Children age 5–6 will have a growing knowledge of phonics and will be building up a range of reading skills. Find out how you can support them at home.
Blog posts for: Phonics
Reading: Age 10–11 (Year 6)
By Year 6, your child will hopefully be reading independently at home and school. Find out how to encourage a love of reading in your child.
Reading: Age 6–7 (Year 2)
Children age 6–7 will continue to build up a range of reading skills. Find out what you can do at home to support your child’s reading development.
Reading: Age 9–10 (Year 5)
In Year 5, your child will be encouraged to read widely. Find out how to encourage them at home as they discover different types of language and writing.
Read Write Inc. guide for parents
Find out what Read Write Inc. Phonics is and find eBooks, videos, and kits to help your child as they learn to read with Read Write Inc. Phonics at home.
Read with Oxford guide for parents
A parent guide to Read with Oxford Stages and our exciting range of carefully levelled books to help children learn to read at home. Developed by experts to support your child’s first steps in phonics through to being an independent reader.
Reading: Age 8–9 (Year 4)
In Year 4, your child will be developing into an increasingly fluent reader. The focus will now be on building comprehension. Find out how to help them at home.
What are reading schemes and why do they matter?
Educational publishing expert Andrea Quincey explains why reading schemes are important, and what the different colours, bands and levels actually mean.
Children’s dictionaries – how to find the right dictionary for your child
Find the right dictionary for your child with these four useful tips.
Learning to read in Reception
Find out what sort of books to expect to come home in your child’s book bag, and get top tips on how best to support your child.
Learn to read with phonics
What is phonics? Find out in our phonics guide for parents. Learn about Letters and Sounds, the phonics screening test, and how to practice phonics at home.
Grammar and literacy glossary: J to Q
A guide to grammar and literacy terms used in schools, with definitions, how-to videos, and practice activities. From modal verbs to pure sounds.
Free eBook library: 100s of eBooks to practise reading
Help your young child learn to read, and love to read, with our eBook library, containing hundreds of free eBooks. Developed for children aged 3–11.
Phonics screening check
Everything you need to know about the phonics screening check, taken by 6-year-olds in Year 1. Phonics advice for parents and activities to try at home.
Reading: Age 4–5 (Reception)
Find out how your child’s reading skills will develop in Reception. Discover fun activities, ideas, and books to support your 4–5-year-old at home.
Preparing for the phonics screening check
The phonics screening check is an informal way for schools to assess your child’s progress in reading. Sarah Loader shares tips for supporting your child’s development at home.
The curriculum for English in Year 1 (age 5–6)
Find out what children will learn in spelling, grammar, punctuation and writing at school in Year 1, including apostrophes, homophones and suffixes.
How fun with phonics helps develop communication skills
One of the most valuable skills we can give our children is the ability to communicate well. Read top tips on how to develop communication skills.
Reading: Age 3–4 (Early years)
Find out how your child’s reading skills will develop in nursery. Discover fun activities, ideas, and books to support your 3–4-year-old at home.
Project X Alien Adventures
An award-winning reading series for children ages 4–11. Follow the action-packed adventures of Max, Cat, Ant, and Tiger as they journey through space!
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Stories and Activities Stage 1, Book B
This Stories and Activities book contains two Biff, Chip and Kipper stories in an appealing comic-strip format, along with a wealth of fun activities that will help your child to practise sounds, letters and early reading skills at home.
Oxford Phonics Spelling Dictionary: Answer sheet
Answers to the Oxford Phonics Spelling Dictionary activity sheets.
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Stories and Activities Stage 2, Book B
This Stories and Activities book contains two Biff, Chip and Kipper stories in an appealing comic-strip format, along with fun activities that will help your child to practise sounds, letters and early reading skills at home. Find out what happens when Chip loses his backpack and read about a silly rainy day in the garden!
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Stories and Activities Stage 2, Book A
This Stories and Activities book contains two Biff, Chip and Kipper stories in an appealing comic-strip format, along with fun activities that will help your child to practise sounds, letters and early reading skills at home. Find out what happens when Kipper’s teddy has an accident and read how Ron the rook comes to the rescue!
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Stories and Activities Stage 3, Book A
This Stories and Activities book contains two Biff, Chip and Kipper stories in an appealing comic-strip format, along with fun activities that will help your child to practise sounds, letters and early reading skills at home. Go on a sandy adventure to Gran’s beach hut and find out what happens when the children go on a march to save Pudding Wood!
Phonics: The Town Mouse and Country Mouse and Other Tales
This beautifully illustrated Stage 1 book is filled with the traditional stories of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse; The Gingerbread Man; The Enormous Turnip; and Get the Rat. The tales have been re-written so that children can read for themselves and develop their phonics skills.
Oxford First Grammar Punctuation and Spelling Dictionary: Answer sheet
Answers to the Oxford First Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Dictionary activity sheets.
