Direct Phonics provides a deliberate and repetitive teaching programme for those children who struggle with basic literacy. Within the National Literacy Strategy, this extent of additional and ongoing intervention has been described as Wave 3.
Book Two builds on Book One and assumes that children have learnt single letter sounds, c-v-c words (e.g. cat, dog) and a selection of sight words for sentences. From the very start, letter recognition leads to word building, sentence reading and writing.
Book Two teaches adjacent consonants (e.g. bl, ck, tr, gr, str) and revises consonant digraphs (sh, ch) at the beginnings and ends of words e.g: black, chick, shop, stick, clock, string. It also introduces ‘qu’ and a selection of additional blends (ee, ay, ar, ing, ow, oo, ea).
Direct Phonics works because:
· The content is cumulative and very repetitive
· The teaching method follows a routine of ‘model-lead-check’
· Children listen, speak, read and write in each lesson
· Each lesson has the same predictable pattern