This week we are looking at two of the five split digraphs.

Adults, there's a video at the bottom of the page, to help you get to grips with phonics and split digraphs in particular.  In school, we don't usually refer to the 'magic e' as you may have learnt it. Here is how we approach it:

You will need some card or small pieces of paper and a larger sheet to lay them on + a felt & some scissors.

• Ask your child to sound-talk and show fingers for the word tie, then make it using sound (grapheme) cards (t ie).
• Ask your child what needs to be added to tie to make time.
• Hold the m against the word tie thus making tiem.
• Sound-talk it (t ie m) and explain that although there are graphemes for each phoneme, this is not the correct spelling of time, as words like this are written slightly differently.
• Cut the ie grapheme card between the i and the e, explaining that in this word we need to separate the two letters in the grapheme and tuck the final sound in between.
• Stick the four letters onto a whiteboard/sheet of paper and draw a line joining the i and the e.
• Repeat with pie and make into pine.
• Write some words on a whiteboard/sheet that use the split digraph for i_e and encourage your child to sound talk, then read the words
• Repeat with the ee grapheme, showing how it is split sometimes.  Write words with e_e, from the list below, and encourage your child to sound talk, then read the words.

phoneme = the sound of a letter, or group of letters

grapheme = the letters used to show a sound

digraph = sound made with 2 letters

You could also watch the Geraldine Giraffe & Mr Thorne Does Phonics videos, which are great fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9JSTYL7vyc&t=7s  - i_e grapheme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFuETDoqVnA - e_e grapheme

Please always supervise your child whilst watching You-tube, as other content may not be suitable.

Have a go at reading these words, spotting the i_e grapheme:

time,                                    pine,

pipe,                                     pile,

like,                                      line,

fine,                                     shine,

slide,                                    prize, 

inside,                                  invite

Now have a go at sound talking and reading words with e_e in.

these,

Eve,

even,

Pete,

Steve,

theme,

extreme,

complete,

This weeks spellings are a few of the above, plus a couple of tricky words.  Don't forget to use the Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check to practice and use the methods on the previous page, plus 'Phonics Play'.  They are:

pipe        line        these        Eve       were       there       

Write each of these in a sentence, in your best handwriting.