Phonics: Which spelling? (Super challenge)
Choose the correct letter or letter groups to complete these common words (/j/and /m/sounds).
Phonics: Which spelling?
Choose the correct letter or letter groups to complete these common words (/s/and /f/sounds).
Phonics: long vowel sounds (Super challenge)
Identify the pictures and sort the word with long vowel sounds (/ai/, /ee/, /igh/, and /oa/ sounds).
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Stories and Activities Stage 1, Book A
This Stories and Activities book contains two Biff, Chip and Kipper stories in an appealing comic-strip format, along with a wealth of fun activities that will help your child to practise sounds, letters and early reading skills at home.
At Home with Phonics (age 5–7)
Read ‘Gran’s Van’ and ‘Tom the Tiger’.
Non-fiction: Marvellous History
Find out about amazing people and moments from throughout history in this collection of five fascinating non-fiction texts. Discover how travel has become faster and faster, meet some incredible geniuses from history, and discover how some mistakes led to amazing scientific discoveries and inventions.
Non-fiction: Animal Superpowers
Discover some amazing animal superpowers! Find out about animals with super strength and speed, read about some incredible birds, and learn why minibeasts matter.
Phonics: How many sounds?
Identify how many phonic sounds make up these common words.
Phonics: What am I? (Super challenge)
Decipher the phonic clues to work out which animal is being described.
Phonics: Rhyming games (Super challenge)
Find and spell rhyming words then create your own poem.
Phonics: Rhyming games
Identify words that end with the same phonic sounds to create fun rhymes.
Phonics: Matching sounds (Super challenge)
Identify words that have the same phonic sounds in the middle.
Phonics: Matching sounds
Identify words that start with the same phonic sounds.
Phonics: Long vowel sounds
Sort words to show which long vowel sound they include (/ai/, /ee/, /igh/, and /oa/ sounds).
Phonics: How many sounds? (Super challenge)
Label the pictures and identify how many phonic sounds make up these words.
Phonics: Grouping words by sound (Super challenge)
Sort words into the correct boxes to show where the /k/ sound appears in the word.
Phonics: Snoot’s Big Bad Dream and Other Stories
Find out what happens when Snoot stands up to his big, bad dream and meet the boy with a sabre-tooth kitten! Contains six captivating Read with Oxford stories.
Phonics: Sam’s Backpack and Other Stories
Join Sam on a camping trip with his special backpack and help Pip catch her dragon balloon! Contains six captivating Read with Oxford stories with clear phonics progression.
Phonics: Grouping words by sound
Sort and group words together that have the same phonic sound (/s/, /n/, and /k/ sounds).
Phonics: The Dinosaur King and Other Stories
Join Tops on a journey to meet the Dinosaur King and discover a planet made out of cake! Contains six captivating Read with Oxford stories with clear phonics progression.
Phonics: The Bucket Rocket and Other Stories
Read about Buzz’s dream of going into space in his big, red bucket and join Fang as he faces his fear of the dentist! Contains six Read with Oxford stories.
Phonics: Word games
Find the words that have the /ai/ phonic sound in this wordsearch.
Phonics: Word games (Super challenge)
Use the picture clues to complete this crossword and identify the long vowel phonic sound.
Phonics: Alternative spellings
Choose the correct letters to complete these common words containing the long /oo/ phonic sound.
Phonics: Alternative spellings (Super challenge)
Practise spelling using the correct letter groups for the /ur/ phonic sound.
Speedy Green Words slideshow: Green Storybooks
Practise the Speedy Green Words for all the Read Write Inc. Phonics Green Storybooks.
Billy Goats Gruff phonics
Match the words that have the same end sounds.
Jack and the Beanstalk phonics
Choose the correct letters to finish the words.
Phonics: The King and His Wish and Other Tales
This beautifully illustrated Stage 2 book is filled with the traditional stories of The King and his Wish; The Tortoise and the Hare; The Greedy Dog; and The Magic Porridge Pot. The tales have been re-written so that children can read for themselves and gradually develop their phonics skills.
Phonics: Dick Whittington and Other Tales
This beautifully illustrated Stage 2 book is filled with the traditional stories of: Dick Whittington; The Three Billy Goats Gruff; Chicken Licken; and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The tales have been re-written so that children can read for themselves while developing their phonics skils.
Julia Donaldson’s Songbirds: The Trunk and The Skunk and Other Stories
This collection of seven fun stories by Julia Donaldson helps your child develop early reading skills at home. Read about the Trunk and the Skunk, find out why Gran is so cross and discover how Ron Rabbit makes a rocket!
Phonics: My Storytelling Kit
This activity kit is packed full of ways to share traditional tales with your child, practise the phonics they are learning at school and develop important storytelling skills. It contains six traditional tales, retold so that children can read them for themselves, as well as a fun activity book, a poster and sticker set, and a parent handbook.

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