Synthetic Phonics Teaching Scheme
Phonics Shed is split into four chapters, which are based on the Letters and Sounds (2007) progression. The Long-Term Plan (LTP) for the scheme covers Nursery to Year 2 and is based on an average 39-week school year; this can be found below.
Chapter 1 is designed to run from the spring term of Nursery to the end of the year. We have also included a week of planning at the beginning of Reception that will either serve as a Chapter 1 recap or as a short introduction for those who start at your setting at the beginning of Reception.
Chapter 2 starts in the autumn term of Reception and will be completed by the spring term.
Chapter 3 is taught in the spring and summer terms of Reception.
Chapter 4a should be covered in the autumn term of Year 1.
Chapter 4b will then be taught up until the end of the spring term in Year 1.
Chapter 4c is usually introduced after the Phonics Screening Check and may run until the end of the autumn term in Year 2.
A further break down of the teaching progression from Nursery to Year 2, in the form of four Medium Term Plans (MTPs) based on six 6-week half-terms, can be found below the information about each chapter. Very few half-terms are, in fact, exactly six weeks long, but the progression is linear, and therefore it is simple to move different sets into different half-terms if they are longer or shorter.
Chapter 1
Focuses on developing vital pre-reading, speaking and listening skills. It is divided into a two week introduction and nine interlinking elements, each with two weeks’ worth of planning and supporting intervention sessions available. Much of the planning is supported by age-appropriate texts by well-known authors. Designed for Nursery and/or Early Reception (P1). PLANNING SAMPLE BOOK LIST
- Introduction- Joe: An Introduction to Phonics Shed
- Element 1- Environmental Sounds
- Element 2- Motor Skills
- Element 3- Our Bodies
- Element 4- Instrumental Sounds
- Element 5- Our Voices
- Element 6- Stories Rhymes and Rhythm
- Element 7- From Left to Right
- Element 8- Initial Sounds
- Element 9- Beginning to Blend and Segment
Chapter 2
Introduces the first grapheme-phoneme pairs, including introducing the 26 letters of the alphabet and their corresponding capital letters, and several simple digraphs, including an extended range of double letters. It also begins to introduce the concept of best fit; making an informed choice between alternative GPCs based on the most common placement in words. This chapter is designed for Reception/P1. PLANNING SAMPLE CONSOLIDATION
An example of intervention planning can also be seen for this chapter INTERVENTION SAMPLE
- Set 1 – 's'/s/, 'a'/a/, 't'/t/, 'p'/p/:Sam the snake [unvoiced s], Anna the ant, Tom the tiger and Pat the pig
- Set 2 – 'i'/i/, 'n'/n/, 'm'/m/, 'd'/d/:Indy the imp, Noah the nurse, Monty the monkey and Dusty the dog
- Set 3 – 'g'/g/, 'o'/o/, 'c'/k/, 'k'/k/:Grey the goat, Ollie the otter, Curly the cat and Kit the kangaroo [including 2 variants of k]
- Set 4 – 'ck'/k/, 'e'/e/, 'u'/u/, 'r'/r/:Buck the duck [first digraph and both variants of k], Ellis the echidna, Ugbie the bug and Rex the rat, /u/ 'Both hard and soft /u/ sounds are covered in this Set if appropriate to specific regional accents.'
