Apac Phonicspacks 2020

Introduction to
Phonics Pack
Introduction to
Phonics Starter Pack
Unsure where to start with teaching phonics? This introduction pack supports you as you build confidence
with your knowledge of systematic, synthetic phonics and equips you with ready-made lesson plans,
worksheets, and resources to kickstart phonics learning in your classroom.
What will you find in this pack?

Phonics White Paper 1
Ready-Made Phonics 5-day Lesson Plan 20
5-Day Lesson Plan Template 21
Phonics worksheets 22
Handwriting worksheets 34
Phonics Sound Mat 44
Make Your Own Furballs Activity 45
How should I use this pack?

It’s up to you! But if you’d like some guidance, here’s what we’d recommend:
1 Familiarise yourself with phonics by reading the white paper.
2 Work through the ready-made lesson plan with your class.
3 Create your own phonics lesson plan for the following week.
Fast Phonics White Paper
Fast Phonics is an online systematic, synthetic phonics
program designed for emergent and early readers, as well
as older students with gaps in their core reading knowledge.
The Fast Phonics program teaches core phonics skills,
including letter–sound correspondence, segmenting and
❅ ❄ blending, syllable manipulation and spelling skills. Based

on best practice reading instruction, it fully aligns with key
curriculum initiatives to boost reading success. The many
rewarding elements of the program keep children motivated
❅ to learn, laugh and see what’s next.
3 1
Phonics: The Essential Element
❅ ❄ for Reading Success
Decades of psychological science research and comprehensive government
reviews in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia have revealed a
strong consensus around the importance of systematic phonics instruction
❅ during the initial stages of learning to read (Castles, Rastle and Nation,
2018; National Reading Panel, 2000; Rowe, 2005; Rose, 2006).
The complex orthography of the English language makes understanding the

❄
❄
connection between sounds and written letters (the alphabetic principle)
particularly difficult. Phonics is the process of learning to connect phonemes
❅ Phase 2 Sound Mat
s a t p i n
snake apple tree penguin insect nail

with their written graphemes. A systematic phonics program provides
planned learning experiences that give learners the tools to decode words.
m d g o c k
mouse dinosaur girl orange caterpillar key
ck e u r h b
Children aged 5 years old, and in some cases even younger, can benefit from
systematic phonics (Rose, 2006). Moreover, brain imaging studies suggest
rocket egg up road horse baseball
f ff l ll ss ❆
flower sniff lamp bell grass children continue to refine their phonics skills into adolescence (Froyen et
al., 2008).
Copyright © Blake eLearning 2020
❅ j v w
Phase 3
Sound Mat
There are two main phonics teaching methods: analytic and synthetic
❄
jellybean vase worm
❆ x y z zz qu ch
phonics. Analytic phonics focuses on whole words first and introduces
❄
xray yo-yo zipper fizz queen chicken
blending and sounds later in the sequence. Synthetic phonics involves

sh th ng ai ee igh
identifying sets of letters and sounds; blending the sounds all the way
shell thumb ring rain leek night
oa oo oo ar or ur
goat moon book card fork burger

though the word; and then segmenting sounds to spell each word.
ow oi ear air ure er
cow coin beard chair

picture eraser
Synthetic phonics as best practice

Academic research and government policy agree about the effectiveness
❄
❆ Aa Bb Cc Dd
of synthetic phonics instruction (Hempenstall, 2016). Synthetic phonics

Alphabet
Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj
teaches letter–sound relationships in an explicit and systematic sequence.

Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp
This ‘first and fast’ approach to reading instruction introduces children to

individual phonemes and letter sounds, so that they can rapidly decode
Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv
Ww Xx Yy Zz
❄ words and read independently.
❅
Synthetic phonics instruction is grounded in research. Most notably,

The 26 graphemes in the English a longitudinal research project in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, linked
alphabet make 44 phonemes, with
many ways to spell these sounds. synthetic phonics instruction to remarkable gains in students’ reading
abilities. The Clackmannanshire studies were seminal to establishing the pre-
eminence of synthetic phonics instruction for emergent and early readers
(see Appendix A for details).
Following the Clackmannanshire studies, the UK Government tasked Sir

Jim Rose, then Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Primary Education, with
conducting the Independent review of the teaching of early reading.
The review examined the most effective method of systematic phonics
instruction. The resultant ‘Rose Report’ concluded that ‘the case for
systematic phonic work is overwhelming and much strengthened by a
synthetic approach’ (Rose, 2006:20).
In Australia, the National Inquiry into Teaching Literacy in Australia

recommended teachers provide systematic, direct and explicit phonics
4 2
instruction to ensure that children master the essential alphabetic code-
breaking skills required for foundational reading proficiency (Rowe, 2005).
Research also found that systematic synthetic phonics had substantial
advantages over analytic phonics for the reading and spelling skills of
students in their second year of school (Christensen and Bowey, 2005).
Research on high performing primary schools in Western Australia found
that all of the schools used synthetic phonics programs in the early years
(Louden, 2015; See Appendix B for details about the use of synthetic phonics
in Australia).
In the United States, the National Reading Panel found that systematic
phonics programs produce greater growth in reading than other reading
programs, and that synthetic phonics instruction is especially effective for
younger, at-risk readers (National Reading Panel, 2000). In addition, a large-
scale study conducted by Barbara Foorman at the University of Houston
found that systematic synthetic phonics was by far the most effective reading
instruction method (Hempenstall, 2016 quoting Foorman et al., 1997).
Key curriculum initiatives and outcomes

Large numbers of children in Australia are not meeting the expected learning
outcomes and standards in literacy (Expert Advisory Panel, 2017). Effective
reading instruction, specifically synthetic phonics instruction, in the early
years of schooling is critical to improving students’ literacy.
Phonics instruction is included in the Phonics and Word Knowledge substrand

of the Australian Curriculum F-10 English curriculum (ACARA). State
education departments, including New South Wales, South Australia and
Western Australia, are increasingly encouraging the use of synthetic phonics
in the classroom. Indeed, the NSW Centre for Education Statistics and
Evaluation advised that synthetic phonics programs are ‘the most effective
method of teaching phonics’ (NSW Centre for Education Statistics and
Evaluation, 2017:8).
There have also been calls to adopt a nationwide phonics check for Year
1 students (Expert Advisory Panel, 2017; Snow, Castles, Wheldall and
Coltheart, 2016). In 2019, the Australian Government announced that it
will introduce a free, voluntary phonics check for Year 1 students (Media
release: ‘Bringing phonics into Australian schools’, Minister for Education,
2019). Certain states have already acted; following a trial of a phonics check
in 2017, South Australia introduced a mandatory phonics check for all Year
1 students in public schools in 2018. New South Wales is trialling a similar
check in 2020.
The Australian Government has also committed funds to the Australian

Institute for Teaching and School Leadership to provide expert advice on
incorporating phonics into the national accreditation standards for initial
teacher education (Media release: ‘Bringing phonics into Australian schools’,
Minister for Education, 2019).
5 3
❅
Fast Phonics: The Essential Synthetic
❄❅ Phonics Program
Fast Phonics uses the power of synthetic phonics to boost reading skills.
The program is a phonics ‘first and fast’ approach that uses high-quality
systematic, synthetic phonics instruction as the principle approach to
decoding print. The program is designed for emergent and early readers
(Foundation-Year 2), as well as older students with gaps in their core
reading knowledge.
Fast Phonics is closely aligned to the United Kingdom’s Letters and Sounds
program. It includes 20 ‘peaks’ that cover a set of letters and sounds.
❄ The program ensures that children progress from simple to more complex
Learning Overview
PHASE 2: Peaks 1 – 5: 19 letters, 23 graphemes, 143 words, 9 books
❆
phonics knowledge and skills and that they cover the major grapheme/
In Phase 2, children learn the sounds that letters make (phonemes). By the end of Phase 2 children
phoneme correspondences. Fast Phonics has been specifically designed to

are reading some vowel-consonant (VC) and consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. They also
know some high frequency ‘tricky words’ like ‘the’ and ‘go’. Children learn to sound out each phoneme
and blend these sounds together to read new words. For example, they will blend the sounds c-a-t
to make the word cat. They will also start learning to segment words for spelling. Letters and sounds
be used in discrete, daily classroom practice. It recognises that children

are introduced in this order: s, a, t, p, m, i, d, n, g, o, c, k, ck, e, r, u, l, h, f, b, ll, ss, ff.
New decodable words and

Peak Focus Decodable books
High Frequency words
1
Set 1: at, as, pat, Pat, sap, sat, tap, taps Pat taps
learn in different ways and uses a multisensory approach to engage

s, a, t, p
Pat
Phase 2 taps
Katy Pike
students with visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities.

