In order to celebrate WDSD and to connect with other families/schools we are publicly sharing some of our School Outreach Service activities and ideas during March 2021.

To say a huge thank you to the local charities Stepping Stones, Andover Twenty 1 and Portsmouth DSA who have continued to fund this School Outreach Service for their members we ask that you help us to say thank you by donating to these local charities using the Virgin Money Giving page. Donations are optional and at your discretion, we would suggest £5 or whatever you can afford.  All money raised will automatically be dispersed equally between these three charities. Without the continued funding from these charities, these videos would not have been possible.

Literacy Videos & Resources

Developing sight word reading

Developing sight words to support sentences

This video suggests choosing some words to target as sight words from the early high frequency words that all children start to learn in reception. We start by looking at learning to read these words and then support using these words to build a sentence.

Video: Developing sight words to support sentences

Resources: Carrier phrase sentence strips & word lotto board.

Targeting phonic reading and spelling skills

Matching CVC sounds in words

This activity is developing the child’s awareness of sounds in words by getting them to match the letters in a simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word.

Video: Matching CVC sounds in words

Resources: CVC picture and word cards

Beginning blending

Here we are working on the child listening to the adult produce the sounds in consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. The child then practises blending the sounds they have heard to make the word, choosing the correct picture. Finally we discuss asking the child to repeat the sounds, working on their early sounding out of words.

Video: Beginning blending

Resouces: CVC picture and word cards

I Spy initial sounds

It can be difficult to hear the sounds in words or even understand the task for lots of children. This gives an example of visually teaching the task of identifying the initial sound in a word, starting with lots of modelling and matching before reducing the visual supports.  

Video: I Spy initial sounds

Resources: Animal initial sound cards, food initial sound cards & furniture initial sound cards

CVC word families ‘at’.

This activity is moving on from the beginning blending and the I Spy initial sound activities. Here the child is starting to identify initial sounds and we want to move on to work on the ‘rime’, breaking CVC segmenting into a smaller step.

Video: CVC word families ‘at’

Resources: CVC picture and word cards & CVC phoneme frame

CVCC/CCVC clusters

The next step from CVC words is moving onto CCVC/CVCC words (e.g. s-t-o-p/j-u-m-p). Some work on identifying the sounds in the cluster can be a useful first step.

Video: CVCC/CCVC clusters

Recording a sentence

Early mark making

A quick tip for those who are just starting to mark make.

Video: Early mark making

Choppy Sentences

Here we are working on early recording of a sentence. The activity first works on coming up with a sentence, then the child matches the sentence underneath before having a go at copying or tracing. (NB a next step would be to cover the sentence – see ‘lift the flap sentence’ under reading comprehension).

Video: Choppy Sentences

Cover, remember and write a sentence

This video offers some ideas about helping to come up with ideas to build a sentence before focussing on supporting recall and writing of the sentence.

Video: Cover, remember and write a sentence

Building reading comprehension

Sequencing a story/lift the flap sentence

In this activity we are thinking about retelling a story the child has read (e.g. their reading book).  Firstly the child is asked to sequence the pictures from the story which will help with the recall and structure of the retell. Then they can focus on coming up with the sentences for their retell.

Video: Sequencing a story/lift the flap sentence

Reading book summary and questions

It is really important to work on reading comprehension from the beginning and this video offers two helpful ideas to support working on the text that the child has read. Firstly we discuss writing/coming up with a summary when you stop reading and secondly we provide an example of questioning supporting the look back strategy to find the answer.  

Video: Reading book summary and questions

All of the resources for all of the activities can also be found in this folder: Resources

Click here to access the Number videos & resources.