- Set 5 – 'h'/h/, 'b'/b/, 'f'/f/, 'l'/l/:Haz the hen, Bumble the bee, Flick the fly and Lily the ladybird
- Set 6 – 'j'/j/, 'v'/v/, 'w'/w/, 'x'/ks/:Jack the jungle explorer, Val the vet, Wes the weasel and Alex the fox
- Set 7 – 'y'/y/, 'z'/z/, 'qu'/kw/, voiced 's'/z/:Yan the yoga teacher, Eliza the zebra, Quinn the quail and revisiting Sam the snake
- Set 8 – Double Letters 'ff'/f', 'll'/l/, 'ss'/s/, 'zz'/z/:Muffin the puffin, Billy the bull, Jess the grasshopper [including voiced ss] and Fizz the buzzard
- Set 8 continued – Additional Doubles 'tt'/t/, 'pp'/p/, 'rr'/r/, 'mm'/m/, 'cc'/c, 'nn'/n, 'dd'/d/, 'gg'/g/, 'bb'/b/:Lottie the bottle, Pepper the hippo, Barry the parrot, Jimmy the hammer, Rebecca the broccoli, Bonny the bunny, Eddy the ladder, Peggy the egg and Robby the gibbon
Chapter 3
Progresses to more complex digraphs and trigraphs, and introduces more best-fit rules as children begin to spell longer words and captions. Using the formation characters from Chapter 2, by the end of Chapter 3 the children will know at least one grapheme for each phoneme. This chapter is designed to be taught in Reception/P1. PLANNING SAMPLE
- Set 1 – 'ng'/ng/, 'ch'/ch/, 'sh'/sh/, 'th'/th/ [voiced and unvoiced]:Wing the duckling, Charlie the chicken, Blush the brush, Theo the moth and The Weatherman [including a comparison between th sounds]
- Set 2 – 'ai'/ai/, 'ee'/ee/, 'igh'/igh/, 'oa'/oa/:Gail the snail, Dee the sheep, Bright the night light and Boaty the toad
- Set 3 – 'ue'/ue/, 'ow'/ow/, 'oi'/oi/, 'oo'/oo/ and 'oo'hard/u/:Huey the statue, Brown the owl, The coin in the soil, Boo the goose and Sherwood the woodpecker [including regional variation]
- Set 4 – 'ar'/ar/, 'or'/or/, 'ur'/ur/, 'er'/ur/ and 'er'[schwa ending]:Archer the star, Gordon the horse, Kurt the turtle, Merlin the gerbil, Ryder the spider [including comparisons between ur, er and er]
- Set 5 – 'ear'/ear/, 'air'/air/, 'ure'[various], 'a'/ar/:Ears the earwig, Blair the fairy, The Treasure Adventure [including various pronunciations] and Alana the Llama [can be taught with Chapter 2 Set 7 if it is a commonly used GPC]
Chapter 4a
Chapter 4a covers alternative graphemes for known phonemes. This chapter is designed to be taught in Year 1/P2. PLANNING SAMPLE
- Set 1 – 'oe'/oa/, 'ay'/ai/, 'ew'/oo/, 'ew'/ue/:Joe stubbed his toe, Jay the clay, Drew the screwdriver and Stewart the newt [including comparing ew sounds]
- Set 2 – 'ea'/ee/, 'ey'/ee/, 'ie'/ee/, 'ie'/igh/:Beans the flea, Stanley the turkey, Albie the cookie thief and The Magpie [including comparing ie sounds]
- Set 3 – 'aw'/or/, 'au'/or/, 'ir'/ur/, 'oy'/oi/: Dawn the fawn, Paul the astronaut, Shirley the girl and Troy the boy
- Set 4 – 'ou'/ow/, 'are'/air/, 'ph'/f/, 'wh'/w/: Sprout the mouse, Dare the hare, Phil the dolphin and Wheeler the whale.
- Set 5 – Split Digraphs 'a_e'/ai/, 'e_e'/ee/, 'i_e'/igh/, 'o_e'/oa/, 'u_e'/oo/, 'u_e'/ue/:Jade the spade, Pete the millipede, Mike the kite, Hope the cone, Luke the flute and Duke the mule [including comparing u_e sounds]
Chapter 4b
Chapter 4b covers alternative pronunciations for known graphemes. These characters only have songs if the GPCs tend to follow specific best-fit rules. By the end of this chapter, all the GPCs required for the Phonics Screening Check will have been covered. This chapter is designed to be taught in Year 1/P2. PLANNING SAMPLE
- Set 1 – Recap of previously compared sounds: th ew oo u_e etc
- Set 2 – 'c'/s/, 'g'/j/, 'i'/igh/, 'u'/ue/, 'e'/ee/:Nancy the princess, Gem the giraffe, Ivor the lion, Music the unicorn and The Meteor
- Set 3 – 'ea'/e/, 'ow'/oa/, 'or'/ur/, 'ey'/ai/:Heather the feather, Rainbow the snowman, Wordy the bookworm and Chey the grey squirrel
- Set 4 – 'ue'/oo/, 'o'/oa/, 'o'/oo/, 'ch'/c/, 'ch'/sh/:Sue the bluebird, Leo the ghost, Who?, Chris the chameleon and Charlotte the chef
- Set 5 – 'a'/ai/, 'a'/o/, 'y'/igh/, 'y'/ee/, 'y'/i/:April the angel, Squashy the wasp, Sky the spy, Cody the jellyfish and Dylan the lynx
- Set 6 – 'ou'/oo/, 'ou'/u/, 'ou'/oa/, 'ear'/ur/, 'ear'/air/:Soupy the toucan, Doug in trouble, Mouldy the boulder, The Earl and Pear the bear
- Set 7 – New Phoneme 'zh' [si, ge, s, g, j, z, ti]
Chapter 4c
Chapter 4c looks at spelling patterns, best-fit rules, and less common GPCs. This chapter is designed to be taught after the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1 and into Year 2 (P3). It is also a useful tool for consolidating knowledge of specific phonemes beyond these year groups. PLANNING SAMPLE
Chapter 4c
A wide range of possible graphemes for each phoneme, both common and uncommon, along with spelling patterns and best-fit rules. This chapter is split into 5 sections: Consonants, Consonant Digraphs, Short Vowels, Long Vowels and Vowel Digraphs and Trigraphs. There are a total of 80 lessons that cover every phoneme apart from the /th/ sounds, which have no common alternatives.
