Using Macmillan Phonics in secondary schools

EAL Learners

Using decodable readers and short phonics revision lessons with KS3 EAL pupils can be extremely effective, as they often face issues with:

• Unfamiliarity with English sound spelling patterns

• Weak vowel discrimination

• Difficulty decoding multi syllable academic words

• Slow reading that affects comprehension

The goal is not to "teach baby phonics", but instead to build efficient English decoding so they can access subject texts. This can be done independently or in 1:1 intervention by:

1. Revising sounds using the Fast Phonics nuggets.

2. Adult reads first with clear modelling whilst pupil tracks the text 

or 

Pupil watches the Read to Me nugget (with the text tracking) first for accurate pronunciation.

3. Pupil echo reads and independently rereads the digital decoder.

Secondary Learners with Low Literacy

For KS3 and KS4 native English speakers with very low literacy, decodable readers and short phonics lessons can be transformative. Learners often face issues with:

• Guessing from context

• Skipping endings, such as -ed, -ing, -s

• Struggling with multi syllable words

• Avoiding reading aloud

• Reading slowly and with low accuracy

If decoding is still weak at this stage, comprehension work alone will not fix the problem. To support these learners we recommend: 

1. Set specific Fast Phonics nuggets which teach the sounds you are focusing on, or SPaG nuggets from the Year 3 course to teach the spelling rules you are focusing on in an intervention. This can be set as independent work.

2. If working independently, the students should listen to the Read to Me nuggets before using the decodable readers and practise reading aloud. 

3. If working in a 1:1 setting, the decodable readers can be used for both modelling and reading practice.