Jolly Phonics is a fun and child centred approach to teaching literacy through sounds. With actions for each of the 42 letter sounds, the multi-sensory method is motivating for children, as well as for teachers who can see their students achieve success.
The letter sounds are split into seven groups as shown bellow.
1. s, a, t, i, p, n
2. c k, e, h, r, m, d
3. g, o, u, l, f, b
4. ai, j, oa, ie, ee, or
5. z, w, ng, v, oo, oo
6. y, x, ch, sh, th, th
7. qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar
The sounds are taught in a specific order that enables children to begin building words as early as possible.
The five skills taught in Jolly Phonics include…
1) Learning the letter sounds
2) Learning letter formation
3) Blending (how to blend sounds together to read and write new words)
4) Segmenting (identifying the sounds in words)
5) Tricky Words (sight-words)
We explicitly learn 1 sound per day. After term one, some students continue this learning as required in literacy groups during Guided Reading time.