Phonics & Spelling
What is phonics?
Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language.
Written language can be compared to a code, so knowing the sounds of individual letters and how those letters sound when they’re combined will help children decode words as they read.
Understanding phonics will also help children know which letters to use when they are writing words.
Phonics involves matching the sounds of spoken English with individual letters or groups of letters. For example, the sound k can be spelled as c, k, ck or ch.
Teaching children to blend the sounds of letters together helps them decode unfamiliar or unknown words by sounding them out. For example, when a child is taught the sounds for the letters t, p, a and s, they can start to build up the words: “tap”, “taps”, “pat”, “pats” and “sat”.
Systematic Synthetic phonics
The most widely used approach associated with the teaching of reading in which phonemes (sounds) associated with particular graphemes (letters) are pronounced in isolation and blended together (synthesised). For example, children are taught to take a single-syllable word such as cat apart into its three letters, pronounce a phoneme for each letter in turn /k, æ, t/, and blend the phonemes together to form a word.
All Aboard Phonics
All Aboard Phonics is our systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP) that is used to achieve the very best possible results for our children, year after year. It provides a complete programme to teach phonics in a fun, multi-sensory way with clear signposting of expected progress. All Aboard Phonics taps into children’s imaginations making learning fun and easy to remember.
Year 2 and Key Stage 2 Spelling
When children enter Year 2 they progress from All Aboard Phonics to using a new approach to spelling with Grammarsaurus! At Cheddon, through our work with Grammarsaurus, children will be learning how words are built — not just memorised! We'll be focusing on etymology and morphology in spelling, which means understanding where words come from and how words are made up of smaller parts
called morphemes, such as:
• Base – the core part of a word that carries meaning (e.g. help, move, play)
• Affix – a morpheme that is either a prefix or a suffix
• Prefix – a part added before the base to change its meaning (e.g. un-, re-, mis-)
• Suffix – a part added after the base to change its form or meaning
(e.g. -ed, -ing, -ful, -ness)
• Stem – a word part that includes a base and may also contain other morphemes
(e.g. lovely, dangerous, laziness)
What will children at Cheddon be doing?
- Building words using bases, stems and affixes
- Learning the etymology of words – understanding their origins, historical roots, and
language journey
- Exploring how morphemes change the meaning of words
- Using word matrices to see how one base can create many new words. A word matrix
is a chart that shows how one base can grow into many new words using different
prefixes and suffixes. It helps children see spelling patterns and deepens their
understanding of word meanings
• Writing word sums
- Directly applying new spelling knowledge in their writing units
- Learning four key spelling rules for adding suffixes:
1. Double the final consonant letter when a word ends in a CVC pattern, then add the
vowel suffix.
2. Drop the final silent e vowel letter, then add the vowel suffix.
3. Change the final letter y after a consonant letter to i, then add the suffix (except -ing).
4. Just add the suffix.
Assessment for Learning Leads the Way
AFL is the driving force behind Grammarsaurus spelling at Cheddon. We will not just teach spellings but make sure our children are learning spellings that will aid the writing genre they are working on. If this is not needed, then standard age objectives will be taught.
To begin, teachers will deliver the appropriate Baseline Assessment (Y2 or KS2) from the Spelling with Grammarsaurus scheme. These assessments are designed to identify each child’s knowledge of key grapheme–phoneme correspondences (GPCs) before starting the scheme.
After completing the Baseline Assessments, the next step is to begin teaching the Spelling with Grammarsaurus scheme, which is designed for Y2 to Y6. All year groups start the programme with the same initial objectives in the Autumn term: Objective 1 – Consonants and Vowels, Objective 2 – Compound Words, and Objective 3 – Introduction to Morphology.
Before moving on to the standard spelling objectives for a specific year group, we follow the Place Value of Spelling approach. This unique feature of the scheme focuses on assessing pupils’ understanding of foundational spelling concepts that are introduced in earlier year groups. Teachers will assess these “Place Value” objectives using the Morpheme Assessment for the corresponding writing unit to ensure that all pupils have a secure foundation of the suggested morphemes before moving on to new learning. This approach ensures that Assessment for Learning underpins teaching, allowing instruction to be precisely targeted to pupils’ needs.
How can you help at home?
Through Grammarsaurus, we encourage a creative and playful approach to spelling rather than learning word lists. Here are some fun ways to support your child:
- Practise phonics to help spell common bases correctly, especially high-frequency ones
like ‘look’, ‘call’, ‘read’, ‘watch’, etc.
- Take a simple base like ‘play’, ‘jump’, or ‘walk’, for example. Using word sums, see how
many new words you can make with different prefixes and suffixes:
- Practise breaking words into word sums to see how words are made:
- Choose a new base that you have learnt, maybe of Latin or Greek origin, and explore
how many prefixes and suffixes you can add.
Why does morphology matter?
Learning about morphemes helps children:
- Improve their spelling by recognising patterns not just sounds – for example, learning that the suffix -ed is the correct way to spell past tense verbs helps avoid mistakes like ‘checkt’ or ‘needid’
- Understand word meanings
Knowing the meaning of a base (like ‘move’) helps children make sense of related words like ‘remove’, ‘mover’, or ‘movement’
- Expand their vocabulary and improve reading comprehension more easily
As they begin to recognise familiar word parts, they can make sense of new words on their own, supporting reading and learning.
Spelling with Grammarsaurus Suggested Writing Unit Journeys
Teachers will use these suggested writing unit journeys to help link spellings into the writing unit they are on so the children can apply their spellings into their writing.