Illustrated by Molly Sage
2
Set 2: a, and, did, in, is, it, no, the, dad, Tim and the map
m, i, d, n map, man, mat, nap, nip, pan, pin,
Tim and
Phase 2 pip, pit, sad, sip, sit, Tim the map
With a range of videos, interactives, activities and decodable books, Fast

Katy Pike
3
Set 3: can, go, got, not, on, to, cap, cat, Sam can
g, o, c, cot, dig, dog, dot, kid, mop, pan,
Sam can
Phonics explicitly and systematically teaches, supports, reinforces and

Phase 2 k, ck pans, pot, pots, pig, pop, Sam, sack,
sock, tin, top
Katy Pike
4
assesses the core phonics skills, namely:
Set 4: am, get, I, it, to, up, cannot, carrot, The red rocket
r, e, u cup, kick, Kit, mad, men, Moppet, The cat and
The red The cat
Phase 2 muck, mud, mug, neck, nips, peg, the rat and the
rocket
pen, pocket, pup, rat, rats, red, rat
rocket, rug, run, sick, sits, socks,
sun, ten, ticket Katy Pike
Katy Pike
5
Phase 2
Set 5:
l, h, f, b,
ll, ff, ss
gets, had, has, he, him, his, of, off,
see, back, bad, bed, bell, big, Bill,
bin, bit, bug, bun, bus, carrots, doll,
fan, fed, fig, fill, fin, fit, fusspot,
Bill
Kit the cat
Carrots
Hot dog
Bill Kit the cat
• letter–sound correspondence
gap, hat, hid, hill, hiss, hop, hot, Sara Leman
Sara Leman
hut, huff, kiss, led, leg, let, lots,

• blending
mess, parrot, peck, puff, rabbits, Hot dog
ruff, sunset, tag, tan, tell Carrots
Sara Leman Sara Leman

Illustrated by Tony Lowe Illustrated by Molly Sage
FAST PHONICS 1 © Blake eLearning
• segmenting and spelling

Fast Phonics is a synthetic phonics
program that explicitly and • syllable manipulation.
systematically boosts students’ core
phonics skills. Each of the 20 peaks Fast Phonics also covers pseudo-words. Pseudo-words are strings of
in Fast Phonics includes up to 24 letters that resemble real words. These types of words are included in
parts and focuses on a specific set
phonics checks.
of letter sounds.
It is well established that phonics is one of five essential elements that
students must master to become fluent readers. The other elements are
phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency (National
Reading Panel, 2000). This paper focuses on the systematic synthetic
phonics instruction provided by the Fast Phonics program; for detail
about how Fast Phonics builds learners’ phonemic awareness, vocabulary,
comprehension and fluency skills, see Appendix C.
6 4
Letter-sound correspondence
Letter–sound correspondence is the foundation of phonics instruction.
Children’s knowledge of letter names and sounds is the best predictor
of future reading and spelling ability (Piasta and Wager, 2010 quoting
Hammill, 2004; Scarborough, 1998; Schatschneider, et al., 2004).
Peak 1 introduces students to the
Fast Phonics teaches children to identify letter–sound correspondence
letter /s/ and the sound /ssss/ in a
fun mnemonic animation. in short, snappy sessions. Each peak uses animations to explain either a
reading strategy or introduce a letter, phoneme, digraph, trigraph or split
digraph.
Next, students commence activities that reinforce their new knowledge.

For example, in Flying Furballs children identify which of the three Furballs
makes the phoneme that corresponds with the onscreen grapheme.
Four Square also explicitly teaches letter–sound correspondence. Students

Successfully identifying letter–sound
hear a phoneme at the beginning of the activity and must tap the square
correspondence sees the cheeky
Furballs go flying in Flying Furballs. that includes the grapheme that the phoneme represents.
Similarly, in Snowballs, students match the marked snowball to the letter

that appears at the top of the screen. Children tap on the letter to hear
the sound that it makes.
Mountain Climb teaches students how to identify sounds at the beginning,

middle and end of a word. Children help Yeti climb a mountain by
identifying the missing sound in a word. For example, the word ‘might’
Four Square helps children identify is pronounced and appears on screen with a missing sound, such as
letter–sound correspondence.
‘m____t’. The child is given four possible solutions for the missing sound,
including /p/, /ee/, /k/ and /igh/. When a learner successfully identifies
the missing sound, Yeti climbs to the next step, where a similar question
will be posed.
Students have fun identifying letter–

sound correspondence in Snowballs.
Mountain Climb helps children to

identify the location of sounds in
words.
7 5
Blending
Blending is a key synthetic phonics skill. Unlike other types of phonics
instruction, synthetic phonics teaches beginning readers to blend or
‘synthesise’ phonemes right from the outset, in order to develop word
reading skills (Johnston and Watson, 2007).
Fast Phonics teaches students to blend phonemes in order, from left to

right, ‘all through the word’ for reading. In the program students are
taught to identify and blend sounds to decode words with consonant–
vowel–consonant patterns, before moving on to more difficult words.
For example, the six animations and 13 activities in Peak 1 quickly and
explicitly introduce the sounds /s/, /a/, /t/ and /p/. In Peak 1, Stretch It
Stretch It Out is one of many Fast Out teaches students to identify individual phonemes and then to blend all
Phonics activities that teaches the way through the word to decode tap, sat, pat and sap.
blending skills. Students identify
individual sounds and then learn
how to blend through a word. Segmenting and spelling
Synthetic phonics teaches children to simultaneously spell words by
segmenting them into phonemes while teaching blending to decode.
Moreover, they learn that segmenting is the reverse of blending (Glazzard,
2017).
Fast Phonics animations and activities teach students how to spell words
by segmenting them into their constituent phonemes. For example, in Fly
the Flag students assemble phoneme blocks to make the correct word and
help Yeti catch the Furballs.
Students learn spelling skills in Send a Message. In this activity children

