[senco-forum] Y1 phonological awareness

The problem with asking for help in a 2-line email is that of course I  
cannot go into everything that has been done before or is being done now.

I just wanted some advice along the lines of "well, when we had some  
children with these difficulties we tried "x" and it really helped" - and many  
thanks to those of you who came back with really practical suggestions - you are  
all worth your weight in gold!

Sorry, I don't have the energy to go into great detail - we use largely JP  
in reception.  Why should we want to confuse children about the process of  
reading?  "Work on them" is precisely what we are trying to do.  Using  whole 
word strategies we are trying to give them alternatives as their  phonological 
skills are very poor.  We will continue to work to develop  these - of course.

They do not "get" the word when we try saying the phonemes more  rapidly.  
Did you ever hear that clip from a radio quiz show where the  answer was 
"potato" and the DJs told the contestant to blend "pot - 8 - toe" and  she simply 
could not do it - it was very funny to listen to but no matter how  fast she 
tried to say it, she could not hear the blended word.  Well,  likewise our 
children - they just repeat the sounds faster and faster, but  phonemes remain 
discrete.

Just hoping someone will share ideas that have worked for them.

Thank you.