Long Term Plan
(based on 6 week half-terms)
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursery | No Discrete Phonics Lessons We suggest using our Phonics Shed books and songs during sessions, as well as Chapter 1 games on the Phonics Shed site to introduce children slowly to the scheme. | Chapter 1 | ||||||||||
| Reception | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | ||||||||||
| Year 1 | Chapter 4a | Chapter 4b | Chapter 2 to 4b Consolidation and Targeted Interventions | Phonics Screening | Begin Chapter 4c | |||||||
| Year 2 |
Continue Chapter 4c Total 80 lessons | In Year 2, some settings may choose not to deliver discrete phonics sessions daily; therefore, completion of the progression could take more time than indicated on this document. | ||||||||||
Medium Term Plans
Nursery Medium Term Plan - (based on 6 week half-terms)
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | No Discrete Phonics Lessons We suggest using our Phonics Shed books and songs during sessions, as well as Chapter 1 games on the Phonics Shed site to introduce children slowly to the scheme. World Nursery Rhyme Week is celebrated in November with additional Phonics Shed planning to support this. | Chapter 1 Element 2 Motor Skills | Chapter 1 Element 5 Our Voices | Chapter 1 Element 8 Initial Sounds | ||||||||||||||
| Week 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Week 3 | Chapter 1 Introduction Joe | Chapter 1 Element 3 Our Bodies | Chapter 1 Element 6 Stories, Rhymes and Rhythm | Chapter 1 Element 9 Beginning to Blend and Segment | ||||||||||||||
| Week 4 | Chapter 1 Introduction Nursery Rhymes | |||||||||||||||||
| Week 5 | Chapter 1 Element 1 Environmental Sounds | Chapter 1 Element 4 Instrumental Sounds | Chapter 1 Element 7 From Left to Right | Chapter 1 Assessment (see guidance) | ||||||||||||||
| Week 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
Reception Medium Term Plan - (based on 6 week half-terms)
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Chapter 1 Skills Foundation skills with oral blending and segmenting | Assessment and Application R.1 | Assessment and Application R.2 | Assessment and Application R.3 | Assessment and Application R.4 | Assessment and Application R.5 | ||||||||||||
| Week 2 | Chapter 2 Set 1 ‘s’/s/, ‘a’/a/, ‘t’/t/, ‘p’/p/ and corresponding upper-case graphemes HFW: ‘a’, ‘at’, ‘the’ | Consolidation and Intervention Chapter 2 Set 1 to 4 | Consolidation and Intervention Chapter 2 Set 1 to 7 | Fluency Focus Chapter 2 | Consolidation and Intervention Chapter 3 Set 1 to 3 | Consolidation and Intervention Chapter 3 | ||||||||||||
| Week 3 | Chapter 2 Set 2 ‘i’/i/, ‘n’/n/, ‘m’/m/, ‘d’/d/ and corresponding upper-case graphemes HFW: ‘I’, ‘it’, ‘it’s’, ‘an’, ‘in’, ‘and’, ‘dad’ | Chapter 2 Set 5 ‘h’/h/, ‘b’/b/, ‘f’/f/, ‘l’/l/ and corresponding upper-case graphemes HFW: ‘had’, ‘him’, ‘back’, ‘big’, ‘but’, ‘if’, ‘from’, ‘of’, ‘help’ | Chapter 2 Set 8 ‘ff’/f/, ‘ll’/l/, ‘ss’/s/, voiced ‘ss’/z/ and ‘zz’/z/ HFW: ‘off’, ‘will’ | Chapter 3 Set 1 ‘ng’/ng/, ‘ch’/ch/, ‘sh’/sh/, unvoiced and voiced ‘th’ and comparing ‘th’ phonemes HFW: ‘children’, ‘they’, ‘then’, ‘them’, ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘with’ | Chapter 3 Set 4 ‘ar’/ar/, ‘or’/or/, ‘ur’/ur/, ‘er’/ur/, comparing /ur/ graphemes, schwa ending ‘er’/uh/ and comparing ‘er’ phonemes HFW: ‘are’, ‘for’, ‘all’, ‘her’ | Recap Chapter 2 and 3 | ||||||||||||
