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Jolly Phonics Teacher's Guide

What is SSP?

What is Systematic Synthetic Phonics?

  • Building the Alphabetic Code from the Start

    SSP teaches children the alphabetic code of English, from the beginning, starting with simple letter sound correspondences and gradually being introduced to alternatives and more complex aspects.

  • Matching Reading and Spelling to Taught Sounds

    In the first year children are never asked to read or spell any words that have letter sound correspondences they have not been taught.

  • Moving Towards Independent Reading

    Once they have reached a sufficient level of fluency and confidence, with the use of decodable readers, they will be able to read any books that are suitable for their age and understanding.

  • A Shift from Whole Word Memorisation

    In the past the majority of reading programmes have started with whole word memorisation, which we now know causes many children to have problems. These programmes have then used phonics incidentally or in an analytic style. This is very different to how SSP programmes teach.

  • Why SSP?

    SSP introduces letter sounds in a planned sequence. Children learn how to synthesise (or blend) these individual sounds to form words. The ‘systematic’ part means that sounds are taught in a logical, structured order so that children build their skills step by step.

  • The Research Behind SSP

    This approach has been proven by research to be the most effective way to teach early reading and writing, especially when taught daily with plenty of practice and revision. There are a number of pieces of independent research about learning to read, many of which have used Jolly Phonics, that have all found SSP to be the most effective method.

Advantages of SSP

1
Provides a clear structure for teachers to follow
  • Letter sounds are introduced in a set order.
  • One way of representing those sounds is introduced first.
  • Then the main alternatives spellings are introduced.
2
Reading and writing are taught simultaneously
  • SSP teaches how to hear the sounds in words (segmenting) and to write letters for those sounds, eg ‘dog’ - /d-o-g/.
  • Writing reinforces reading, and both skills grow together. Dictation of letter sounds, as well as the use of flashcards, means the children learn to write the letters for the sounds as well as knowing them for reading.
3
Not about memorising words
  • Phonics is about understanding how words are constructed – not about memorisation, or guessing based on shape or looking at initial letters.
  • Experienced teachers know how difficult it is for some children to memories words by looking at the whole word and/or the shape. Using these sorts of methods children would need to recognise and remember all the words in English, and there are just too many words to remember!.
  • It can take some children an extremely long time to learn 40 words, but by learning 42 letter sounds, and how to blend them, they have access to thousands of words.
  • Using SSP children develop independent reading and writing skills, grounded in sound-symbol knowledge, not rote memorisation.
4
Why letter sounds?
  • All good SSP programmes initially teach the sounds of the letters not the letter names. This is because it is the sounds that are used in words.
  • Teaching letter sounds and letter names at the same time often results in the children muddling them up.
  • Children first learn the sounds that letters make, starting with the simplest single letter / sound correspondences and then move on to digraphs, trigraphs and even quadgraphs (eg s=/s/ as in ‘sun’, ch=/ch/ as in ‘chop’, igh=/ie/ as in ‘sigh’, eigh=/ai/ as in 'eight’).
  • It is knowing these letter sounds that will help them read and spell words.
  • Later on the letter names are taught as they are needed for talking about alternative spellings and for dictionary work. By then the children know they have to use the sounds for blending new words and rarely muddle the letter sounds and the names up.
5
A complete Literacy programme
  • SSP is only one component of a literacy programme but it provides the foundations for the children’s literacy journey. The first and most important step towards independent reading is being able to actually read the words on the page.
  • The children’s vocabulary development and comprehension strategies need to be developed alongside their phonic knowledge through listening, speaking, having stories read to them and individual reading of decodable books.
  • Fluent, independent reading provides the greatest improvement in anyone’s vocabulary.
  • A love of reading can be encouraged by being exposed to a wide range of rich, age-appropriate reading material (being read to, reading aloud, individual/ group reading). But the first, most important, step towards independent reading, and a love of reading, is the ability to be able to read fluently. After that children should be encouraged to read as wide a range of books as possible.
6
Early identification of children who may struggle
  • With good SSP teaching the number of children who struggle is reduced and any problems can be identified quickly. Early intervention and extra support can smooth the process and mean many problems do not develop in the first place.
  • Some children have problems with memory and need extra practice with learning the letter sounds and blending words.
  • SSP takes time, repetition and daily practice. It’s a step-by-step process where each new sound builds on the last.
  • Some children take longer and need more exposure or reinforcement to master blending and segmenting.
7
Fidelity
  • Phonics can meet different learning needs. Children who struggle or are slow to pick up the skills need more practice and support, not a different approach or a series of different approaches.
  • Early intervention enables them to catch up and keep up with the other children.
  • For learners with SEND, EAL or those who just need more time to grasp concepts, it may be necessary to go more slowly through the programme or to add more vocabulary and comprehension for EAL learners, for example.

Check out Jolly Phonics Resources

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