Crayonbird Phonics
Guide for grown-ups
Everything you need to teach a lesson, at home or in class. Plain words, no jargon.
The daily lesson
Teach phonics every day, at the same time if you can. Each lesson has four short parts: revisit and review, teach, practise, apply. Keep it brisk and fun; stop before attention runs out. Ages 3–4 (Stage 1 and early Stage 2): 10–15 minutes is plenty.
Step 1: Revisit and review
4–6 min- Flash the grapheme cards taught so far — the child says the sound for each, quickly. Mix old and new.
- Blend three or four words from earlier steps, and re-read one or two tricky words.
- Note any sound that is slow or wrong: it goes into today's keep-up session.
Step 2: Teach
5–8 min- Introduce the new GPC: show the grapheme, say the pure sound, show the keyword picture, and the child copies.
- Use the adult tip for the mouth shape. Write the grapheme in the air, on the table, then on paper (see the formation cue).
- Model blending a word with the new sound: point under each grapheme, say each sound, then sweep your finger and say the word.
- Introduce any new tricky word: sound it out, notice which part is tricky, and mark it (a dot under the regular parts, a ring round the tricky part).
Step 3: Practise
5–8 min- Reading: the child blends the step's words — and a few alien (pseudo) words, so they decode rather than remember.
- Spelling: say a word, the child repeats it, says the sounds (counting on fingers), then writes a grapheme for each sound.
- Mix in words from earlier steps so knowledge stays fresh.
Step 4: Apply
5–8 min- Read one or two of the step's sentences together, then the decodable book (from Stage 2 week 3).
- Dictation: say one sentence from the dictation list; the child writes it, then checks it with you, sound by sound.
- Finish with praise for careful blending, not just for being quick.
How Crayonbird Phonics works
Children learn the 44 or so sounds of English and the letters that write them (grapheme–phoneme correspondences, or GPCs) in a fixed order, one small step at a time. Every word and book a child is asked to read uses only what they have been taught.
- Six stages, about 40 weekly steps. Stage 1 is listening and sound play; Stages 2–6 teach reading and spelling.
- Each step has new GPCs, a few tricky words, real and alien words, sentences, dictation and (from Stage 2 week 3) a decodable mini-book.
- Children read by blending — saying each sound from left to right and merging them into a word. They spell by segmenting — splitting a spoken word into its sounds and writing a grapheme for each.
- Do not ask children to guess words from pictures or from the first letter, and do not teach decodable words as whole "sight words". The pictures are for enjoyment and talk, after the words are read.
- Move on when most of the step is secure — not before. A step can last more than a week; that is fine.
Saying pure sounds
Say each sound cleanly, without adding "uh" — "mmm", not "muh". Extra sounds make blending much harder: "c-uh-a-t-uh" does not blend into "cat".
- Sounds you can stretch, stretch: mmm, sss, fff, nnn, lll, rrr, vvv, zzz, shhh.
- Sounds you cannot stretch, keep short and crisp: p, t, k (c), b, d, g — just a tiny puff or bounce, no "uh".
- h is only a breath. w is a quick rounding of the lips. y is the start of "yes".
- Short vowels: a (ant), e (egg), i (in), o (on), u (up). Long vowels (ai, ee, igh, oa, oo) say the letter name or a long sound.
- Use the adult tip on each GPC for the mouth shape and the most common mistake.
- Accents differ — that is fine. Use the sounds of your own accent consistently (for example, the vowel in "bath" or "grass").
Blending, segmenting and dictation
Blending (for reading) and segmenting (for spelling) are two sides of one skill. Practise both every day.
- Blending: point under each grapheme in turn (two- and three-letter graphemes get ONE point), say the sound, then sweep your finger under the word and say it.
- If a child blends "d-o-g" but says "dig", go back and say the sounds a little faster and closer together.
- Longer words: read them in chunks (syllables) — rab-bit, gar-den — then put the chunks together.
- Clusters (Stage 4): blend every consonant — f-r-o-g. Do not teach "fr" as one sound.
- Segmenting: say the word, the child says it, then says each sound while touching a finger. Then they write a grapheme for each finger.