Fly the Flag is used in Peak 1
and Peak 3 to develop students’ type a dictated message to Yeti using recently learned words. For example,
segmenting skills. The activity also in Peak 6 students are asked to type the message ‘Ten bad rats got the big
features in Peaks 4, 8 and 9 with sack’. When shown two images, children match the image to the message
increasing difficulty.
to demonstrate that they comprehend what they have written.
Full Circle teaches children to spell

various words using letter tiles. For
example, in Peak 2 students use /m/,
/a/, /p/, /t/ and /s/ to spell map,
mat, sat, sit, pip, sip and sap.
Send a Message hones students’

spelling skills. In Peak 2, students spell CVC words
using letter tiles in Full Circle.
8 6
Syllable manipulation
Research indicates that the more attuned a child is to the phonological
structure of words, such as syllables and phonemes, the more successful
a decoder and reader he or she will become (Ritter, Park, Saxon and
Colson, 2013 quoting Lewis et al., 2006; Otaiba, Puranik, Ziolkowski and
Montgomery, 2009). Consequently, it is important to teach learners how
to identify and manipulate syllables.
Fast Phonics includes syllable manipulation animations and activities

from Peak 4 onwards. The Silly Bulls activity begins by introducing a new
word, such as ‘rabbit’. As most syllables contain a vowel (particularly in
short words), the activity initially helps students identify the vowels in
a word. It then explains that words can be broken up into syllables. To
demonstrate this visually, the animation splits the word. Children read the
syllables individually and then blend them together. They are then shown
two images and must match the image to the word to demonstrate that
the word has been read correctly.
Pseudo-words
As discussed, the initial focus of synthetic phonics programs is to teach
children to identify, blend and segment phonemes. Consequently, it is
considered appropriate to practise these skills on pseudo-words. The
ability to decode real and pseudo-words is the basis of the phonics
screening check used in England.
Furball Fun asks whether a word that appears on screen is real, such as
‘town’, or not, like ‘pas’. Once students make a selection, the individual
sounds in the word are separately enunciated.
Silly Bulls teaches syllable
manipulation and blending through
the word.
Furballs cheer on students who correctly identify

words and pseudo-words in Furball Fun.
9 7
Carrots
Lots of
pets
Sara Leman
Illustrated by Tony Lowe
Fast Phonics includes a range of Sara Leman
decodable books that reinforce

students’ knowledge. The end-of-book

quizzes assess their knowledge and Decodable books
provide insightful data to inform your
classroom practice. Synthetic phonics uses decodable books to ‘cement’ new knowledge
(Konza, 2011). Each Fast Phonics peak includes up to four decodable
Max gets books and an accompanying end-of-book quiz. Students enjoy using the
books to practise their new decoding skills. Additionally, being able to read
wet
books gives learners confidence, which is critical in the earliest stages of
learning to read. Feeling successful helps motivate learners to practise.
These components work together to hone phonics skills, as research
demonstrates these are key for literacy success. Furthermore, the end-
Sara Leman
of-book quizzes are an opportunity to reinforce and assess students’

decoding skills.
Assessment and reporting

Assessment and reporting are embedded in Fast Phonics. The program
assesses letter-sound correspondence; letter recognition; the ability to
sound out phonemes; the ability to hear and blend phonemes; the reading
of phonically regular words; and the reading of some irregular words.
Fast Phonics commences with a placement test. This test personalises a

student’s program by identifying strengths and areas for improvement. It
The Placement Test ensures also ensures he or she begins on the most appropriate peak.
learners start the program at
the most appropriate Peak. Each peak concludes with a narrated 10-question multiple choice quiz
that reinforces and assesses phonics skills. Students immediately move to
the next peak if they receive 80% or more on the quiz. Students who are
unsuccessful can re-take the assessment.
Additionally, each decodable book includes an end-of book quiz that

assesses students’ comprehension. There are up to four decodable books
in each peak.
Children can monitor their own progress in the My Progress area. For
example, students can view their average score for end-of-peak quizzes,
Learners monitor their achievements as well as the total number of sounds and words learnt, and books read.
in the My Progress area.
Teachers can monitor students’ progress via the Teacher Dashboard,
where they can see what letters and sounds their students know and
which decodable books they have read.
10 8
Motivation
Motivation is the key to learning any new skill, and reading is no
exception. It is crucial for reading instruction to encourage students’
reading motivation and engagement (Wigfield, Gladstone and Turci,
2016). In large part, this is because motivation is a predictor of reading
comprehension growth (Guthrie et al., 2007; Taboada, Tonks, Wigfield
and Guthrie, 2009). Reading motivation is multidimensional; self-efficacy
and intrinsic (internal) and external motivation are the three most
important factors.
Self-efficacy refers to a child’s belief in their ability to complete a task.

It is based on a child’s previous experience and the encouragement
and feedback they receive from others (Wigfield, Guthrie, Tonks and
Perencevich, 2004). Successfully completing a task provides a child with
the confidence to undertake a similar activity. For example, reading a
decodable book provides a child with the confidence to attempt a second
book. Confidence is vital to academic success. Indeed, believing in
Yeti and the Furballs
encourage students to oneself is more closely linked to achievement than any other motivation
progress through Fast throughout school (Guthrie, 2013).
Phonics.
Fast Phonics fosters self-efficacy in emergent and early readers. The
program is specifically sequenced to build students’ knowledge and
confidence. Synthetic phonics instruction, such as that offered in Fast
Phonics, quickly and deliberately teaches how to identify letter–sound
correspondence and how to blend and segment sounds. The program
maintains its fidelity to synthetic phonics instruction as children progress
to high-frequency words that do not conform completely to letter–sound
correspondence rules. This structure gives students the confidence to
continue through the program.
Intrinsic motivation refers to a child’s desire to complete a task for their

own sake, such as reading out of curiosity or the desire to be challenged
Gems and Yeti Coins motivate (Wigfield and Guthrie, 1997). External motivations are benefits that
students to complete Fast Phonics children receive for their efforts, such as rewards. While children respond
activities.
positively to external rewards when learning to read, the key to ongoing
reading success is intrinsic motivation (Cambria and Guthrie, 2010).
Fast Phonics understands this delicate balance and uses a range of

external rewards to encourage students while simultaneously supporting
the development of intrinsic motivations. For example, the playful
characters, Yeti Coins, exciting upgrades and interactive rewards in Fast
Phonics engage and motivate students to keep learning. At the same
Fun upgrades encourage students
to stay on task. time, the program’s planned sequence of activities quickly builds and
consolidates reading skills and confidence to ensure children move from
decoders to master readers.
Peaks include carefully sequenced animations and activities to quickly

introduce the concept of letter–sound correspondence, blending and
segmenting. Consequently, students can independently read decodable
books by the end of Peak 1.
11 9
❅ ❄ Transforming learning through technology
Digital technology has transformed teaching and learning in classrooms
across the globe. There are significant benefits to incorporating
technology into reading instruction, including increasing student
motivation and personalising programs to allow learners to learn at their
❅ own pace (Jamshidifarsani, Garbaya, Lim and Blazevic, 2019).
Experimental and quasi-experimental studies have shown that information

and communication technologies use can positively affect children’s
literacy (Piquette, Savage and Abrami, 2014; Cheung and Slavin, 2012).
For example, a study of kindergarten children in the United States
(equivalent to kindergarten students in Australia) found that computer-
assisted instruction to teach phonics, in addition to regular in-class
teaching, can enhance students’ reading skills, particularly for at-risk
children (Macaruso and Walker, 2008). Similarly, a quasi-experimental
study in Australia found that using a computer-based phonics program
improved students’ phonological awareness compared to regular literacy
instruction (Wolgemuth et al., 2011).
Information and communication Blended learning — combining digital and pen-and-paper activities
technologies use can positively and using data to provide a personalised education plan — is beneficial
affect children’s literacy.
to developing phonological awareness, word attack (letter–sound
knowledge), word identification skills and reading fluency (Prescott,
Bundschuh, Kazakoff and Macaruso, 2017). Research conducted in the
United States demonstrated that elementary school students, including
children from low-SES backgrounds and English Language Learners who
use a blended learning program make ‘great progress’ in English Language
Arts and demonstrate ‘significant growth on a standardised reading
test’ (Prescott, Bundschuh, Kazakoff and Macaruso, 2017:505).
A useful schema for discussing the potential impacts of various reading

technologies is the QAIT model of effective classroom practice (Slavin,
1994, 2009). This framework posits that effective teaching is a product of
four factors:
• Quality of instruction — the provision of clear, well-organised,

interesting lessons
• Appropriate levels of instruction — content is appropriate and accords

with students’ prior knowledge, skills and learning rates
• Incentive — students are intrinsically and externally motivated to

learn the material
• Time — the program provides adequate instructional time (Cheung and

