We have been using Jolly Phonics in our Kindergarten classrooms for the last five years. We teach 42 sounds in 42 days starting right away. Each sound has an action to help your child remember each particular sound. When we teach the sounds, we use a story and 2 songs in our lesson. Everyday we are quickly reviewing all the sounds we have learned. The results have been truly amazing! The children are able to phonetically write much earlier than they had previously and they are able to sound out and write words even if they cannot name the letters. It is a fun and exciting way for them to learn this!
After every 6 letters, your child will bring home a paper book and be able to show you the actions with the sounds. The last page will have words that your child may be ready to blend the sounds together and sound out. Please keep these books in a safe place (I always suggest an empty cereal box) and review them quickly each night with your child.
Below is a short explanation of the program:
After every 6 letters, your child will bring home a paper book and be able to show you the actions with the sounds. The last page will have words that your child may be ready to blend the sounds together and sound out. Please keep these books in a safe place (I always suggest an empty cereal box) and review them quickly each night with your child.
Below is a short explanation of the program:
Click here to view the
Jolly Phonics Actions |
1. Learning the letter sounds In Jolly Phonics the 42 main sounds of
English are taught, not just the alphabet. The sounds are in seven groups. Some
sounds are written with two letters, such as ee and or . These are called
digraphs. oo and th can each make two different sounds, as in book and moon ,
that and three . To distinguish between these two sounds, the digraph is
represented in two forms. This is shown below. s, a, t,
i, p, n c k, e, h, r, m, d g,
o, u, l, f, b ai, j, oa, ie,
ee, or z, w, ng, v, oo, oo y, x,
ch, sh, th, th qu, ou, oi, ue,
er, ar 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Each sound has an action which helps children
remember the letter(s) that represent it. As a child progresses you can point to
the letters and see how quickly they can do the action and say the sound. One
letter sound can be taught each day. As a child becomes more confident, the
actions are no longer necessary. There is a list of all of the letter sounds and
their corresponding actions on page 8 of this guide.
Children should learn
each letter by its sound, not its name. For example, the letter a should be
called a (as in a nt) not ai (as in ai m). Similarly, the letter n should be nn
(as in n et), not en . This will help in blending. The names of each letter can
follow later.
The letters have not been introduced in alphabetical order. The
first group ( s, a, t, i, p, n ) has been chosen because they make more simple
three-letter words than any other six letters. The letters b and d are
introduced in different groups to avoid confusion.
Sounds that have more than
one way of being written are initially taught in one form only. For example, the
sound ai (rain) is taught first, and then alternatives a-e (gate) and ay (day)
follow later. Examples can be found in the Jolly Phonics Word Book. 3
English are taught, not just the alphabet. The sounds are in seven groups. Some
sounds are written with two letters, such as ee and or . These are called
digraphs. oo and th can each make two different sounds, as in book and moon ,
that and three . To distinguish between these two sounds, the digraph is
represented in two forms. This is shown below. s, a, t,
i, p, n c k, e, h, r, m, d g,
o, u, l, f, b ai, j, oa, ie,
ee, or z, w, ng, v, oo, oo y, x,
ch, sh, th, th qu, ou, oi, ue,
er, ar 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Each sound has an action which helps children
remember the letter(s) that represent it. As a child progresses you can point to
the letters and see how quickly they can do the action and say the sound. One
letter sound can be taught each day. As a child becomes more confident, the
actions are no longer necessary. There is a list of all of the letter sounds and
their corresponding actions on page 8 of this guide.
Children should learn
each letter by its sound, not its name. For example, the letter a should be
called a (as in a nt) not ai (as in ai m). Similarly, the letter n should be nn
(as in n et), not en . This will help in blending. The names of each letter can
follow later.
The letters have not been introduced in alphabetical order. The
first group ( s, a, t, i, p, n ) has been chosen because they make more simple
three-letter words than any other six letters. The letters b and d are
introduced in different groups to avoid confusion.
Sounds that have more than
one way of being written are initially taught in one form only. For example, the
sound ai (rain) is taught first, and then alternatives a-e (gate) and ay (day)
follow later. Examples can be found in the Jolly Phonics Word Book. 3