Read Write Inc. – A guide for parents

These are the Set 1 Speed Sounds written with one letter:

m  a  s  d  t  i  n  p  g  o  c  k  u  b  f  e  l  h  r  j  v  y  w  z  x

These are the sounds written with two letters (your child will call these ‘special friends’):

sh  th  ch  qu  ng  nk  ck

Check if your child can read these sounds. Make sure they say sounds like ‘mmm’, not letter names like ‘em’. Watch the Sound Pronunciation Guide video to help you.

If your child is learning Set 1 Speed Sounds, help them to:

• Complete the Speed Sounds practice sheets for the Speed Sounds they have learnt.

Your child is learning to read words containing Set 1 Speed Sounds by sound blending. For example:

m-a-t mat

c-a-t cat

g-o-t got

f-i-sh fish
s-p-o-t spot

b-e-s-t best

s-p-l-a-sh splash.

If your child is learning to sound blend, help them to:

• Read the Sound Blending eBooks in order.
• You could watch the Sound Blending video to help you support your child with sound blending.

These are the Set 2 Speed Sounds:

ay  ee  igh  ow (as in blow)  oo (as in zoo)

oo (as in look) ar  or  air  ir  ou (as in out)  oy

Check if your child can read these sounds.

If your child is learning the Set 2 Speed Sounds, help them to:

• Complete the Speed Sounds practice sheets for the Speed Sounds they have learnt.
• Read the eBooks at Red Ditty level, then Green level and then Purple level, in order. We recommend children read each eBook three times, as they would at school: once to read the words correctly, a second time with more fluency, and a third time in a ‘storyteller voice’ that shows their understanding.

These are Set 3 Speed Sounds:

ea (as in tea)

oi (as in spoil)

a–e (as in cake)

i–e (as in smile)

o–e (as in home)

u–e (as in huge) 

aw (as in yawn)

are (as in care)

ur (as in nurse)

er  (as in letter)

ow (as in brown)

ai  (as in snail)

oa (as in goat)

ew (as in chew)

ire (as in fire)

ear (as in hear)

ure (as in pure)

Check if your child can read these sounds.

If your child is learning Set 3 Speed Sounds, help them to:

• Complete the Speed Sounds practice sheets for the Speed Sounds they have learnt.
• Read the eBooks at Pink level, then Orange level and then Yellow level, in order. We recommend children read each eBook three times, as they would at school: once to read the words correctly, a second time with more fluency, and a third time in a ‘storyteller voice’ that shows their understanding.

If your child has learnt all three sets of Speed Sounds, they need to practise them and read books with words made up of those sounds. They could:

• Complete the Speed Sounds practice sheets for the Set 3 Speed Sounds.
• Read the eBooks at the Blue level and then the Grey level, in order. We recommend children read each eBook three times, as they would at school: once to read the words correctly, a second time with more fluency, and a third time in a ‘storyteller voice’ that shows their understanding.