Slavin, 2012).
Fast Phonics meets these criteria. The program has a clear, consistent
lesson structure that is rigorously mapped to learning outcomes and uses
best practice education research to teach, support, reinforce and assess
student knowledge. The extensive rewards and other motivational tools,
12 10
such as upgrades and animations, encourage children to complete all
activities and, ultimately, to complete the program as proficient readers.
The careful sequence of Fast Phonics peaks builds students’ confidence
as readers, helping them move from basic letter–sound correspondence
to more advanced reading skills, including automaticity, fluency and
comprehension. As a synthetic phonics program, Fast Phonics deftly
introduces concepts to students’ existing decoding skills. Students’
progress through the program at their own pace, and the interactive
reading, spelling and comprehension activities are opportunities to
practise and reinforce their skills.
Teacher quality is critical to ensuring that students use online reading

programs successfully (Duncan-Owens, 2009). The Fast Phonics Teaching
Guide provides clear and detailed information to help teachers use the
program effectively. Teachers can also quickly and easily access students’
end-of-peak assessment results in the Teacher Dashboard to monitor
students’ progress and inform classroom practice.
Conclusion
Research demonstrates that synthetic phonics instruction provides a
strong foundation for reading skill and reading confidence in learners.
Being able to efficiently decode new words gives learners the confidence to
read more, setting them on a more successful school trajectory.
Fast Phonics is a rigorous synthetic phonics program built on best practice

research. The sequential program of 20 peaks introduces letter–sound
correspondence systematically. By explicitly teaching segmenting and
Fast Phonics the systematic, blending sounds early, Fast Phonics enables learners to make connections
synthetic phonics program where
children can learn, laugh and see between letters, sounds and pronunciation to develop a strong alphabetic
what’s next. principle.
Each peak thoroughly covers one set of letter–sound correspondence

using highly motivating and engaging animations, activities, interactives,
books and quizzes. The teaching animations and strategy animations
teach and reinforce systematic synthetic phonics. The multisensory
interactive activities allow children to practise key phonics skills, including
letter–sound recognition, blending all through the word, segmenting and
spelling, pseudo-words, syllables, reading captions and extended text.
The decodable books and end-of-book quizzes allow children to use and
reinforce their reading skills. The end-of-peak quizzes are an opportunity
to assess students’ abilities and monitor their progress. Fast Phonics also
has a bank of printable resources, including a teaching guide and printable
student worksheets to assist classroom practice.
Fast Phonics is rigorous but fun. This complete synthetic phonics program
is a dynamic mix of maps, upgrades and exciting learning activities where
children can learn, laugh and see what’s next.
13 11
❅ Appendix A
Clackmannanshire studies
❄
The Clackmannanshire studies, as they are widely known, were conducted
by Joyce Watson and Rhona Johnston on students in Primary 1 (the
equivalent of kindergarten in Australia). The studies demonstrated the
❅ pre-eminence of synthetic phonics instruction for emergent readers.
Study 1 investigated which aspects of phonics teaching most effectively

produced independent readers. The study was undertaken as part of a
doctorate research in 1992–93 (before Clackmannanshire was formed)
(Ellis, 2007). It tracked the reading and spelling development of Primary
1 students in 12 schools and concluded that the most effective method of
reading instruction was to teach students to identify initial letter–sound
correspondence quickly and to use a sounding and blending strategy
(Watson, 1998).
Study 2 considered ‘whether synthetic phonics was more effective

than analytic phonics merely because letter sounds were taught at an
The Clackmannanshire studies accelerated pace’ (Johnston and Watson, 2004: 343). In this study, 92
demonstrated that synthetic
Primary 1 students were split into three groups and given two additional
phonics instruction has major and
long-lasting effect on children’s 15-minute tutorials over 10 weeks using either: synthetic phonics, analytic
reading and spelling. phonics, or sight vocabulary training only (i.e. no additional phonics
tuition beyond that included in the normal class program) (Ellis, 2007).
Results demonstrated that synthetic phonics instruction, specifically
the focus on teaching children to sound and blend letter sounds, led to
better reading, spelling and phonemic awareness and was thus superior to
analytic phonics (Johnston and Watson, 2004).
Study 3 involved approximately 300 students and was conducted from

1997–99. The study was conducted in two phases and considered which
type of phonics instruction was most effective. Phase 1 saw students
in Primary 1 classes taught to read using either phonemic awareness,
standard analytic phonics method, or synthetic phonics instruction over
a 16-week period. The children’s reading and spelling was tested at the
conclusion of the period. Unlike students in the other groups, the synthetic
phonics groups were significantly ahead of chronological age for reading
and spelling. These students also quickly began to read independently.
Phase 2 provided for students who had studied using the other phonics
programs to complete the synthetic phonics program by the end of Primary
1. The students’ reading and spelling skills were re-tested towards the end
of Primary 2 and it was found that all students’ reading and spelling skills
were above chronological age. (Johnston and Watson, 2005).
A seven-year longitudinal study examining the effect of synthetic phonics

instruction on the word reading, spelling and reading comprehension
performance of students who participated in Study 3 was released in
2005. It reported remarkable results:
14 12
At the end of Primary 7, word reading was 3 years 6 months ahead of
chronological age, spelling was 1 year 8 months ahead, and reading
comprehension was 3.5 months ahead (Johnston and Watson, 2005:8).
These scores were even more impressive as the students’ initial receptive
vocabulary knowledge scores indicated that they would be expected to
perform below average chronological age on standardised tests:
However, as mean receptive vocabulary knowledge (an index of verbal

ability where the average is 100) was 93 at the start of the study, this is
a group of children for whom normal performance might be expected to
be below average for chronological age on standardised tests. Therefore
this may be an underestimate of the gains with this method (Johnston
and Watson, 2005:8).
Significantly, the study found that synthetic phonics was particularly

effective for teaching boys to read and spell, and that it helped students
from less advantaged homes advance their reading and spelling skills,
especially in the early years of primary school.
The study authors concluded that synthetic phonics instruction has a

major and long-lasting effect on children’s reading and spelling attainment
(Johnston and Watson, 2005).
15 13
Appendix B
Australia moves towards synthetic phonics
Literacy assessment in Australia
There is significant concern about the declining literacy standards of

“... teachers [should] provide young Australians. Despite some positive results emerging from the
systematic, direct and explicit 2019 NAPLAN assessment, including improvements in Year 3 students’
phonics instruction to ensure
reading, grammar and punctuation, other results were disappointing. For
that children master the essential
alphabetic code-breaking skills example, Year 7 and Year 9 students’ writing skills have declined since the
required for foundational reading assessment was introduced in 2008 (Martin, 2019).
proficiency.” (Rowe, 2005:14).
International assessment results have also been disappointing. In 2016
Australia participated in the Progress in International Reading Literacy
Study (PIRLS), which assesses the performance of students in their fourth
year of schooling. Students from 50 countries participate in PIRLS every
five years. While the 2016 PIRLS participants from Australia performed
better than 2011 participants, they were still outperformed by students in
13 countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland, Northern Ireland
and England (all testing in English), as well as the Russian Federation,
Finland and Poland. Eighty-one per cent of Australian Year 4 students
reached the Intermediate international benchmark, which is the proficient
standard for Australia (ACER, 2017).
Australian students also participated in the 2018 Programme for

