Dec. 19, 2024
In today’s educational landscape, finding tools that effectively support the teaching of early reading and writing skills is essential. Synthetic phonics is one of the most evidence-based methods for teaching young children how to read and write. This approach focuses on teaching children to decode words by blending phonemes (the sounds) with their corresponding graphemes (the written letters or groups of letters).
Purple Mash, our comprehensive online learning platform, provides a range of resources that can help educators and parents support the learning of synthetic phonics in an engaging and effective way, with a strong focus on S, A, T, P, I, N.
This method emphasises the relationship between sounds and letters, helping children decode unfamiliar words and understand how written language works.
The synthetic phonics method is highly evidence-based, with research showing that it is an effective way to teach early literacy skills. By learning phonemes and graphemes, children can begin to blend sounds together to form words, an essential step in developing fluent reading and writing skills.
Synthetic Phonics begins in the Early Years, which is why we have resources and games available within Mini Mash. Mini Mash is our online space for children in the Early Years, and is free with a Purple Mash subscription. Want to try it out? Grab a free trial here.
Begin letter recognition with the letter sounds slideshows, pairs game, letter paint projects and initial sounds quizzes. These are perfect for having on the board or tablets as an activity during continuous provision, or could be used as whole-class revision.
Develop further sound and grapheme recognition with a focus on the S,A,T,P,I,N letters through our missing sound quizzes, phase 2 cloze and phase 3 cloze activities, and writing templates which are the core building blocks of phonics instruction. These resources are great for interventions, both for children who need further extension and those who require extra practice.
You can also access alphabet printables which are great for creating eye-catching and useful displays.
Purple Mash supports the teaching of synthetic phonics through a comprehensive collection of child-friendly, ergonomically designed tools, games, and activities. These resources not only make learning phonics fun and interactive but also reinforce key concepts, helping students practice and retain the phonemes and graphemes they are learning.
Purple Mash has a dedicated Synthetic Phonics folder filled with essential resources to support phonics teaching. This folder includes a range of activities and games tailored to different stages of phonics development, ensuring that all students can engage with and progress no matter what stage of their phonetic learning journey.
Here’s a closer look at what’s available:
Spelling Scheme with SATPIN Focus
One of the most important components of early phonics instruction is building a strong foundation in phonetic patterns. Purple Mash’s spelling scheme focuses on the essential S,A,T,P,I,N letters, which are the core building blocks of phonics instruction. The scheme allows teachers to assign tasks to students as part of their learning journey, making it easier to track progress and reinforce the learning of phoneme-grapheme relationships. Read the teacher guide for an overview of the scheme. This is available FREE to read whether you are a current Purple Mash subscriber or not.
Tools
Purple Mash offers a variety of tools that support phonics instruction. These tools are designed to be intuitive and easy to use, ensuring that both teachers and children can focus on the learning process. For example, the Cloze activity tool helps students fill in missing letters or words, practising their phoneme-grapheme correspondence in a contextual, engaging way. This tool, along with the other tools in the Synthetic Phonics folder allows teachers to create their own activities or use premade resources such as our Phase 2 - 5 Phonics Cloze Activities, a carefully curated scheme starting from S,A,T,P,I,N.
Games – Gamification for Engaged Learning
Gamification is a proven strategy for enhancing learning, and Purple Mash integrates it into its phonics resources. With games that focus on specific phoneme and grapheme patterns, children can practice blending, segmenting, and decoding in an interactive and motivating way. These games help reinforce their understanding while keeping them engaged, turning the sometimes-challenging task of phonics practice into an enjoyable experience.
The beauty of Purple Mash is that it not only supports the learning process but also makes assessment seamless. Teachers can assign tasks as 2Do activities, which automatically score and record student progress. Tasks can be assigned individually, to a group of students or to a whole class. This feature allows for a clear understanding of where each child is in their learning, helping educators provide the necessary support where needed. In addition, every pre-made resource can be edited by the teacher, ensuring tasks are targeting every students' point of need on their individual learning journeys.
If your school doesn't have Purple Mash yet, start a trial today. Remember, Mini Mash is also included FREE in all Purple Mash subscriptions!
Once children are ready for reading, we have a dedicated library for younger readers on Serial Mash called Diamonds. With Serial Mash, you can schedule and serialise books for students to read at home. The online reading journal will then automatically add the books they have read - great for building good reading habits! With over 200 books, both fiction and non-fiction, Serial Mash has books for everyone! It even has a library for children who may be more reluctant to read: Fire Bolts is our collection of books that help motivate and promote eager reading.
