Phase 1 Phonics
Phase 1 Phonics develops a child's ability to listen to, make, explore and talk about sounds. Phase 1 is a vital phase that should never end for children, throughout this phase children will develop their speaking and listening skills.
This phase is split into 7 aspects that are explored and developed through games. Below you can find some activities to support with this at home.
Aspect 1: General Sound Discrimination - Environmental Sounds
The aim of this aspect is to raise children's awareness of the sounds around them and to develop their listening skills.
Join Miss Halliday on her listening walk, what can you hear? Perhaps you could go on your own listening walk around your environment, this could be inside or outside of your house.
Listen to the animal noises, can you make the same sound?
Listen to the sounds, do you recognise any?
Aspect 2: General Sound Discrimination - Instrumental Sounds
This aspect aims to develop children's awareness of sounds made by various instruments and noise makers.
Can you move to the music? Listen carefully and decide if you need to move quickly or slowly.
For this activity, you will need a musical instrument. Don't worry if you don't have any at home, you can easily make one using yogurt pots or butter tubs as shakers, cardboard boxes or sticks to drum with. Play along with Miss Halliday.
For this activity you can use your musical instrument again. Together we will sing to a familiar tune and use our shakers.
Aspect 3: General Sound Discrimination - Body Percussion
The aim of this aspect is to develop children's awareness of sounds and rhythms. Activities include singing songs and action rhymes, listening to music and developing a sounds vocabulary.
Aspect 4: Rhythm and Rhyme
This aspect aims to develop children's appreciation and experiences of rhythm and rhyme in speech and song.
Join in with the familiar song 'Miss Polly had a Dolly', listen carefully for the words that rhyme.
Listen to the story 'Oi Frog', there are lots of rhyming words in this book.
Here are some more Nursery Rhymes that you might enjoy.
Aspect 5: Alliteration
This aspect focuses on initial sounds of words.
Find out what Phonics Frog has put in his Silly Soup.
Listen to the initial sounds of these words, can you think of your own?
Aspect 6: Voice Sounds
The aim is to distinguish between different vocal sounds and to begin oral blending and segmenting.
Join in with the voice sounds.
Aspect 7: Oral Blending and Segmenting
In this aspect, the main aim is to develop oral blending and segmenting skills.
Get fit with Phonics Frog, blend the sounds together and follow his instructions.
Phonics Frog has been shopping, blend the sounds and find out what he bought.