International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA assesses 600,000
15-year-olds from 79 countries every three years, comparing maths,
reading and science performance. The 2018 PISA results demonstrated
that Australian results were all in long-term decline (ACER, 2019). The
results also demonstrated a distinction in reading ability by socioeconomic
status, with one finding from the PISA results shows that students
attending more affluent schools scored 61 points higher, on average, than
students attending more disadvantaged schools (O’Neill, 2017).
Synthetic phonics instruction in Australian schools
In November 2004, the Australian Government announced the National

Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy. An objective of the inquiry was to
review and analyse national and international research about literacy
teaching approaches. Amongst other evidence, the inquiry considered
the Teaching Children to Read (National Reading Panel, 2000), the
Clackmannanshire studies (Johnston and Watson, 2005), submissions
and classroom observations. The report recommended that teachers
provide systematic, direct and explicit phonics instruction to ensure that
children master the essential alphabetic code-breaking skills required for
foundational reading proficiency (Rowe, 2005).
The Australian Curriculum includes phonics. However, it does not specify

which pedagogy should be adopted (Buckingham, 2016).
16 14
❄❅
❅ Towards synthetic phonics instruction in Australia
Individual states, which are responsible for administering the Australian

Curriculum, are encouraging the use of synthetic phonics. As mentioned,
“The initial effects [of synthetic
phonics instruction] are large the NSW Centre for Education Research advised that synthetic phonics is
... Most interestingly, there are
the ‘most effective phonics method’ (NSW Centre for Education Research,
long-term effects at age 11 for
those with a high probability of 2017:8). New South Wales will trial a synthetic phonics check in 2020.
starting their school education as Amongst other initiatives to assist teachers and students, the NSW
struggling readers. The results for
Government has developed Effective Reading: phonics, an online course
our study suggests that there is a
persistent effect for those classified for K-2 teachers (NSW Government, 2020).
as non-native English speakers and
economically disadvantaged ...” Following a trial and independent review in 2017, a phonics check was
London School of Economics rolled out to all Year 1 students in South Australia’s public schools
(2016:20) in 2018. The 2019 Phonics Screening Check results show state-wide
improvement in the ability of year 1 students to decode and blend letters
into sounds (Government of South Australia, 2019). The Government
of South Australia released a research paper on the effectiveness of
synthetic phonics that includes guidelines on how to teach phonics
systematically (Konza, 2011).
Some schools in Queensland and Victoria have also conducted phonics

check on Year 1 students (Singhal, 2019; Cook, 2017).
Synthetic phonics in England
Systematic synthetic phonics instruction has been a compulsory

component of the primary school curriculum in England for over a decade.
Since 2012, eligible Year 1 students have undertaken a phonics screening
check that consists of 40 words and pseudo-words. Only 58% of students
met the expected standard in 2012; this increased to 82% in 2019
(Department for Education, 2019).
In 2016, the London School of Economics concluded that a synthetic

phonics program has long-term benefits for children from lower
socioeconomic backgrounds and those who do not speak English as a
first language. It also found that this teaching method has large, initial
benefits for all students at age five and age seven (Machin, McNally and
Viarengo, 2016).
17 15
Appendix C
Fast Phonics supports phonemic awareness,
vocabulary, comprehension and fluency
It is well-established that, in addition to phonics instruction, fluent
readers must master:
• phonemic awareness — the ability to hear and manipulate the different

sounds in words
Children build their phonemic

• vocabulary — understanding the meaning of words, their definitions
awareness skills in Who’s in the Tree. and context
• fluency — the ability to read aloud with speed, understanding and

accuracy
• comprehension — understanding the meaning of text (Hempenstall,

2016).
Fast Phonics is primarily a synthetic phonics program, however it also

incorporates these elements to support the development of successful
readers.
Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate phonemes

(the smallest unit of sounds in spoken words). It is an aural/oral skill
independent of print. Several Fast Phonics activities encourage learners to
listen to and identify spoken sounds, and thus build phonemic awareness
skills. For example, Who’s in the Tree requires students to listen to a
phoneme and then identify the correct grapheme, digraph, trigraph, etc.
in later peaks.
Vocabulary knowledge is an important predictor of reading comprehension

(Hulme, Snowling, Stevenson, 2004). In Fast Phonics students are
systematically introduced to new words, many of which include visual
support. The program’s engaging activities allow learners to practise their
new words, and their knowledge is reinforced in the decodable books that
accompany each lesson.
Build A Fire teaches and reinforces high
frequency words. Reading fluency refers to efficient, effective word recognition skills that
permit a reader to construct the meaning of text. Fluency is manifested
in accurate, rapid and expressive oral reading and is applied during —
and makes possible — silent reading comprehension (Pikulski and Chard,
2005). Hence, fluency bridges the skills of decoding and comprehension.
Fast Phonics activities build fluency and automaticity, including recall

of high frequency words and vocabulary. For example, in Build a Fire
students must correctly identify high frequency words, such as the, as
they help Yeti build a fire. In The Daily Dozen learners have to read a word
Practise reading decodable words
in The Daily Dozen. and match it to an image.
18 16
As previously mentioned, all peaks include decodable books. Initially these
books are not narrated, which gives learners the opportunity to decode
words and read independently. However, narrated text that models fluent
reading is available if pupils do not pass the end-of-book quiz.
Reading comprehension is the process of engaging text for the purpose

of extracting and constructing meaning (Snow, 2002). It is of paramount
importance to academic success and future life outcomes (National
Reading Panel, 2000; Snow, 2002).
The activities in Fast Phonics are specifically designed by education

