In Year 1, the children will have daily phonics lessons, where they will learn a new GPC (Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondence) each week, alongside regularly recapping the GPCs they have already learnt.

The children will also learn different spelling patterns and new Red Words, also known as Common Exception Words. These are words that children need to learn to read and spell because they do not always follow the phonics patterns they have been taught.

Alongside their daily phonics lessons, the children will have a daily shared reading session. The book they explore will link closely to the sounds and words they are learning that week. During these sessions, we will develop the children's:

• Decoding – using their phonics knowledge to read unfamiliar words
• Fluency – reading accurately and smoothly
• Prosody – developing expression, intonation and phrasing when reading
• Comprehension – understanding and talking about what they have read

The shared reader book will come home with your child on a Friday so that you can enjoy reading and talking about it together at home.

 Reading at Home

Your child will also bring home a decodable phonics book. This book has been carefully matched to the phonics sounds your child has been learning, so they should be able to read it independently using their phonics knowledge.

Please encourage your child to read their decodable book at least 3 times a week. Re-reading the same book is really valuable as it helps children to develop their accuracy, fluency, confidence and expression.

We would love to hear how your child is getting on at home, so please add a short comment in their reading record when you have read together.

Supporting Your Child at Home

Please use the phonics resources below to support your child with their phonics and reading at home.

Red Words
Red Words are also known as Common Exception Words or sight words. These are words that children need to learn to recognise and spell, as they do not always follow the phonics patterns they have been taught.

By the end of Year 1, children are expected to be able to read and spell the Blue Red Words. The Orange words are supplementary words which provide additional challenge and practice.

Red word list

Alphabet Strip
The alphabet strip includes the pictures and cues that the children have learnt to associate with each letter and sound. This can be used to help your child recall their GPCs.

Alphabet strip.pdf

GPC Mat
The GPC mat shows all of the GPCs that the children will learn during Year 1. Some of these will already be familiar to the children from Reception.

These resources are there to support you at home and provide a useful reminder of the sounds and words your child is learning in school.