New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
Letters and
Sounds
(Phonemes and
main teaching)
Letters and
Sounds
Nursery
Environmental
sounds (general
everyday sounds
around us)
Instrumental
sounds (Musical
instruments)
Body percussion
(Clapping,
stamping etc)
Rhythm
and
Rhyme
(Rhyming words,
songs, stories)
Alliteration
(Words
beginning
with
the same sound,
tongue twisters)
Voice
sounds
(Difference
in
voice sounds and
oral blending and
segmenting)
Reception
Year One
Year 2
Phase 2 – s, a, ,t p, Phase 5 – ay, ou, Phase 6 suffixes I, n, m, d, g, o, c, k, ie, ea, oy, ir, ue, -s, -es, -y, -ing, ck, e, u, r, h, b, f, ff
aw, wh, ph, ew,
ed, -ful, -ly, -est,
l, ll ss
oe, au, a-e, e-e, i- -er,-ment, -ness, e, o-e, u-e
en
Phase 3 – j, v, w,
x*, y, z, zz qu* ch,
Alternative
sh, th, ng, ai, ee,
pronunciations –
igh, oa, oo, ar, or, i, o, c, g, u, ow, ie,
ur, ow, oi, ear, air, ea, er, a, y, ch, ou
ure, er
Phase 4 reading some, one, said,
Phase 5 – oh,
their, people, Mr,
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
Tricky Words
Letters and
Sounds
High Frequency
Words
(decodable)
come, do, so, were,
when,
have, there, out,
like, little, what;
Phase 4 spelling he, she, we, me, be,
was, my, you, her,
they,
all, are;
write each
Phase 2 - a, an, as ,
at, if, in, is, it, of,
off, on, can, dad,
had, back, and, get,
big, him, his, not,
got, up, mum, but,
put
Mrs, looked,
called, asked,
could
Phase 5 - don’t,
old, I’m, by, time,
house, about,
your, day, made,
came, make, here,
saw, very, put
Phase 3 – will, that,
this, then, them,
with, see, for, now,
down, look, too
Tricky Words
Phase 4 – went,
it’s, from, children,
just, help
Phase 2 - the, to, I,
Phase 5 – oh,
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
no, go, into
Phase 3 – he, she,
we, me, be, was,
you, they, all, are,
my, her
their, people, Mr,
Mrs, looked,
called, asked,
could
Phase 4 – said,
have, like, so, do,
some, come, were,
there, little, one,
when, out, what
Other
Phase 6 Teaching past
tense
Suffixes and
Prefixes
Next 200 common words in order of frequency
water
away
good
want
over
other
food
fox
through
way
fast
only
many
laughed
let’s
air
trees
bad
tea
top
use
along
plants
dragon
pulled
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
how
did
man
going
where
would
or
took
school
think
home
who
didn’t
ran
know
bear
can’t
again
cat
long
things
new
after
wanted
eat
everyone
our
been
stop
must
red
door
right
sea
these
began
boy
animals
never
next
first
work
lots
need
that’s
baby
fish
gave
mouse
something
bed
may
still
found
much
suddenly
told
another
great
why
cried
keep
room
last
jumped
because
even
am
before
gran
clothes
tell
key
fun
place
mother
sat
boat
window
sleep
feet
eyes
fell
friends
box
dark
grandad
there’s
looking
end
than
best
better
hot
sun
across
gone
hard
floppy
really
wind
wish
eggs
once
please
thing
stopped
ever
we’re
fly
grow
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
two
has
yes
play
take
thought
dog
well
find
more
I’ll
round
tree
magic
shouted
us
live
say
soon
night
narrator
small
car
couldn’t
three
head
king
town
I’ve
around
every
garden
morning
queen
each
book
its
green
different
let
girl
which
inside
run
any
under
hat
snow
miss
most
cold
park
lived
birds
duck
horse
rabbit
white
coming
he’s
river
liked
giant
looks
100 high-frequency words in order
1. the
2. and
3. a
4. to
5. said
6. in
7. he
21. that
22. with
23. all
24. we
25. can
26. are
27. up
41. not
42. then
43. were
44. go
45. little
46. as
47. no
61. look
62. don’t
63. come
64. will
65. into
66. back
67. from
81. put
82. could
83. house
84. old
85. too
86. by
87. day
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
8. I
9. of
10. it
11. was
12. you
13. they
14. on
15. she
16. is
17. for
18. at
19. his
20. but
28. had
29. my
30. her
31. what
32. there
33. out
34. this
35. have
36. went
37. be
38. like
39. some
40. so
Year One
Word Reading
Pupils should be
taught to:
apply phonic
knowledge and
skills as the
route to decode
words
respond
speedily
with
48. mum
49. one
50. them
51. do
52. me
53. down
54. dad
55. big
56. when
57. it’s
58. see
59. looked
60. very
Year Two
Continue to
apply phonic
