Reading opens the door to learning. A child who reads a lot will become a good reader. A good reader will be able to read more challenging material. A child who can read more challenging material is a child who will learn. The more a child learns, the more he or she will want to find out.

Read, Write Inc

Here at the St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, we are using the 'Read Write Inc' (RWInc) programme to get children off to a flying start with their literacy. RWInc is a complete literacy programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. However, we will continue teaching RWInc to children beyond the age of 7 if they still need support in their reading. 

RWInc was developed by Ruth Miskin and more information on this can be found at https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/.

Using RWInc, the children learn to read effortlessly so they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read. It also allows them to spell effortlessly so they can put all their energy into composing what they write.

The children are assessed regularly and grouped according to their ability. They will work with a RWInc trained teacher or teaching assistant. In addition to the RWI, children will also be working on writing skills in their classes with their own teacher.

Reading

When using RWI to read the children will:

·        Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple prompts.

·        Learn to read words using sound blending (Fred talk).

·        Read decodable texts featuring words they have learnt to sound out ('Fred Talk')

·        Show that they comprehend the stories by answering questions related to the texts.

Writing

When using RWI to write the children will:

·        Learn to write the letter/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds.

·        Learn to write words by saying the sounds and graphemes (Fred fingers).

·        Learn to write simple then more complex sentences.

·        Compose stories based on story strips.

·        Compose a range of texts using discussion prompts.

Talking

When using RWI the children will also work in pairs:

·        To answer questions.

·        To practise every activity.

·        To take turns talking and listening to each other.

·        To give positive praise to each other.

Blending

Help your child learn to read words by sounding-blending (Fred talk) eg. c-a-t = cat, sh-o-p = shop. Children learn to read words by blending the letter-sounds that are in the Speed Sounds set (shown further down the page).

Help your child to say the pure sounds ('m' not 'muh', 's' not 'suh' etc.) as quickly as they can, and then blend the sounds together to say the whole word.

Support your child at home using the following guide:

The Read Write Inc Lead Teacher at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Cheung. If you have any questions or need any guidance on the programme, please pop into the school office or give them a call and they will arrange an appointment for you.