Jolly Phonics

Learning to Read and Write with Jolly Phonics

Starting early in Junior Infants, you children will start to learn new sounds.  In Ravenswell we teach "letters" by the sounds they make rather than their letter names,
 e.g.:  the letter "s"   is pronounced  "sssssssssssss"  rather than  "esss"

Using this sounds or phonemes approach to reading, gives children the tools to figure out new words by blending their sounds together.  We have found that it improves the children's confidence and fluency in reading and writing.

This page has some resources and tools that you can use at home to support your child as they develop their early reading and writing skills.

Learning New Sounds in School:

We use a variety of techniques in school to learn and use our new sounds.  Many of these activities can and should be used at home as often as possible:

• We use our sound books to say our sounds
• We sing the Jolly Phonics songs.
• We have a special action for each sound.
• We practice building words using our sound cards.
• We play games with our sounds and look for pictures and words that start with our sounds.  We can make sets of pictures that start with the same sound.
• We look for our sounds all around the classroom.  In our books, in the library, on posters, on the whiteboard and when the teacher is writing.
• We practice writing our sounds using lots of different tools.  Here are some pictures of us making our sounds using toy cars.

Singing Jolly Phonics Songs and Rhymes:

Practice Jolly Phonics at home with your child using these Jolly Songs and the actions that go with them.  Your child should be able to show you the actions for the sounds.  Keep checking your sound book for the sounds that have been learned in class and any new sounds that have been covered, and then sing the songs at home while you practice the songs.

Single Letter Sounds:


Digraph Sounds (2 letters make one sound):
Online Phonics Games:

There are lots of fun phonics games you can play with your children at home.  Here are a few examples.

Family Learning: A great selection of fun phonics games at different levels.

Starfall: A selection of phonics and early reading activities.

Super Simple Learning: Phonics games for kids.

PBS kids: The Quiet Machine (phonics games)

Learn More About Jolly Phonics:

If you are interested in learning more about using Jolly Phonics with your child, or purchasing extra materials for use at home, you can visit the Jolly Learning Website.

Also, it is a good idea to look through the Parent Teacher Guide to Jolly Phonics which you can download by clicking here: