Phase 9: alternative spellings

The sounds this phase adds, the words that have to be learned by sight, and every everyday word a child who has been taught them can sound out.

The sounds this phase adds

By the end of this phase a child has met 73 sounds altogether.

Words to learn by sight

These cannot be sounded out with the letters taught so far, so they are simply learned. Every phonics programme has a handful of them and this is ours.

asked
could
would
should
water
where
who
again

What this phase buys

74 everyday words a child could not read before this phase and can read after it. This is the list worth practising, because the rest they already have.

boy day eat eye few may new our saw say sea use way why away came does each face four girl give head here home idea know late life line live made make mean mile more move name page play read same side take time your about close field first found great group house leave place quite sound state these those watch which while white write young around before number really because country mountain

Everything they can read by the end of it

Every word in the first five hundred of English that a child who has been taught these sounds can work out for themselves. There are 337 of them, shortest first. This list is not written by hand: it is produced by running the words through the same check that decides whether a page of one of our books may use a word at all.

an as at by if in is it of on or up air and any ask bad bag bat bed big bin bit bog box boy bug bun bus but can cap cot cup cut dad dam day den did dig din dog dot eat end eye fan far few fig fin fit fix fog for fox fun gap get got had ham has hat hen him his hit hog hop hot how hug hut its jam jet jog jug kit lad lap led leg let lit log lot mad man map mat may men met mix mop mug nap net new not now nut off oil old our pan pat peg pen pet pig pin pit pop pot pup put rag ram ran rat red rug run sad sat saw say sea see set sit six sun tag tan tap ten tin top try tug two use van wag wax way wet why wig win yet also away back been buzz call came city does down each even face feel find fizz food form four from girl give good grow hand hard head hear help here hiss home idea just keep kind kiss know land last late left life line list live long look made make many mean mess mile mind miss more move much must name near need next only open over page part play rain read same seem show side stop such take talk tell than that them then this time took tree turn very want week well went will with word work year your about after began close earth every field first found great group house large learn leave light might money month never night often order other paper place plant point quick quite right river small sound spell start state still story study these thing think those three under until watch which while white world write young animal answer around before change differ family father follow letter mother number really school second america another because country example several mountain sentence together important

The sight words above are not in this list, because they are not sounded out. Print this page and the two lists come out separately, which is how they should be practised.

How a book uses this

Nothing before its time

A book written for a child at phase 9 is checked word by word against this list. A draft that reaches for a sound from a later phase is sent back and written again, rather than shipped with a word the child will stall on.

Names are the exception

A story about a dragon called Ferdinand should not spend its whole allowance of tricky words on the name. Character names are exempt from the check and are the only thing that is.