What We Teach

Phonics Hero is currently available in three orders of sounds: Letters & Sounds, Playing with Sounds and the NSW sequence.

Orders of Sounds

Part 1
Level Playing with Sounds Letters and Sounds NSW Sequence
Match with:
  • Get Reading Right
  • Letters and Sounds programmes
  • NSW Phonics Syllabus
PDF of the order. PDF of the order. PDF of the order.
1 s, m, c, t, g, p, a, o Phase 2:
A) s, a, t, p
B) i, n, m, d

A) s, a, t, p, i
B) n, d, m
2 r, l, d, b, f, h, i, u A) g, o, c, k
B) ck, e, u, r
A) g, o, c, k, ck
B) e, u, r, h, b
3 v, w, y, z, j, n, k, e A) h, b, f, l
B) ff, ll, ss
A) f & ff, l & ll, s & ss, z & zz
B) sh, ch, th (voiced), th (unvoiced), ng
4
ll, ss, ff, zz
Phase 3:
A) j, v, w, x
B) y, z, zz, qu
A) y (yes), y (by), j
B) v & ve, w & wh, x, qu
C) i_e, a_e, o_e, e_e, u_e
5 sh, ch, th, wh A) ch, sh, th, ng
B) ai, ee, igh, oa
A) oi & oy (toy)
B) ou & ow (cow)
C) oa & ow (snow)
6 ck, ng, qu, x A) oo (zoo), oo (book), ar, or
B) ur, ow, oi, ear
C) air, ure, er
A) ai & ay (say)
B) ee, ea & e (me)
C) oo & ew (soon)
Part 2
Level Playing with Sounds Letters and Sounds NSW Sequence
7 VCC, CCVC, CVCC words Phase 4:
A) CVCC, CCVC words
B) Polysyllabic words

A) /ay/ say – a_e, ai, ay, a
B) /ee/ me – e_e, ea, ee, e, ey, y
8 ee, ea, y, e Phase 5: New Graphemes for Reading:
A) ay, ou, ie, ea
B) oy, ir, ue, aw
C) wh, ph, ew, oe, au
D) a_e, e_e, i_e, o_e, u_e

A) /igh/ my – i_e, ie, i, y, igh
B) /ow/ no – o_e, oa, ow, o, oe
9 i, igh, y, ie, i_e Phase 5: Alternative Pronunciations:
A) i (fin vs. find), o (hot vs. cold),
c (cat vs. cent), g (got vs. giant)

B) u (but vs. put), ow (cow vs. blow),
ie (tie vs. field), ea (eat vs. bread)

C) er* (farmer vs. her), a (hat vs. salt),
y (yes vs. by vs. very), ch (chin vs. school),
ou (out vs. shoulder vs. could vs. you)

A) /ar/ farm – ar, a*
B) /or/ fork – or, aw*, ore
C) /oo/ soon – u_e, ue, oo, ew
10 o, oa, ow, o_e Phase 5: Alternative Spellings:
A) ch, tu, tch
B) f, ff, ph

A) /ow/ cow – ou, ow
B) /e/ egg – e, ea
C) /oy/ toy – oy, oi
D) /er/ her – er, ir, ur
11 a, ai, ay, a_e A) j, dge, ge, g
B) r, rr*, wr
A) /oo/ look – u, oo, oul
B) /er/ sister (AU/UK schwa) – er, ar, or
C) /j/jab (soft g) – j, g, ge, dge
12 oo, ew, ue, u_e s, c, ce, ss, se
A) /air/ air – air, are, ear
B) /n/ in – n, kn, gn
C) /sh/ shop – sh, ch
D) /ear/ dear – ear, eer

*Skip if using the American accent – not applicable.

Part 3
Level Playing with Sounds Letters and Sounds NSW Sequence
13 r, rr*, wr sh, ci, ti
medial consonant doubles – tt, bb, dd, pp, mm, gg
14 oi, oy ai, a, ay, a_e
A) /u/ up – u, o, ou
B) /o/ hot – o, a
15 ph, f, ff ee, ea, y, e /l/ bottle (dark l) – le, el, al
16 ow, ou igh, i, y, ie, i_e /n/ in – n, kn, gn
17 c, ce, s, se, ss oa, o, ow, o_e /m/ mit – m, mm, me
18 u, oo, oul oo, ew, ue, u_e /j/jab (soft g) – j, g, ge, dge
19 ar, a* u, oo, oul /f/ fin – f, ff, ph
20 ar, a* ir, er, ear, ur, or /g/ gut (hard g) – g, gu
21 or, au*, aw*, al*, ore or, au*, aw*, al*, ore /ch/ chair – ch, tch, t
22 air, ear, are, ere or, ir, er, ear, ur /k/ kid – k, c, ck, ch
23 j, dge, ge, g ow, ou /sh/ shop – sh, ti, si, ci
24 ch, tch, tu oi, oy /r/ run – r, rr*, wr
25 sh, ci, ti air, ear, are, ere /zh/ treasure – s, si, ge
26 s, si (zh) s, si (zh) /s/ sat – s, se, c, ce
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