knowledge and
skills as the
route to decode
words until
automatic
decoding has
become
68. children
69. him
70. Mr
71. get
72. just
73. now
74. came
75. oh
76. about
77. got
78. their
79. people
80. your
Year Three
Year Four
Pupils should be taught to:
apply their growing
knowledge of root words,
prefixes
and
suffixes
(etymology and morphology)
as listed in Appendix 1, both
to read aloud and to
understand the meaning of
new words they meet
88. made
89. time
90. I’m
91. if
92. help
93. Mrs
94. called
95. here
96. off
97. asked
98. saw
99. make
100. an
Year Five
Year Six
Pupils should be taught to:
apply their growing
knowledge of root words,
prefixes
and
suffixes
(morphology and etymology),
as listed in Appendix 1, both
to read aloud and to
understand the meaning of
new words that they meet.
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
the
correct
sound
to
graphemes
(letters
or
groups
of
letters) for all
40+ phonemes,
including,
where
applicable,
alternative
sounds
for
graphemes
read
accurately
by
blending sounds
in
unfamiliar
words
containing
GPCs that have
been taught
read common
exception
words, noting
unusual
correspondences
between
embedded and
reading is
fluent
read
accurately by
blending the
sounds in
words that
contain the
graphemes
taught so far,
especially
recognising
alternative
sounds for
graphemes
read
accurately
words of two or
more syllables
that contain the
same GPCs as
above
read words
containing
common
suffixes
read further exception
words, noting the unusual
correspondences
between
spelling and sound, and
where these occur in the
word.
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
spelling
and
sound
and
where
these
occur in the
word
read words
containing
taught
GPCs
and –s, –es, –
ing, –ed, –er
and
–est
endings
read other
words of more
than
one
syllable
that
contain taught
GPCs
read words
with
contractions,
e.g. I’m, I’ll,
we’ll,
and
under-stand that
the apostrophe
represents the
omitted letter(s)
read further
common
exception
words, noting
unusual
correspondence
between
spelling and
sound and
where these
occur in the
word
read most
words quickly
and accurately
when they have
been frequently
encountered
without overt
sounding and
blending
read aloud
books closely
matched to
their improving
phonic
knowledge,
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
Writing
Transcription
read aloud
accurately
books that are
consistent with
their developing
phonic
knowledge and
that do not
require them to
use
other
strategies
to
work out words
re-read these
books to build
up their fluency
and confidence
in word reading
sounding out
unfamiliar
words
accurately,
automatically
and without
undue
hesitation
re-read these
books to build
up their fluency
and confidence
in word
reading.
spell:
spell by:
segmenting
spoken words
into phonemes
and
representing
these by
graphemes,
spelling many
correctly
words
containing each
of
the 40+
phonemes
already taught
common
exception words
the days of
the week
Pupils should be taught to:
use further prefixes and
suffixes and understand how
to add them (Appendix 1)
spell further homophones
spell words that are often
misspelt (Appendix 1)
use the first two or three
letters of a word to check its
spelling in a dictionary
Pupils should be taught to:
suffixes and understand the
guidelines for adding them
‘silent’ letters, e.g. knight,
psalm, solemn
between homophones and other
words which are often confused
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds

letters of
alphabet:
the
letters of
alphabet
order
the
in
names
to
distinguish
between
alternative
spellings of the
same sound
and suffixes:
spelling rule for
adding –s or –es
as the plural
marker
for
nouns and the
third
person
singular marker
for verbs
prefix un–
learning
new ways of
spelling
phonemes for
which one or
more
spellings are
already
known, and
learn some
words with
each spelling,
including a
few common
homophones
learning to
spell common
exception
words
learning to
spell more
words with
contracted
forms
distinguishing
punctuation
write from memory simple
sentences, dictated by the
teacher, that include words
and punctuation taught so far.