| Week 4 | Chapter 2 Set 3 ‘g’/g/, ‘o’/o/, ‘c’/k/, ‘k’/k/, corresponding upper-case graphemes and /k/ ‘Best Fit’ HFW: ‘on’, ‘got’, ‘not’, ‘do’, ‘to’, ‘into’, ‘can’ | Chapter 2 Set 6 ‘j’/j/, ‘v’/v/, ‘w’/w/, ‘x’/ks/, corresponding upper-case letters and word endings ‘ve’/v/ HFW: ‘just’, ‘went’, ‘want’ | Chapter 2 Set 8 Additional Doubles ‘tt’/t/, ‘pp’/p/, ‘rr’/r/, ‘mm’/m/, ‘cc’/k/, ‘nn’/n/, ‘dd’/d/, ‘gg’/g/ and ‘bb’/b/ | Chapter 3 Set 2 ‘ai’/ai/, ‘ee’/ee/, ‘igh’/igh/ and ‘oa’/oa/ HFW: ‘see’, ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘we’, ‘me’, ‘be’, ‘my’ | Chapter 3 Set 5 ‘ear’/ear/, ‘air’/air/, ‘tch’/ch/, ‘ure’ variations and, if applicable, ‘a’/ar/ (regional) HFW: ‘said’, ‘little’, ‘can’t’ (with ‘a’/ar/) | Fluency Focus Chapter 2 and 3 | ||||||||||||
| Week 5 | Chapter 2 Set 4 ‘ck’/k/, ‘e’/e/, ‘u’ hard and soft /u/, ‘r’/r/, corresponding upper-case graphemes and /k/ ‘Best Fit’ HFW: ‘no’, ‘go’, ‘so’, ‘get’, ‘up’, ‘put’, ‘mum’ | Chapter 2 Set 7 ‘y’/y/, ‘z’/z/, ‘qu’/kw/, corresponding upper-case graphemes, voiced ‘s’/z/ and, if applicable, ‘a’/ar/ (regional) HFW: ‘as’, ‘is’, ‘his’, ‘can’t’ (with ‘a’/ar/) | Chapter 2 Alphabetical Order | Chapter 3 Set 3 ‘ue’/ue/, ‘ow’/ow/, ‘oi’/oi/, ‘oo’/oo/, ‘oo’ hard /u/ and comparing ‘oo’ phonemes HFW: ‘was’, ‘you’, ‘now’, ‘down’, ‘too’, ‘look’ | Recap Chapter 3 Set 4 and 5 | |||||||||||||
| Week 6 | Recap Chapter 2 Set 1 to 4 | Recap Chapter 2 Set 5 to 7 | Chapter 2 Vowels and Consonants | Recap Chapter 3 Set 1 to 3 | Fluency Focus Chapter 3 | Assessment and Application R.6 Practice Phonics Screening Check | ||||||||||||
Year 1 Medium Term Plan - (based on 6 week half-terms)
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Assessment and Application 1.1 | Recap Chapter 4a Set 1 to 4 | Chapter 4b Set 1 Comparing both known phonemes for ‘s’, ‘th’, ‘oo’, ‘er’, ‘a’, ‘ew’, ‘ie’ and ‘u_e’ graphemes | Recap Chapter 4b Set 2 to 6 | Assessment and Application 1.4 Practice Phonics Screening Check | Consolidation and Intervention Chapter 2 to 4b | ||||||||||||
| Week 2 | Recap Chapter 2 and 3 | Chapter 4a Set 5 ‘a_e’/ai/, ‘e_e’/ee/, ‘i_e’/igh/, ‘o_e’/ oa/, ‘u_e’/oo/, ‘u_e’/ue/ and comparing ‘u_e’ phonemes HFW: ‘made’, ‘came’, ‘make’, ‘have’, ‘here’, ‘were’, ‘there’, ‘where’, ‘like’, ‘time’, ‘come’, ‘love’, ‘one’, ‘once’, ‘some’ | Chapter 4b Set 2 ‘c’/s/, ‘g’/j/, ‘i’/igh/, ‘u’/ue/ and ‘e’/ee/ HFW: ‘I’m’ | Assessment and Application 1.3 | Consolidation and Intervention Chapter 4b | Phonics Screening Check 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| Week 3 | Chapter 4a Set 1 ‘oe’/oa/, ‘ay’/ai/, ‘ew’/oo/, ‘ew’/ue/ and comparing ‘ew’ phonemes HFW: ‘day’ | Chapter 4b Set 3 ‘ea’/e/, ‘ow’/oa/, ‘or’/ur/ and ‘ey’/ai/ HFW: ‘Mr’, ‘Mrs’ | Consolidation and Intervention Chapter 4b Set 2 to 6 | Recap Chapter 2 to 4b | Chapter 4c Consonants Approximately seven weeks of planning in total; this section will continue into Year 2 (see guidance) | |||||||||||||
