During this school year I have had the pleasure of delving into Year 1 phonics and reading. I lead a DSR group and once per week I teach one of the phonics groups. My greatest insight is that the children can make excellent progress in reading (or any other skill), if they adhere to a consistent practice routine. I can recall reading stories with these children when they were in Reception, and I am amazed at how quickly the majority of the children in this Year group have become competent readers.
In phonics and reading, I use iPads in place of white boards. This has allowed me to collect evidence that would otherwise be rubbed off of the boards at the end of the lesson. Listed below are examples from the phonics groups. Generally, we review a particular sound, think of words that use those sounds, and then create sentences with those words. I have also provided samples of work from the DSR groups. On occasion, I have the children copy sentences from their books in order to consolidate phonetic understanding. While copying sentences, I always encourage children to use the punctuation provided by the author, and I question children regarding the use of punctuation.
Ear, ST Phonics Year 1 1.12.14