Phonics Practice Book
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Phonics Screening Check
The phonics screening check will take place during the week beginning 12th June 2017.
It is designed to give teachers and parents, information on how your son/daughter is
progressing in their phonics and reading. The check consists of 40 words (real and
nonsense) that your child will be asked to read one-to-one with a teacher known to the
child. Every child is different, but most children will take between four and nine
minutes to complete the check. The check is for all Year 1 pupils and children in Year 2
who previously did not meet the standard of the check in Year 1. It is a statutory
requirement for all schools to carry out the phonics screening check.
What will it check?
It will check that your son/daughter can:
 Sound out and blend sounds in order to read simple words. E.g. d-o-g dog
 Read phonically decodable one syllable and two syllable words. E.g. chat, windmill
 Read a selection of nonsense (alien) words which are referred to a pseudo words.
E.g. brip, snorb
What are nonsense (pseudo) words and why are they included?
They are words that are phonically decodable but are not actual words with an
associated meaning. Pseudo words are included in the check to assess whether your
son/daughter can decode a word using phonics skills and not their memory. The pseudo
words will have a picture of a monster/alien and children are asked to read the
monster/alien name. This makes the check fun, provides a context for the nonsense
word and helps children understand that the nonsense word should not be matched to
their existing vocabulary. Children have to be able to decode it.
Pass mark
The threshold for 2016 was 32 words out of 40. The pass mark for 2017 is unknown to
teachers and will be revealed after the screening check in June. Parents/Carers will
receive a letter reporting phonics screening outcomes with their child’s end of year
report in July.
If you need any more clarification or have any questions please speak to your
son/daughter’s class teacher.
Thank you for your continued support.
Children need to be able to identify sounds with different letters and
combination of letters and blend these sounds together to say the word. The
words gradually get harder as the combinations of letters become more
complicated. Children need to recognise alternative sounds in real words, such
as ‘y’ in the word happy having the pronunciation ‘e’.
All past phonics check booklets are available online.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national
-curriculum-assessments-practicematerials#phonics-screening-check-resources.
Set 1 sounds
Set 2 sounds
Set 3 sounds
ff: off
ll: pull
ie: tie
wh: white
oe: shoe
ey: donkey
y: funny
se: horse
ss: hiss
zz: buzz
ue: blue
ph: phone
au: haunt
e-e: these
ck: clock
Nonsense Words
sounds
Make up your own nonsense words using sounds your child needs to practise
How can I help my child at home?
Make learning sounds fun!
There are lots of websites available to help your child with their phonics.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/phonics/.
www.ictgames.com.literacy.html.
www.familylearning.org.uk/phonics_games.html.
www.letters-and-sounds-com/.
www.phonicsplay.co.uk
www.mrthorne.com/.
Some are available as apps.
Letters and Sounds has some simple flash cards that can be printed at home
for children to practice with.
Don’t forget about your reading books and library books.
Practicing reading daily automatically helps with decoding.
Practice test
Buried Treasure Game
Sort the coins into real and
nonsense words. Make your own
coins using sounds your child
needs to practise.