experts to teach skills that will allow children to read independently. For
example, Captions requires students to read a caption and choose the best
matching image. Similarly, Yes or No requires learners to read a question,
such as ‘Is the sun wet?’ and determine the answer.
Captions and Yes/No build Comprehension skills are also required when learners access end-of-book
comprehension skills. quizzes. Each book includes 5–10 narrated comprehension questions and
decodable answers.
19 17
References
Australian Council for Education Research (ACER). (2019). Government of South Australia, Department for Education.
PISA 2018: Australian student performance in long-term (18 March 2020). Phonics screening check. Retrieved from
decline. Retrieved from https://www.acer.org/au/about- https://www.education.sa.gov.au/teaching/curriculum-
us/media/media-releases/pisa-2018-australian-student- and-teaching/literacy-and-numeracy/phonics-screening-
performance-in-long-term-decline. check.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Guthrie, J. (2013). Best Practices for Motivating Students
Authority (ACARA). Australian Curriculum, English, to Read. To appear in: Morrow, L. & Gambrell, L. Eds. (in
Foundation Year-Year 6. Retrieved from https://www. press 2013). Best Practices in Literacy Instruction. Fifth
australiancurriculum.edu.au/. Edition. [New York]: Guilford Press.
Buckingham, J., Centre for Independent Studies. (2016). Guthrie, J. T., Laurel, A., Hoa, W., Wigfield, A., Tonks,
Focus on Phonics: Why Australia should adopt the Year 1 S. M., Humenick, N. M., & Littles, E. (2007). Reading
Phonics Screening Check, Research Report. motivation and reading comprehension growth in the later
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Cambria, J., Guthrie, J. (2010). Motivating and engaging
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Journal, 46(1), 16-29. Hempenstall, K. (2016). Read about it: scientific evidence
for effective teaching of reading. Centre for Independent
Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the
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Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition From Novice to
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Cheung, A. C. K., Slavin, R.E. (2012). The Effectiveness
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Reading Achievement in K-12 Classrooms: A Meta-Analysis. P., & Ritchie, J.M. (2019). Technology-based reading
Best Evidence Encyclopedia. Retrieved form http://www. intervention programs for elementary grades: An analytical
bestevidence.org/word/tech_read_April_25_2012.pdf. review. Computers and Education, 128(2019), 427-451.
Christensen, C.A., Bowey, J.A. (2005). The Efficacy of Johnston, R., Watson, J.E., (2004) Accelerating the
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Skills. Scientific Studies of Reading, 9(4), 327-349.
Johnston, R., Watson, J.E. (2005). The Effects of Synthetic
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Phonics Teaching on Reading and Spelling Attainment; A
Cook, H. (20 August 2017). Literacy wars: the proposed Seven Year Longitudinal Study.
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Johnston, R. and Watson, J. (2007). Teaching Synthetic
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/literacy-
Phonics. Exeter, [England]: Learning Matters.
wars-the-proposed-reading-test-dividing-schools-
20170819-gxzu7d.html. Konza, D., and the Department of Education and Children’s
Services, Government of South Australia. (2011). Phonics,
Duncan-Owens, D. (2009). Scripted Reading Programs:
Research into Practice.
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Louden, W. (2015). High performing primary schools:
Ellis, S. (2007). Policy and research: lessons from the
What do they have in common?. Retrieved from https://
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performing-primary-schools-what-they-have-in-common.
Assessment, Pedagogy and Programmes. [London] Sage,
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39-51.
Macaruso, P., Walker, A. (2008). The Efficacy of Computer-
Expert Advisory Panel. (2017). National Year 1 Literacy
Assisted Instruction for Advancing Literacy Skills in
and Numeracy Check; Advice to Minister. Retrieved from
Kindergarten Children. Reading Psychology, 29(3), 266-
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panel_advice_final_v2_public_version_cover_change.pdf.
Machin, S., McNally, S., Viarengo, M. (2016). “Teaching to
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Teach” Literacy, CFP Discussion paper No 1425.
L. (2009). The long road to automation: Neurocognitive
development of letter-speech sound processing. Journal Martin, L. (28 August 2019). Naplan results 2019: year 7
of Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(3), 567-580. doi: 10.1162/ and 9 writing skills have declined. The Guardian. Retrieved
jocn.2009.21061 2009. from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/
aug/28/naplan-test-results-2019-year-7-and-9-writing-
Glazzard, J. (2017). Assessing reading development
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through systematic synthetic phonics. English in Education,
51(1), 44-57. doi.org/10.1111/eie.12125. Muter, V., Hulme, C., Snowling, M. J., & Stevenson, J.
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Reading Panel, teaching children to Read: An Evidence practice (9th Ed.). [Boston]: Allyn & Bacon.
Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on
Snow C. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an
Reading and its Implications for Reading Instruction.
R&D program in reading comprehension. Rand Corporation.
New South Wales Government, NSW Centre for Education Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_
Statistics and Evaluation. (2017). Effective Reading reports/MR1465.html.
Instruction in the Early Years of School, Literature Review.
Snow, P., Castles, A., Wheldall, K., & Coltheart, M. (2
New South Wales Government, Education. (18 February December 2016). Why Australia should trial the new
2020). Effective Reading: phonics. Retrieved from https:// phonics screening check. The Conversation. Retrieved from
education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/ https://theconversation.com/why-australia-should-trial-
literacy-and-numeracy/professional-learning/effective- the-new-phonics-screening-check-69717.
reading-phonics.
Taboada, A., Tonks, S. M., Wigfield, A., & Guthrie, J. T.
New South Wales Government, Education. (25 March (2009). Effects of motivational and cognitive variables on
2020). Phonics Screening Check Trial. Retrieved from reading comprehension. Reading and Writing, 22(1), 85–
https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/ 106. doi: 10.1007/s11145-008-9133-y.
curriculum/literacy-and-numeracy/phonics-screening-
Tehan, D. (15 October 2019). Bringing phonics into
check.
Australian schools. Media Release. Retrieved from https://
O’Neil, L. (5 December 2017). Experts respond to PIRLS ministers.education.gov.au/tehan/bringing-phonics-
literacy study. Retrieved from https://www.sydney.edu. australian-schools.
au/news-opinion/news/2017/12/05/experts-respond-to-
Thomson, S., Hillman, K., Schmid, M., Rodrigues, S., &
australias-results-in-pirls-literacy-study.html.
Fullarton, J., Australian Council for Educational Research
Piasta, S.B., Wagner R.K. (2010). Developing Early (ACER). (2017). PIRLS 2016: Reporting Australia’s
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21 19
Weekly
PEAK 1 Planner
Warm-ups ❄ SET 1 • s a t p
Phase: 2
❄
Week: 1 s a t p (set 1)
Learning objectives:
Ss ❄ New words:
Learn new letters and corresponding sounds
1 Trace.
Sound out and blend words
Segment for spelling
Read a book 2 Track.
at, as, pat, Pat, sap, sat, tap, taps
❅
Practise automaticity and fluency Build comprehension
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Revisit/
Review
Teach Teach ‘s’
Review ‘s’ using Fast
Phonics sound mat
Teach ‘a’
Review ‘s’ and ‘a’ using
Fast Phonics sound mat
Teach ‘t’
❄
Review ‘s’, ‘a’ and ‘t’ using
Teach ‘p’
Review ‘s’, ‘a’, ‘t’ and ‘p’ using
Teach decoding and

• Hear and say the • Hear and say the • Hear and say the • Hear and say the sound segmenting VC and CVC
sound /s/ sound /a/ sound /t/ /p/ words using letters ‘s’, ‘a’, ‘t’
• Find and watch a • Find and watch a • Find and watch a letter • Find and watch a letter and ‘p’
letter sound video letter sound video sound video for ‘t’ sound video for ‘p’ • Decode by sounding out
for ‘s’ for ‘a’ each letter and then blend
them together.
• Segment by breaking the
word into its sounds.
• You might like to find and
watch a video on letter
sounds making words video.
Practise Activities: Activities: Activities: Activities: Activities:

