Nursery is an important marker in the life of a child as they begin a long journey of learning. It lays the foundations needed to support with their personal, social, emotional and physical development along with their communication and language skills. But why teach Phase 1 phonics at this stage? Phase 1 is integral to this journey laying the foundations for learning to read and write.
Before children learn to read and write they need to develop their phonological and phonemic awareness; being able to listen and identify sounds and understand how they go together in words. Phase 1 phonics facilitates this and provides the gateway to early reading and writing.
Research has shown that children who have good phonemic awareness perform better academically than those who do not. Moreover, research shows that children without phonemic awareness struggle to develop literacy skills. Therefore, it is crucial that Phase 1 phonics is part of day to day practice in nursery settings.
Phase 1 phonics allows children to experience regular, planned opportunities to listen carefully and talk extensively about what they hear, see and do and recognises the importance of play-based learning in a child’s development. This facilitates speech and language development and provides the building blocks for learning to read and write.
Monster Phonics provides online training in Phase 1. A free introductory session is available as well as a second more involved Phase 1 CPD session for a nominal charge. Our Foundations Phase 1 teaching package comes complete with 70 activities for your nursery class, planning, assessment, books, toys and other resources. Visit Monster Phonics Foundations to find out more.