morphology and etymology in
spelling and understand that the
spelling of some words needs
to be learnt specifically, as
listed in Appendix 1
spelling and meaning of words
letters of a word to check
spelling, meaning or both of
these in a dictionary
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
–ing, –
ed, –er and –est
where
no
change
is
needed in the
spelling of root
words
(e.g.
helping, helped,
helper, eating,
quicker,
quickest)
taught so far.
spelling
rules
and guidelines,
as
listed in
Appendix 1
memory simple
sentences
dictated by the
teacher
that
include words
taught so far.
Revision of
Statutory
Requirements Reception work
The boundary
between revision of
The /dʒ/ sound spelt
as ge and dge at the
end of words, and
sometimes spelt as g
Revision of work from years 1
more than one syllable
The /ɪ/ sound spelt y elsewhere than
Revise work done in previous years
Endings which sound like /ʃəs/ spelt
–cious or –tious
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
work covered in
Reception and the
introduction of new
work may vary
according to the
programme used, but
basic revision should
include:
alphabet and the
sounds which they
most commonly
represent
digraphs and the
sounds which they
represent
which have been
taught and the
sounds which they
represent
segmenting words
into sounds before
choosing graphemes
to represent the
sounds
adjacent consonants
guidelines
elsewhere in words
before e, i and y
at the end of words
Endings which sound like /ʃəl/
The /ʌ/ sound spelt ou
The /s/ sound spelt c
before e, i and y
The /n/ sound spelt
kn and (less often)
gn at the beginning
of words
The /ɹ/ sound spelt
wr at the beginning
of words
The /l/ or /əl/ sound
spelt –le at the end
of words
The /l/ or /əl/ sound
spelt –el at the end
of words
The /l/ or /əl/ sound
spelt –al at the end
of words
Words ending –il
The /aɪ/ sound spelt
–y at the end of
words
More prefixes
The suffix –ation
Words ending in –ant, –ance/–ancy,
–ent, –ence/–ency
Words ending in –able and –ible
Words ending in –ably and –ibly
The suffix –ly
Words with endings sounding like
/ʒə/ or /tʃə/
Adding suffixes beginning with
vowel letters to words ending in –fer
Use of the hyphen
Endings which sound like /ʒən/
The suffix –ous
Words with the /i:/ sound spelt ei
after c
Endings which sound like /ʃən/, spelt
–tion, –sion, –ssion, –cian
Words containing the letter-string
ough
Words with the /k/ sound spelt ch
(Greek in origin)
Words with ‘silent’ letters (i.e.
letters whose presence cannot be
predicted from the pronunciation of
the word)
Words with the /ʃ/ sound spelt ch
(mostly French in origin)
Words ending with the /g/ sound
spelt –gue and the /k/ sound spelt –
que (French in origin)
Words with the /s/ sound spelt sc
(Latin in origin)
Homophones and other words that
are often confused
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
The sounds /f/, /l/,
/s/, /z/ and /k/ spelt
ff, ll, ss, zz and ck
The /ŋ/ sound spelt n
before k
Division of words
into syllables
-tch
The /v/ sound at the
end of words
Adding –es to nouns
and verbs ending in
–y
Adding –ed, –ing, –
er and –est to a root
word ending in –y
with a consonant
before it.