- Dictation: sounds first, then words, then a sentence. Say the sentence, the child repeats it, then writes it word by word. Check together and praise what is right.
Tricky words
A few very common words have a part that does not follow the sounds taught so far ("the", "said", "was"). We still teach children to read them through the letters — sounding out the regular parts and learning the tricky part.
- Introduce two or three at a time, in the order given in each step.
- Sound the word out together, then ask: which part is tricky? Mark it — a ring round the tricky part.
- Practise them in sentences, not in long lists to memorise. Revisit them daily for a week.
- Many become fully decodable later ("he", "go", "like", "have"): point this out when it happens — children love it.
Letter formation and handwriting
Each single-letter GPC in Stage 2 has a formation cue: where to start, which way to go and where to finish.
- Teach lower-case letters with their sounds. Capitals come with names (Sam, Nat) and at the start of sentences.
- Start with big movements (in the air, in sand, with a finger on the table), then on paper with a pencil.
- Watch the starting point: most letters start at the top. Letters with the same movement (c, a, d, g, o, q) can be practised together.
- Do not join letters at first. Joining digraphs can come later if your school uses it.
- Move from writing letters to words, then to short sentences from the dictation list.
Using the decodable books (in class and at home)
Each step's mini-book uses only the GPCs and tricky words taught so far, so a child can read every word. Read it three times across the week — each read has a different job.
- Read 1 — decoding: the child sounds out each word. Help them to blend; do not tell them the word unless they are stuck after a good try.
- Read 2 — fluency: re-read the same book; words that were sounded out yesterday start to be read "in your head". Praise smooth reading.
- Read 3 — expression and meaning: read with voices, talk about the story, the funny bit, and what might happen next.
- Before reading, point out any new GPCs and tricky words in the book. After reading, talk about the pictures.
- At home: 10 minutes, somewhere cosy, little and often. Keep it positive — stop while it is still fun.
- Keep reading to your child too! Share any books they love; decodable books are for practising, story time is for enjoying language.
Keep-up support (for children who fall behind)
The fastest way to close a gap is to catch it on the same day. A child who misses a sound in the lesson gets a short keep-up session that day, using the same programme, the same sounds and the same routines.
- Keep-up sessions are 5–10 minutes, one-to-one or in a very small group, on the same day as the lesson (before home time, or at home in the evening).
- Re-teach only what was missed: the sound, the formation, two or three words to blend, one to spell. Then re-read a sentence or a page of the book.
- Use the same words, pictures and actions as the main lesson. Do NOT switch to a different phonics scheme — that confuses children.
- Children who are well behind (for example, scoring under the pass mark on the Crayonbird phonics check for a stage they have finished) need daily catch-up on the earlier steps, as well as keeping up with the class where possible. Re-check every six weeks.
- Keep a simple record: which GPCs are secure, which are shaky. The checks show you which ones to practise.
- If a child is still not blending after lots of practice, talk to their teacher or SENCO — some children need more oral blending, more repetition, or a hearing or speech check.
Adapting for children with SEND
All children follow the same progression; some need it smaller, slower and with more repetition.
- Smaller steps: teach one new GPC at a time and stay on a step longer.
- More senses: trace graphemes in sand, make them with play dough, use actions and the keyword pictures.
- Fewer items on a page: show one word at a time, use a card to cover the rest, enlarge the print.
- For children with speech or hearing needs, face them, slow down, and use a mirror to show mouth shapes.
- On screen, use the audio buttons to hear the pure sounds as often as needed; on paper, use bigger lines for writing.
- Celebrate small wins and keep sessions short and frequent.
Checking progress
Use the Crayonbird phonics check for each stage: 20 quick items (sounds, real words and alien words). It shows what is secure and what needs keep-up practice.
- Run the check at the end of each stage, and every six weeks or so, in a quiet, relaxed way.
- Daily, notice which sounds are slow in the revisit part of the lesson — this is your best assessment.
- Use the checks to place a child who is new to the programme: start at the first check they do not pass.
- The check is a teaching tool, not a judgement. Never use it to label a child.
