From Handbooks and friezes to Ditty Books and Word Cards – the world of Read Write Inc. Phonics resources is comprehensive and diverse. Whether you’re brand new to Read Write Inc. Phonics and are needing guidance, or you’ve taught it for several years and are looking for inspiration – this blog is for you. Read on for tips on how to get your classroom ready for Read Write Inc. Phonics resources!
Getting started with Read Write Inc. Phonics resources
When making sure that your classroom is ready for teaching, a great place to start is with the classroom organisation checklist from the Read Write Inc. Phonics Reading Leader Handbook.
| Display items | ✔ |
| An ordinary whiteboard/flipchart for writing activities | |
| The Read Write Inc. Phonics Simple or Complex Speed Sounds poster | |
| A large pocket chart which you can use to display: – the title of the Storybook/Non-fiction text – a few artefacts/pictures specific to the Storybook – Red and Green Words for the story – Speedy Green Words that have been taught recently – previously taught Red Words that need further practise | |
| An apron, to carry Speed Sound Cards and Green Word Cards | |
| Items for teachers to prepare before lessons | ✔ |
| Sticky notes with prepared ‘Thinking Out Loud’ ideas (for Ditty and Storybook lessons) | |
| Story Introduction – print from the Read Write Inc. Phonics Online subscription on Oxford Owl if preferred |
Ticking off all of these items before the lesson begins will help you focus on your teaching. You can download this checklist here, which hopefully will help you get your classroom ready for Read Write Inc. Phonics.
Setting up your reading area and story corner
When arranging the reading area, it’s important that you check each place from the child’s perspective to ensure that they can always see you, the working displays and the whiteboard without needing to twist or change position.
Your story corner must be safe, quiet and comfortable. It’s a good idea to display a few chosen books with their covers facing outwards, and to refresh every few weeks the ones that you are showcasing.
Getting your Read Write Inc. Phonics resources organised
There are lots of options available when it comes to organising your Read Write Inc. Phonics resources. We asked members of our Read Write Inc. Phonics Teachers Facebook group to share how they organise their resources so that we could include some on this blog to inspire you!
Organising books
Emma Carlile is kicking off the new 23/24 school year by meeting with all the RWI teachers in her school and giving them each one of these incredible packs. Each contains everything they will need: A4 sound cards, Flash cards, Fred, Picture cards, Word time, Green words, additional Green Words & Red words.
Claire Louise’s first photo (left) shows their ‘RWI Books, organised by colour on our purpose-built shelving unit’, and their second photo (middle) shows their homemade teacher packs – comprising ‘Green Word Cards, Red Word Cards, pictures, lesson plans, teacher copy, introduction and title.’ They have found that organising their resources in this way is ‘fantastic for reading teachers to grab and go’ – saving them time and allowing them to focus on teaching.
Clare Peck agrees with Claire Louise – saying that your organisation system must be ‘easy to understand’ so that staff put back the resources in the right place, and also in a ‘central location, so that staff don’t have to rummage’ to find what they need.
Jenny Jones says getting set up and organised “makes it so much easier to plan and teach with everything at your fingertips”. These incredible colour drawers each contain: Storybooks, Book Bag Books, Story Green Word Cards, Speedy Green words printout (to send home day 1 with Red Words on the back), QR code sticky labels for Speeding Up Word Reading (to send home day 1).
Laura Stainer shared this excellent photo in our group. They use ‘colour popper wallets for each band, and label these with the book name and number’. Then, they put inside ‘a teacher copy of the book, all of the Green Word Cards, a lesson plan and the story introduction’, as well as ‘all of the books they need’.
Read Write Inc. Phonics products featured:
- Black and White Storybooks Super Easy Buy Pack
- Book Bag Books Super Easy Buy Pack
- Core Storybooks and Non-fiction Books Super Easy Buy Pack
Organising sound cards
Members of our Facebook group love to store their Read Write Inc. Phonics cards for Speed Sound lessons in colourful, orderly ways – like in the photos above.
Bryony Dorrans (left) uses big plastic folders with tabs to organise their Green Word Cards and Picture Sounds Cards, whilst Jane Victoria (middle) and Claire Louise (right) use boxes with tabs to arrange their nonsense words, Speed Sound Cards, Red Words and Picture Sounds Cards.
Read Write Inc. Phonics Products featured:
- Red Word Cards
- Green Word Cards
- Set 1 Speed Sounds Cards
- Sets 2 & 3 Speed Sounds Cards
- Picture Sounds Cards (Pack of 118 singles)
- Read Write Inc. Phonics: Fred Frog Beanie
Organising Magnetic Speed Sound Cards
The Magnetic Speed Sound Cards are very effective in helping children identify letter shapes and develop blending and segmenting skills, but – being magnetic – they can be difficult to store!
Members of our group have found ingenious ways of organising their Magnetic Speed Sound Cards. Tina Marie (left) uses a multi-section screw box organiser to separate their Cards whilst Gina Claire (right) uses individual boxes.
Read Write Inc. Phonics products featured:
Are you Read Write Inc. Phonics ready?
There are lots of different ways to store your Read Write Inc. Phonics resources. You can experiment with different organisation methods until you find what works best for you. We know that the prospect of getting ready for the new school year can sometimes be daunting, so we are here for you every step of the way. Read more of our back to school series on our blog for further help and advice.
Thank you to all of the teachers in the Read Write Inc. Teachers Facebook group who sent us their photos and ideas!