Ditty Sheets

Listening to your child read – Ditty Sheets

Congratulations! Your child has started to bring home their Ditty reading sheets to share with you!
The information here will help you to support your child in making steady progress with their reading.

In our school, children read the sounds and words from their Ditty along with the story (‘Ditty’)  twice.  Re-reading the same text helps children to become confident readers. Each time they re-read, they build their fluency/speed and comprehension.  They love reading and want to read because they can read all of the words on the Ditty sheet.  We do not send stories home the children cannot read because we always want them to be set up to succeed in their reading. We want to make sure they enjoy reading so that they want to read.  The more they read, the faster progress they will make.

Children bring 5 different Ditty sheets home in their book bag.  These Dittys, although different ‘stories’, contain the same sounds and words your child has built to confidently read.  They love this because they feel confident about reading it and can’t wait to read it to you, their grandparents or even their teddy bear!  Please  avoid saying, “This is too easy for you!” but instead say “I love how well you can read this!”  They are meant to be able to read all of the words as it is at their correct level.

Encourage them to share their enjoyment of the story with you and read it in their storyteller voice – again and again. If they hesitate over a word, remind them to read the word using ‘Special Friends, Fred Talk, read the word’. For example, this means they spot the ‘sh’, ‘ll’, ‘ck’ etc, then Fred Talk and blend to read the word e.g. sh, sh-i-p, ship.

Some words are ‘tricky’ because they contain letters that don’t match the sounds the child has been taught. For example, ‘the’ has ‘e’ making an ‘u’ sound. We teach these common exception words as Red words. In the Ditty sheets, these words are printed in red text. Remind your child not to use Fred Talk to read Red words but instead to stop and think. Tell them the word if needed.

In your child’s book bag, they will bring home:

5 new Dittys (similar to the ones they have read in class) to practise reading what they can already read.
   
So, to recap, what can you do to help at home?

  1. Listen to your child read the Read Write Inc. Ditty again and again.
  2. Encourage them to use ’Special Friends’, ‘Fred Talk’, ‘read the word’.
  3. Practise reading the Speedy Sounds, Green words and any Red Words.
  4. Discuss the story and encourage their storyteller voice.

 
For more information, please speak to the class teacher.  There are free video tutorials for parents and carers on our School website on the Read Write Inc/Ditty tab.  You could also look at www.ruthmiskin.com or https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/bookshop/read-write-inc-phonics-reading-at-home/


Red Words for Dittys

 

I

the

my

no

put

me

of

go

 

Moving On
In order to move onto Red Books your child needs to confidently know Set 1 Special Friends sh, th, qu, ch, ng & nk as well as additional sounds ll, ss, ck.  They should be able to spot these in words and Fred Talk the word e.g. special friends sh, sh-o-p, shop. 

 

Useful Resources
Parent Support Videos
                     
 
 
How to Say the Sounds
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Sound Blending
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