Where should a new child start?
Stage by stage
Stage 1 — Listening and sound play
Goal: Children tune in to sounds, enjoy rhyme and rhythm, hear first sounds, and can blend and segment simple spoken words.
What to do
- Play listening games every day: sound walks, copy-cat rhythms, guessing sounds in a bag.
- Sing songs and share rhyming books; pause so the child can say the rhyming word.
- Play "I spy" with sounds (sss), not letter names.
- Use robot talk all day: "Put on your c-oa-t", "Where is your h-a-t?"
Secure when
- They can blend three spoken sounds into a word (c-a-t → cat).
- They can hear the first sound in a word.
- They can join in with and spot rhymes.
If a child is stuck
- Make the gap between sounds smaller. Start with words that begin with long sounds (mmm-a-p).
- Use real objects so the child can check their answer.
Stage 2 — First sounds
Goal: Children know one sound for each letter and the first double letters, and read and spell short words (CVC words like "sat", "dog", "duck").
What to do
- Teach four new GPCs a week; revise every day with quick grapheme flashcards.
- From week 1, blend and spell small words with the letters taught so far.
- Teach letter formation alongside each sound.
- From week 3, read the decodable mini-book three times across the week.
Secure when
- They say the sound for every Stage 2 grapheme within about 3 seconds.
- They blend CVC words without help.
- They can write a CVC word you say.
If a child is stuck
- Daily keep-up on the missed GPCs.
- More oral blending (Stage 1 games) alongside the letters.
- Use magnetic letters to build and change words: cat → cot → cut.
Stage 3 — Digraphs and trigraphs
Goal: Children learn that two or three letters can make one sound (sh, ai, igh …), and read and spell words with them.
What to do
- When reading, spot the digraph first and point to it with one finger: "sh — one sound".
- Use "sound buttons" (a dot for single letters, a line for digraphs) on words.
- Keep reading two-syllable words in chunks (din-ner, gar-den).
Secure when
- They read words with every Stage 3 grapheme.
- They choose the right digraph when spelling (rain, not "ran").
If a child is stuck
- Practise the confusable pairs (oo/oa, ar/or, ur/er) side by side.
- Re-read earlier decodable books for fluency.
Stage 4 — Adjacent consonants and longer words
Goal: Children read and spell words with consonant clusters (frog, tent, splash) and longer words.
What to do
- Blend every sound in a cluster; segment slowly for spelling and count the sounds.
- Read longer words syllable by syllable, and compound words in their two parts.
- Re-read books for fluency — this is the stage where reading starts to sound smooth.
Secure when
- They read words like "string" and "sunset" accurately.
- They do not drop sounds when spelling (nest, not "nes").
If a child is stuck
- Build clusters one sound at a time with letter cards: top → stop.
- Clap syllables before reading long words.
Stage 5 — Alternative spellings and pronunciations
Goal: Children learn other ways to spell sounds they know, and graphemes with more than one sound — and how to choose.
What to do
- Sort words by spelling ("rain", "play", "cake") and talk about patterns (ay at the end of words).
- Teach "try it both ways": if one sound does not make a real word, try the other.
- In spelling, accept a phonically plausible choice and then show the right spelling ("I can see why you wrote it like that").
Secure when
- They read words with alternative spellings accurately.
- They try another sound when a word does not make sense.
If a child is stuck
- Focus on one sound and its spellings at a time (/ai/: ai, ay, a_e).
- Keep a "sound wall" with the spellings learned so far.
Stage 6 — Spelling patterns
Goal: Children use common endings and beginnings (-s, -es, -ed, -ing, -er, -est, -ful, -ly, un-, re-) and the last common GPCs.
What to do
- Teach each spelling rule with real examples (hop → hopping, hope → hoping).
- Read and spell words with the suffix, then use them in sentences.
- Keep reading decodable books daily, and more and more of the child's own choice of books.
Secure when
- They read and spell words with common suffixes.
- They read the Stage 6 book fluently and talk about it.
If a child is stuck
- Go back to the root word first (jump), then add the ending (jumped).
- Practise one rule at a time.