As a teacher I am constantly looking for the best resources to help my students learn more efficiently. I want my students to use resources that are fun to use, that allow them to learn independently, meaning they can use it outside of school time too. The best resources I have found however is when learning doesn’t feel like a normal ‘lesson’ in anyway, where students are learning without even realising.
After struggling to find a complete ‘phonics’ resource, I decided to make a resource myself. This was back in September 2015 and last week we launched in the App Store! I still teach full time and so working in the evenings and weekends has meant it has taken a little longer than normal to get it off the ground!
One of the ways Fonics works so well is that it simplifies how children learn to read. Rather than memorising 1,000s of words individually, Fonics breaks the English language down into just 44 sounds and teaches these sounds through fun and interactive games. Children learn without even realising! Fonics is designed to help non readers learning their very first words all the way to advanced readers learning trickier more unfamiliar words that don’t necessarily follow the normal rules.
Fonics can closely link with the UK Government ‘Letters and Sounds Programme’ through stages 1-4 relating to their phases 2-5.
Our games are specifically chosen to give students the skills to progress in their reading. The app progresses from simple one letter sounds to trickier 3 letter sounds. Students are then able to use these skills they learn in the game to read sentences and books. Throughout the app students are constantly learning new sounds and revisiting ones they already know, cementing knowledge while all the time teaching something new.
Positive reinforcement is a really valuable learning tool that I use within the classroom; this is something that I wanted to bring into the app to give students an exciting rewarding way of learning. One example of this is the way that Fonics scores a student through the games. Instead of giving students a score out of 100%, whereby effectively a student ‘looses’ points for every incorrect answer.
At Fonics every student starts on 0 and gains points for every correct answer. Points add up to increase their level which is always shown visually to them within the game. This creates a desire to succeed instead of a fear of failure, which is hugely important when discovering something new.
Parents can download the app for free at home where children can consolidate their knowledge learnt at school, or learn something new!
Teachers can also download the app for free. However there is an option for an educational professionals to become Fonics PRO members for as little as £1.10 per student per year.
Fonics PRO allows you to set up accounts for each student individually and then track each student’s progress in the game. Teachers are then able to use this data to quickly highlight gaps in their classes knowledge, so you can tailor you’re up coming lessons specifically for those students. Another feature of Fonics PRO is that it allows you to carry out quick and easy assessments on students to see where they are with their reading, great for teachers who are constantly asked where their students are at.
Fonics sophie 