The approach to reading material for schools using the Phonics International programme and the No Nonsense Phonics Skills (Raintree) series – by Debbie Hepplewhite 2020

Matched texts in the phonics programmes

The Phonics International programme and the No Nonsense Phonics Skills series of 9 Pupil Books (of the suite of Phonics International) provide abundant cumulative, decodable sentences and texts for routine practice in the phonics ‘teaching and learning cycle’. Children are not dependent on reading books to apply and extend their current and past alphabetic code knowledge and phonics skills. In fact, working with plain matched texts for the ‘apply and extend’ part of the ‘teaching and learning cycle’ involves deeper practice and potential for embedded learning through reading and writing and spelling with protracted personal engagement with the content, than reading decodable books.

Code in reading books lagging behind code introduced in school

For the purpose of independent reading at home – where children may be asked to have a go at reading ‘independently’ – it may be advisable for the published reading books’ content to lag behind the alphabetic code (the letter/s-sound correspondences) introduced systematically in the phonics programme/s.

Awareness of not encouraging word-guessing for teaching staff and parents/carers

Any quality books can be used with children as long as the supporting adults know not to teach, or encourage, or cause by default, the children to read new printed words through the ‘searchlights’ multi-cueing word-guessing (that is, don’t encourage or teach the guessing of new printed words from picture cues, or context cues such as ‘read on and go back, what word would make sense’, and initial letter/s, guessing). Tell children the words they are struggling with if necessary, or provide the code within the new words to enable the children to have a go at decoding them.

Children should not have to ‘lift the words off the page’ through guesswork – but the children will find the pictures and context in reading books can help them to understand the ‘meaning’ of new words. They will need to be able to decode and pronounce the new words, however, in order to add them to their spoken language. Supporting adults can help with this as necessary.

Sharing the phonics programme’s matched texts via the school’s book-bag routine

The guidance underpinning Debbie’s phonics programmes promotes a book-bag routine whereby each child’s phonics folder with up to date, cumulative alphabetic code content going back and forth to the home. Children repeat-reading word banks and cumulative texts of the core phonics material at home is encouraged; and parents/carers are fully informed about the programme and practice via the school’s information events and via the content shared back and forth in the book-bag routine:

https://phonicsinternational.com/Setting_up_the_phonics_folder.pdf

The No Nonsense Phonics Skills series consists of 9 ready-made Pupil Book which include cumulative, decodable ‘Mini Stories’ (selected from the Phonics International programme) to match the letter/s-sound correspondences introduced throughout the series. These Pupil Books can also go backwards and forwards to home to keep parents and carers informed, and for children to revise the content. Reading books from various publishers can be included in the home-reading routine – organised to lag behind the code introduced in the programme or selected carefully for any children who are exceptional readers.

When teachers adopt the book-bag routine so that they are sending home the No Nonsense Phonics Skills Pupil Books which include the plain ‘matched texts’, they have therefore fulfilled the expectation that children need matched texts to the past and current letter-sound correspondences both in the school and in the home. Teachers can then include a rich variety of ‘story books‘ (with any alphabetic code) for the parents and carers to share with the child, to read to the child, to talk about new words not in spoken vocabulary, to develop a love of books and stories (and information texts) and to support the teachers in developing language comprehension and an understanding of book language and different genres. When children are absolute beginners, it is a very good idea to send home story books for a while before sending home decodable reading books for the child to read as independently as possible.

Teachers may also find these infographics very helpful – these were developed with Ann Sullivan and then Lynne Moody following a webinar featuring the idea of ‘matched texts’ (and whether this notion is in danger of becoming ‘too purist’ and making teachers fearful!):

Reading Purpose and Choice of Texts for Beginning and Developing Readers

Reading with your child – in school and at home

Further documents which might be of interest and potentially useful to teachers linked to the ‘matched texts’ webinar were also provided.

The following page is useful for teachers and parents/carers:

No Nonsense Phonics Skills information and training page including video and PowerPoints (one including audio):

No Nonsense Phonics Skills

Use of overview Alphabetic Code Charts in school and at home to support incidental phonics teaching

The fundamental underpinning rationale of the Phonics International and the No Nonsense Phonics (Skills) programmes is the ‘two-pronged systematic and incidental phonics teaching’ approach. This means that teaching, or using, new code beyond the systematic, planned introduction of letter/s-sound correspondences is included in the approach. Teaching staff and parents/carers know they can address any code in new printed words to read, or words required for writing, at any time, without this being problematic. Children are made aware of the notion of spelling alternatives and pronunciation alternatives from the outset of planned phonics teaching – supported by the use of overview Alphabetic Code Charts beginning in Reception:

https://phonicsinternational.com/Debbie_RRF_Two_pronged_handout.pdf

Teaching staff know how to vary their support for individual children’s needs when using literature that is high-quality, part of the wider curriculum and wider reading experience, but beyond the children’s code knowledge. The adults support as necessary – for example, read to the children, share with the children, point out new code as and when appropriate. This means no children need to be precluded from access to literature for the class topic (for example), for their intellectual understanding of the content in the books, and how the different types of books ‘work’ (fiction, non-fiction, anthologies, various genre).