• listen to, and identify Repeat Monday’s Repeat Monday’s Repeat Monday’s practise • Sound talk words in an
s
words that contain practise activities with practise activities with activities with the letter ‘p’.instruction (e.g. Go and
the sound /s/, e.g. the letter ‘a’. the letter ‘t’. s-i-t on the floor). Students
sun, bus, sit. to copy and repeat
❄
Plus: Give each student a
3 Track S. 4 Track s.
S
• trace the letter ‘s’ in
Plus: Write letter ‘s’ Plus: Go on a letter hunt letter fan with ‘s’, ‘a’, ‘t’ and sounding the words out.
the air/ on the floor/and letter ‘a’ on cards. around the classroom/ ‘p’ on. Show objects and
on a partner’s back/ Ask students to sort a school. Find objects say what they are with the Plus: Decode words and
using finger paint. variety of objects that that have the ‘s’, ‘a’, ‘t’ students. Using letter fans, match to pictures.
• make the letter ‘s’ start with the sound sounds in. Emphasis the students to select the letter
from playdough. /s/ or /a/, and to sounds e.g. sssink, tttap, they can hear and hold it up. Additional Activities:
• find and cut out place them next to the aaapple. The below activities from Fast
pictures of things corresponding letter. Additional Activities: Phonics are great additional
that start with ‘s’. Additional Activities: The below activities from practise for students.
N.B. Encourage Additional Activities: The below activities from Fast Phonics are great • Fly the flag - see, hear, say
students to say the The below activities Fast Phonics are great additional practise for and spell a word. Words:
sound /s/ as they trace from Fast Phonics are additional practise for students. tap, sat, pat, sap, Pat, taps
or make the letter. great additional practise students. • Find the sound - hear • Furball fun - hear and say
for students. • Find the sound - hear the initial sound and find each sound, then blend to
Additional Activities: • Find the sound - hear the initial sound and the matching picture. read the word. Determine if
the initial sound and find the matching Sounds: /s/ /a/ /p/ /t/ it is a real word.
The Snowballs activity
find the matching picture. Sounds: /s/ • Flying furballs - helps • The daily dozen - read
in Fast Phonics makes a
picture. Sounds: /s/ /a/ /t/ students identify correct the words and find the
great practise exercise.
• Flying furballs - helps sounds and letters.
❅ /a/
• Yeti stomp - identify
the word ‘as’.
students identify
correct sounds and
letters.
• Who’s in the tree – hear
sounds and find the
matching letters. Sounds:
matching picture.
• Stretch if out - helps
students to hear and say
each sound and blend to
• Build a fire - helps /s/ /a/ /t/ /p/ read words.
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
students identify the • Four square - hear • Read a book Pat Taps -
word ‘at’. the sound and find the read the book and answer
• Who’s in the tree – matching letter. Sounds: 5 questions based on the
hear sounds and find /s/ /a/ /t/ /p/ text.
the matching letters. • Full circle - see, hear, say
Sounds: Sounds: /s/ and spell a word. Change a
/a/ /t/ letter each time to make a
new word.
Apply Fast Phonics printable Fast Phonics printable Fast Phonics printable Fast Phonics printable Fast Phonics printable booklet
booklet booklet booklet booklet • Peak 1, Worksheet 7, 8,
• Peak 1, Worksheet 1 • Peak 1, Worksheet 2 • Peak 1, Worksheet 4 • Peak 1, Worksheet 5 & 6 9, 10, 11 and 12 (pages
(page 22). & 3 (pages 23 & 24). (page 25). (pages 26 & 27). 28-33).
Fast Phonics printable Fast Phonics printable Fast Phonics printable Fast Phonics printable Fast Phonics printable hand-
handwriting booklet handwriting booklet handwriting booklet handwriting booklet writing booklet
• Peak 1, Handwriting • Peak 1, Handwriting • Peak 1, Handwriting • Peak 1, Handwriting • Peak 1, Handwriting Sheet
Sheet 1 & 2 (pages Sheet 3 & 4 (pages 36 Sheet 5 & 6 (pages 38 Sheet 7 & 8 (pages 40 & 9 & 10 (pages 42 & 43).
34 & 35). & 37). & 39). 41).
Additional Ideas:
• Send home Peak 1 worksheets and handwriting sheets as homework.
• Finish the week with a short assessment activity to gauge what students have learnt.
❄
Copyright © Blake eLearning 2020 20
1
Weekly
PEAK 1 Planner
Warm-ups ❄ SET 1 • s a t p
Phase:
❄
Week:
Learning objectives:
Ss ❄ New words:
1 Trace. 2 Track. ❅
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Revisit/
Review ❄
Teach
Practise
s
3 Track S. 4 Track s. ❄
❅ S
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
Apply
Notes:
❄
1
Worksheet 1
SET 1 • s a t p
PEAK 1
❄ Letter ❄
Ss ❄
1 Trace and write.

❄ ❄
2 Circle every S.
SS ss Circle every s.
S S S C S s s b c g
J T S S U a r s s y
3 Colour things that begin with s.
4 Write S in each snowball.

1
Worksheet 2
SET 11 •• s a t p
PEAK 11
PEAK
❄ Letter
❄ ❄
SET
Aa
Warm-ups
❄
Ss ❄❄ ❄
Trace.and write. 2 Track. ❅
11 Trace
2 Circle every A.
AA aa ❄
Circle every a.
A B A E S a c n a g
s
TTrackAS. N A 4c Track
a s. o a a❄
S
3 A
3 Draw the spiral. 4 Colour the things that

Start at the apple. begin with the a sound.
❄
❅
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
❄ ❄
❄
2
1
Worksheet 3
SET 1 • s a t p
PEAK 1
❄ Beginning
sa ❄
sounds ❄
1 Match each sound to its picture.

❄
s
a
2 Colour the first sound for each picture.
s a s a s a s a
3 Write the first sound for each picture.
❆
❅
3
Worksheet 4
PEAK 11
PEAK
❄ Letter
❄ ❄
SET
Tt ❄
Warm-ups
❄
Ss ❄ ❄
1 Trace.and write.
Trace 2 Track.
❄
❅
TT t t
1
2
2
❄
1
2 Circle every T. Circle every t.
T I V Z T t t h e b
s
NTrackTS. T E T 4 i Track
t s. l t t❄
S
3
3 Draw two things that 4 Write t on each tree.

start with the t sound. ❄
❄
❅
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
❄
❄
4
❄
25
1
Worksheet 5
Pp ❄
SET 1 • s a t p
PEAK 1
❄ Letter
❄ ❄
1 Trace and write. ❄
PP pp
2 Circle every P. Circle every p.
P D P P B p p p b g
P B P D P j b p a p
3 Colour things that begin with p.
4 Write P on each pea.

5
Worksheet 6
PEAK 11
PEAK
❄ Beginning
Warm-ups
sounds ❄ ❄ SET
❄
Ss ❄
satp ❄
❄ ❅
11 Trace. 2 Track.
Match each sound to its picture.
❄
t
p
s
2 Colour the first sound for each picture.
❅
s a
t p S
Write the first sound for each picture.
s a
t p
s a
t p
s a
t p
Ss Ss
3 Trace.
5
❄
❄ ❄
6
1
Worksheet 7
SET 1 • s a t p
PEAK 1
❄ Sound out. ❄
Blend. ❄
Read.
❄
1 Circle the correct picture.
Pa t tap
❄
2 Circle the correct words.
❄
Pa t s a t tap at
s a p Pa t tap sat
7
Worksheet 8
PEAK 11
PEAK
❄ Full ❄ ❄
Warm-ups ❆ SET
❄
Ss ❄
circle ❄
Trace. the words. You can 2only
1Complete Track. ❅
use each letter once.
s a t p
❄ ❅
s a t
s
❅
a p
S a t
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
a p s p
❄ 8
❄ ❄
8
1
Worksheet 9
SET 1 • s a t p
PEAK 1
❄ Real or ❄
not? ❄ ❆
❄
1 Join the real words to the Furball.
tap at
sa sap
pas
❅
2 Colour the real words. ❆
taps sat
pas Pat
as sas s
9
Worksheet 10
PEAK 11
PEAK
❄ SET
Word
at
Warm-ups
❄❄
❄ ❄
❄
Ss ❄
at
Trace.a rainbow 2 Track. ❅❄
11 Make word.
2 Read at 3 times.
at at at
s
3 Find at.
❅ S am
at
in
at
in
to
am
as
at
at
it
as
as
at
at
at at
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
4 Write at.
❄
10
❄❄ 31
1
Worksheet 11
SET 1 • s a t p
PEAK 1
❄ Read.
Draw.
Write.
❄
❄
Read the words. Draw the picture. ❄
1
❄
Pat sat.
2 Look at the picture. Write a sentence.