| Week 4 | Chapter 4a Set 2 ‘ea’/ee/, ‘ey’/ee/, ‘ie’/ee/, ‘ie’/igh/ and comparing ‘ie’ phonemes HFW: ‘friend’ | Assessment and Application 1.2 Practice Phonics Screening Check | Chapter 4b Set 4 ‘ue’/oo/, ‘o’/oa/, ‘o’/oo/, ‘ch’/k/ and ‘ch’/sh/ HFW: ‘old’, ‘don’t’, ‘oh’ | Chapter 4b Set 7 /zh/ HFW: ‘their’, ‘people’ | ||||||||||||||
| Week 5 | Chapter 4a Set 3 ‘aw’/or/, ‘au’/or/, word endings ‘ore’/or/, ‘ir’/ur/ and ‘oy’/oi/ HFW: ‘saw’, ‘because’ | Consolidation and Intervention Chapter 4a Set 1 to 5 | Chapter 4b Set 5 ‘a’/ai/, ‘a’/o/, ‘y’/igh/, ‘y’/ee/ and ‘y’/i/ HFW: ‘looked’, ‘called’, ‘asked’, ‘by’, ‘very’ | Fluency Focus Chapter 4b | ||||||||||||||
| Week 6 | Chapter 4a Set 4 ‘ou’/ow/, ‘are’/air/, ‘ph’/f/ and ‘wh’/w/ HFW: ‘house’, ‘out’, ‘about’, ‘when’, ‘what’ | Fluency Focus Chapter 4a | Chapter 4b Set 6 ‘ou’/oo/, ‘ou’/u/, ‘ou’/oo/, ‘ear’/ur/ and ‘ear’/air/ HFW: ‘your’, ‘could’ | |||||||||||||||
Year 2 Medium Term Plan - (based on 6 week half-terms)
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Chapter 4c Consonants (continued) Approximately seven weeks of planning in total; this section begins in Year 1 (see guidance) | Chapter 4c Short Vowels Approximately two weeks of planning in total (see guidance) | Chapter 4c Additional Vowel Phonemes Approximately five weeks of planning in total (see guidance) | In Year 2, some settings may choose not to deliver discrete phonics
sessions daily; therefore, completion of the progression could take more
time than indicated on this document. Resits for the Phonics Screening Check will take place in June. Please ensure those who will resit continue to practise, for example, by using the intervention planning or Phonics Shed games. Similarly, children who have previously passed the Phonics Screening Check may still require practise, further consolidation or intervention during this time. Skills from Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) are the base that children need to begin to master English orthography. These skills need to be constantly consolidated throughout their lives. They should also work on gaining additional skills and knowledge, such as more complex spelling patterns, morphology and etymology. | ||||||||||||||
| Week 2 | Chapter 4c Long Vowels Approximately two weeks of planning in total (see guidance) | |||||||||||||||||
| Week 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Week 4 | Chapter 4c Additional Consonant Phonemes Approximately two weeks of planning in total (see guidance) | Chapter 4c Syllables | Chapter 4c Schwas | |||||||||||||||
| Week 5 | Chapter 4c Additional Vowel Phonemes Approximately five weeks of planning in total (see guidance) | Assessment and Application 2.1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Week 6 | Chapter 4c Short Vowels Approximately two weeks of planning in total (see guidance) | Assessment and Application 2.2 | ||||||||||||||||