Adding the endings
–ing, –ed, –er, –est
and –y to words
ending in –e with a
consonant before it
Adding –ing, –ed, –
er, –est and –y to
words of one
syllable ending in a
single consonant
letter after a single
Adding the endings – vowel letter
ing, –ed and –er to
verbs where no
The /ɔ:/ sound spelt
change is needed to
a before l and ll
the root word
The /ʌ/ sound spelt o
Adding –er and –est
to adjectives where
The /i:/ sound spelt
no change is needed
–ey
to the root word
Adding s and es to
words (plural of
nouns and the third
person singular of
verbs)
Words with the /eɪ/ sound spelt ei,
eigh, or ey
Possessive apostrophe with plural
words
Homophones or near-homophones
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
Vowel digraphs and
trigraphs
ai, oi, ay, oy, a-e, e-e,
i-e, o-e, u-e, ar, ee,
ea, ea, er, ir, ur, oo,
oa, oe, ou, ow, ue,
ew, ie, igh, or, ore,
aw, au, air, ear, are
Words ending –y (/i:/
or /ɪ/)
New consonant
spellings ph and wh
Using k for the /k/
sound
Adding the prefix –
un
The /ɒ/ sound spelt a
after w and qu
The /ɜ:/ sound spelt
or after w
The /ɔ:/ sound spelt
ar after w
The /ʒ/ sound spelt s
The suffixes –ment,
–ness, –ful , –less
and ‘-ly’
Contractions
The possessive
apostrophe (singular
nouns)
Words ending in –
tion
Compound words
Common exception
words
Homophones and
near-homophones
Common exception
words
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
Word List for Year three and Four
accident(ally)
actual(ly)
address
answer
appear
arrive
believe
bicycle
breath
breathe
build
busy/business
calendar
caught
centre
century
certain
accommodate
accompany
according
achieve
circle
complete
consider
continue
decide
describe
different
difficult
disappear
early
earth
eight/eighth
enough
exercise
experience
experiment
extreme
communicate
community
competition
conscience*
famous
favourite
February
forward(s)
fruit
grammar
group
guard
guide
heard
heart
height
history
imagine
increase
important
interest
island
knowledge
learn
length
library
material
medicine
mention
minute
natural
naughty
notice
occasion(ally)
often
opposite
ordinary
particular
Word List for Year Five and Six
environment
individual
equip (–ped, –
interfere
ment)
interrupt
especially
language
peculiar
perhaps
popular
position
possess(ion)
possible
potatoes
pressure
probably
promise
purpose
quarter
question
recent
regular
reign
remember
sentence
separate
special
straight
strange
strength
suppose
surprise
therefore
though/although
thought
through
various
weight
woman/women
prejudice
privilege
profession
programme
stomach
sufficient
suggest
symbol
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
aggressive
amateur
ancient
apparent
appreciate
attached
available
average
awkward
bargain
bruise
category
cemetery
committee
conscious*
controversy
convenience
correspond
criticise (critic +
ise)
curiosity
definite
desperate
determined
develop
dictionary
disastrous
embarrass
exaggerate
excellent
existence
explanation
familiar
foreign
forty
frequently
government
guarantee
harass
hindrance
identity
immediate(ly)
leisure
lightning
marvellous
mischievous
muscle
necessary
neighbour
nuisance
occupy
occur
opportunity
parliament
persuade
physical
pronunciation
queue
recognise
recommend
relevant
restaurant
rhyme
rhythm
sacrifice
secretary
shoulder
signature
sincere(ly)
soldier
Consonants
Vowels
/b/ bad
/d/ dog
/ð/ this
/dʒ/ gem, jug
/f/ if, puff, photo
/ɡ/ gum
/h/ how
/j/ yes
/k/ cat, check, key, school
/l/ leg, hill
/ɑː/ father, arm
/ɒ/ hot
/æ/ cat
/aɪ/ mind, fine, pie, high
/aʊ/ out, cow
/ɛ/ hen, head
/eɪ/ say, came, bait
/ɛə/ air
/əʊ/ cold, boat, cone, blow
/ɪ/ hit
system
temperature
thorough
twelfth
variety
vegetable
vehicle
yacht
New Curriculum / Letters and Sounds
/m/ man
/n/ man
/ŋ/ sing
/θ/ both
/p/ pet
/r/ red
/s/ sit, miss, cell
/ʃ/ she, chef
/t/ tea
/tʃ/ check
/v/ vet
/w/ wet, when
/z/ zip, hens, buzz
/ʒ/ pleasure
/ɪə/ beer
/iː/ she, bead, see, scheme, chief
/ɔː/ launch, raw, born
/ɔɪ/ coin, boy
/ʊ/ book
/ʊə/ tour
/uː/ room, you, blue, brute
/ʌ/ cup
/ɜː/ fern, turn, girl
/ə/ farmer