❅
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
❆ ___________________________________________________
I finished this peak. I know these letters and sounds. I can read:
❄
s a
❄ 1 ❄
p t
11
Worksheet 12
PEAK 11
PEAK
❄ Roll a ❄ ❄
SET
❄ ❄
Warm-ups
Ss ❄
word ❄ ❄
1 Trace.
You will need: 2 Track. ❅
2 sets of coloured counters, 1 dice and a partner.
How to play ❄
1 Take turns. Roll the dice. Read the number.
2 Choose a word from that column. ❄
3 Can you read it? Yes – cover it. No - miss a turn. ❄
4 The person with the most words covered wins!
s
❅
at
sap pat tap

S
tap sap Pat taps as
as at taps
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
as at Pat taps sap tap

❄
12
1
Handwriting Sheet 1
PEAK 1 SET 1 • s a t p
Warm-ups ❄
❄
Ss ❄
1 Trace. 2 Track. ❅
s
❅ S
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
❄
1
Handwriting Sheet 2
PEAK
PEAK 11 SET 11 •• s a t p
SET
Write
Warm-ups ❄
❄
Ss ❄
1 Trace
Trace.and write. 2 Track.
❅
❅
SSS ❄
sss
s
S
❆
2 Write the first letter for each picture.
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
❄
2
1
Handwriting Sheet 3
Warm-ups ❄
❄
Aa ❄
1 Trace. 2 Track.
❅
a
3 Track A. 4 Track a.
A
1 2
5 Trace. ❄
Aa Aa
1 2 1 2
❄
3 3

3
Handwriting Sheet 4
PEAK
PEAK 11 SET 11 •• s a t p
SET
Write
Warm-ups ❄
❄
A
Ssa ❄
1 Trace
❅
❅
A AA
1 2
❄
3
aaa
s
S
❆
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
❄
4
1
Handwriting Sheet 5
Warm-ups ❄
❄
Tt ❄
1 Trace. 2 Track.
❅
3 Track T. 4 Track t.
T t
1
2
1
❄
5 Trace.
1 1
2 2
1 1
2 2
❄
5
Handwriting Sheet 6
PEAK
PEAK 11
❄ SET 11 •• s a t p
SET
Write
Warm-ups
❄❄
❄
Tt ❄
Ss
1 Trace
❅
❅
2 1
❄
1
s
S
❅
5 Trace the word sat. Circle the matching picture.
Ss Ss
3 Trace.
sa sa ❄
6
1
Handwriting Sheet 7
Warm-ups ❄
❄
Pp ❄
1 Trace. 2 Track.
❄
p
3 Track P. 4 Track p.
P
2 2
1 1
5 Trace.
1
2
1
2
❄
❅
7
Handwriting Sheet 8
PEAK
PEAK 11
❄ SET 11 •• s a t p
SET
Write
❄❄
PSsp ❄
Warm-ups
❄
11 Trace
❅
2
s
S
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
3 Trace the words. Read them.
a as a ❄
8
1
Handwriting Sheet 9
PEAK 1
❄ SET 1 • s a t p
❄
❄ Words
1 Trace the words. Match to a picture. ❄
a
sa
8
a s
a
9
Handwriting Sheet 10
PEAK
PEAK 11
❄ SET 11 •• s a t p
SET
Warm-ups
Missing ❄❄
Ss ❄
❄
letters
11 Trace.
Trace. 2 Track. ❅
2 Write the missing letter. t P a s
3 Match to a word. ❄
tap
a
s
Pat ❄
3 Track S. 4 Track s.
a
❅
a S sap
Ss Ss
5 Trace.
at
❄ ❄
10
1
❄
❄
❅ Phase 2 Sound Mat
s a t p i n
snake apple tree penguin insect nail
m d g o c k
mouse dinosaur girl orange caterpillar key
ck e u r h b
rocket egg up road horse baseball
f ff l ll ss ❆
flower sniff lamp bell grass
44
Make your own Furballs
Furballs are the cute, fun friends to the lovable Yeti in Fast Phonics.
Follow the steps below and you can create your very own Furball collection!
What will you need?

Wool Glue
Felt (scraps will work perfectly!) A pom-pom maker or cardboard (to make a pom-pom maker)
Scissors Optional: googly eyes, pipe-cleaners
How to make your own Furball

Make a pom-pom
If you’re using a pom-pom maker, follow the maker’s specific instructions to make your pom-pom and skip to
‘Decorate your furball’.
1 2 3
Glue the pom-pom maker templates onto Put your cardboard pieces together so Wrap your wool around the shape until
your cardboard sheet and cut them out. the open sides line up. it is full.
4 5 6
Wedge your scissors between the two Once the wool has been cut, take Cut off any excess wool to make it as
pieces of cardboard and cut the wool all another piece of wool, and wrap it circular as you can.
the way around the circle shape. around the pom-pom, going between
the two pieces of cardboard and tie a
tight knot.
Decorate your Furball
You can decorate your Furball however you like.
Here are some ideas you might like to use.
Cut ears and a mouth out of felt
Make a curly tail out of piper-cleaners
Glue on big googly eyes
Cut pipe-cleaners and give your Furball some arms
Fluff up its fur with a brush or comb
Use pegs as arms for your Furball Note: Change the size of the Furball by increasing or
decreasing the size of the pom-pom maker template
Dress up your Furball with a top hat, bowtie or when printing.
hairbow made from felt
45
Pom-pom Maker Template
Cut out the two identical shapes below and glue them on thick cardboard.
46

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Introduction to

What will you find in this pack?

Ready-Made Phonics 5-day Lesson Plan 20

5-Day Lesson Plan Template 21

Phonics Sound Mat 44

Make Your Own Furballs Activity 45

How should I use this pack?

1 Familiarise yourself with phonics by reading the white paper.

2 Work through the ready-made lesson plan with your class.

❅ ❄ blending, syllable manipulation and spelling skills. Based

❅ to learn, laugh and see what’s next.

The complex orthography of the English language makes understanding the

snake apple tree penguin insect nail

mouse dinosaur girl orange caterpillar key

xray yo-yo zipper fizz queen chicken

blending and sounds later in the sequence. Synthetic phonics involves

goat moon book card fork burger

cow coin beard chair

Synthetic phonics as best practice

of synthetic phonics instruction (Hempenstall, 2016). Synthetic phonics

teaches letter–sound relationships in an explicit and systematic sequence.

This ‘first and fast’ approach to reading instruction introduces children to

Synthetic phonics instruction is grounded in research. Most notably,

Following the Clackmannanshire studies, the UK Government tasked Sir

In Australia, the National Inquiry into Teaching Literacy in Australia

Key curriculum initiatives and outcomes

Phonics instruction is included in the Phonics and Word Knowledge substrand

The Australian Government has also committed funds to the Australian

phoneme correspondences. Fast Phonics has been specifically designed to

be used in discrete, daily classroom practice. It recognises that children

New decodable words and

learn in different ways and uses a multisensory approach to engage

students with visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities.

With a range of videos, interactives, activities and decodable books, Fast

Phonics explicitly and systematically teaches, supports, reinforces and

hut, huff, kiss, led, leg, let, lots,

Sara Leman Sara Leman

FAST PHONICS 1 © Blake eLearning

• segmenting and spelling

Next, students commence activities that reinforce their new knowledge.

Four Square also explicitly teaches letter–sound correspondence. Students

Similarly, in Snowballs, students match the marked snowball to the letter

Mountain Climb teaches students how to identify sounds at the beginning,

Students have fun identifying letter–

Mountain Climb helps children to

Fast Phonics teaches students to blend phonemes in order, from left to

Students learn spelling skills in Send a Message. In this activity children

Full Circle teaches children to spell

Send a Message hones students’

Fast Phonics includes syllable manipulation animations and activities

Furballs cheer on students who correctly identify

Fast Phonics includes a range of Sara Leman

decodable books that reinforce

students’ knowledge. The end-of-book

of-book quizzes are an opportunity to reinforce and assess students’

Assessment and reporting

Fast Phonics commences with a placement test. This test personalises a

Additionally, each decodable book includes an end-of book quiz that

Self-efficacy refers to a child’s belief in their ability to complete a task.

Intrinsic motivation refers to a child’s desire to complete a task for their