers and the children show the number of phonemes with their fingers.

Teaching alternative pronunciations

In certain words, some graphemes are pronounced using a different sound. In the Sort it! pages you will find a word sort activity to introduce the children to these alternative pronunciations of vowels, consonants and digraphs. With these pages, ask the children to sound out the words below the boxes. When the blending produces a nonsense word, tell them to try the alternative sound of that letter e.g. sound out find, f-i (as in pig) -n-d. Tell the children that if i does not work, then they should try ie. You will find the alternative pronunciations listed in the notepad. When the children have blended and read the words accurately, they drag each word into the correct box for that grapheme pronunciation. For children who need extra practice in identifying the choices, you will find more activities in the notepad.

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Teaching the alternative spellings for f

Lesson outline for teaching the alternative spelling patterns of f for reading and writing
Learning objectives:
to read two alternative spellings of f in words: f and ph to write two spelling patterns of f accurately in words to read regular sentences containing two spelling patterns of f. Sentence level: Once the childrens skills are secure at word level, move on to the Reading and sentence writing: word detectives and spelling superstars (f) activity page. Ask the children to read the sentences and the words in the box below and then drag the words into the spaces to complete the sentences. Cover the page using the mask tool and dictate simple regular sentences containing the alternative spelling patterns of f to the children who write them on their small, lined whiteboards and then read back their sentences.

Reviewing f and the alternatives

Phoneme level: Go to the Introduce and teach (f) video page. Ask the children to say the sound and write it in the air with a finger. Click on the markers one at a time to show the children the alternative spelling patterns. Ask the children to say the alternative spelling and to sound and blend the words at each marker. Cover the page using the mask tool and ask the children to write down the alternative spellings of f (f and ph) on small, lined whiteboards. Go to the Look, blend and read (f) activity page. Ask the children to name the pictures and then click on them to reveal the words. Ask the children to blend and read the words. Next, ask a child who has read a word underline the spelling pattern of f on the whiteboard using the draw tool. Word level: This activity page can be interchanged with the Practise blending: word sort (f) activity page. Once the children are familiar with the spelling patterns of the focus phoneme. Ask the children to blend the sounds, say the word and then circle them if they contain the f sound. Cover the page using the mask tool and dictate words with the alternative spelling pattern of f that you are working on. Use Show me to monitor accuracy of spelling and letter formation. The children read back the words they have written.

Supplementary acivities
Once the children are familiar with the alternative spelling patterns of phonemes f, g, c and w. Consolidate their skills by reading A Proper Princess in the Fun with Phonics Letters and Sounds Phase 5 E Big Book, identifying the alternatives in the text and completing the activities. Ask simple comprehension questions about the text.

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Activity Sheet 1

Spelling activity sheet ai

Say the word, say the sounds, choose the correct spelling of ai and fill in the gaps.

ai

ay

a-e

ey

r___

t___

g___

s____

t___

c___
Answers: rain, tray, gate, snake, tail, clay

BBC Active Words and Pictures Fun with Phonics Phase 5

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Activity Sheet 2

Spelling activity sheet ee

Say the word, say the sounds, choose the correct spelling of ee and fill in the gaps.

ee

ea

e-e

ie

ey

t____

ch _ _ _

P___

s__

d_____

f____
Answers: teeth, chief, Pete, sea, donkey, field

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BBC Active Words and Pictures Fun with Phonics Phase 5