Early readers may need reading material beyond matched texts at least some of the time

Precocious early readers should not have to be given reading books that are only fully in line with the phonics programme. Some children are better served by following the phonics programme very much with comprehensive coverage of the alphabetic code in mind for spelling and handwriting purposes in their case, whilst they may need more challenging reading books for their individual reading capabilities. An example of this would be a child like ‘Alice’ as described in this document (see page 2):

https://phonicsinternational.com/Debbies_Phonics_Teaching_Tips.pdf

Use of labelling and bookmarks to guide parents/carers

When schools wish to share a variety of books with ‘home’ that may not always be fully decodable for the children to read independently (beginners and strugglers), then it would be helpful to stick labels on the books, or provide bookmarks providing guidance with the individual child in mind (which is a more flexible approach), to give the parents/carers a steer in how to use the book. The labels or bookmarks, for example, could state, ‘Read to me’ or ‘Share with me’ – or whatever is appropriate for the particular books for the individual child who will be taking them home. This will help to support a rich book culture at school and in the home but ensure that children aren’t expected to read books aloud by themselves when they can’t fully decode the range of words in the books – and also will ensure that very able readers are not unduly restricted in their reading material.

Organising the books in ‘chunks’ behind the code introduced in class

Generally speaking, organise decodable books for home-reading in ‘chunks’ (that is, according to a group of letter/s-sound correspondences introduced, not every correspondence introduced one by one) and lagging behind the letter/s-sound correspondences introduced in the phonics programme in the class or group lessons.

Cascading the books with matched texts

Another consideration regarding reading material with ‘matched texts’ in mind, is the impracticality and expense of the school providing 30 copies of every single title in a reading series on the basis that every child will require the same title at the same time with the same code. When the children are truly ‘beginners’, provide those children in the class who are more competent at sounding out and blending with the books first, then cascade the books to other children as they begin to decode more competently and independently. This means that for some children, by the time they get certain reading books, their code knowledge in that book may lag behind the ‘current’ code introduced in school but they will be more automatic and competent applying the code in the books for home-reading that they know very well.

Aim to provide variety of literature from different published schemes

It is also a good idea not to restrict the stock of reading material to only one publisher or series. ‘Variety is the spice of life’ so, over time if necessary, aim to build up a wider range of series which may be easier to organize if the chunking and lagging behind the alphabetic code approach is adopted.

UPDATE AND DEVELOPMENT, SEPTEMBER 2021:

Teachers are continuing to contact me asking ‘which’ reading book schemes to use along with the No Nonsense Phonics and/or Phonics International programmes.

I was asked about the possibility of creating an additional No Nonsense Phonics Skills Pupil Book to ‘bring forward’ some common consonant letter/s-sound correspondences so that teachers could more easily use their existing reading books for beginners which align closely with Letters and Sounds (DfES, 2007). As this sounds pragmatic and will avoid schools wasting money on their existing reading books, I have now done this. The additional OPTIONAL Pupil Book 2+ is now published. It is shorter than the 9 original No Nonsense Phonics Skills Pupil Books which will minimise the time it takes to bring forward the code concerned. You can see, read about, and buy Pupil Book 2+ here:

No Nonsense Phonics Skills Pupil Book 2+

IN ADDITION:

I have also written some content bringing forwards M and m as code for /m/, and D and d as code for /d/ which could be used after introducing s, a, t, i, p, n. We’ve provided this as a simple, free pdf, see here:

Mm and Dd Multi-skills activities and Mini Story pages

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT March 2022:

We have now published an optional No Nonsense Phonics Skills Pupil Book 5+ which you can see, read about, and buy here:

No Nonsense Phonics Skills Pupil Book 5+

DEVELOPMENT:

Phonics International Ltd is now publishing a new series of cumulative, decodable reading books written by me to align exactly with No Nonsense Phonics and the Phonics International programmes. You can read about them, see them and buy them here if interested (they are in development, so the range is being added to over time):

Phonics Reading Books by Debbie Hepplewhite

Debbie Hepplewhite MBE FRSA

Author of Phonics International and the No Nonsense Phonics Skills series (Raintree)

Phonics consultant and co-author of the Oxford Reading Tree Floppy’s Phonics programme (for which the advice for organizing reading books is the same as above!)

Any questions, contact: debbie@phonicsinternational.com

Debbie’s comprehensive self-study course £20: https://phonicstrainingonline.com