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Read Write Inc.

Read Write Inc is how we support children to develop their early reading skills. It is a widely used Phonics scheme with a lot of success. Here you can find out some information to help you better understand the approach, also at the bottom there is a link to some free e-books! 

 It is really important to say the sounds clearly to help your child learn them. We say ‘mmmm’ not ‘muh’ and ‘lllll’ not ‘luh’ when teaching the sounds. This really helps children when they learn to blend sounds together to read words.

When learning to read, it is crucial to say each sound correctly. 

If your child is learning to read at school with Read Write Inc. Phonics, they will be at one of the following stages:

LEARNING SET 1 SPEED SOUNDS

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.

You can help your child practise the Speed Sounds they have learnt with the Speed Sounds practice sheets further down this page.

LEARNING TO BLEND WITH SET 1 SPEED SOUNDS

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, watch the Sound Blending video for tips on how to support them.

LEARNING SET 2 SPEED SOUNDS

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, you could help them to:

  • Complete the Speed Sounds practice sheets for the Speed Sounds they have learnt.
  • Read these free 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.
LEARNING SET 3 SPEED SOUNDS

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, you could 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.
READING BOOKS WITH SET 1,2 AND 3 SPEED SOUNDS

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.


Free e-books 

Click on the link below to access a wide range of FREE eBooks. Registering to make an account is quick and easy

Oxford Owl Free eBooks

Book Bag Books

Your child will bring home different types of books to read at home.  This page explains each of the books that you will see. 

Sound Blending Books
When children are first learning to read words, they will bring home sound blending books.  These books have one word per page.  When reading these, encourage your child to say the individual sounds (taking care to say the pure sound for example: ‘mmm’ and not ‘muh’) and then blend the sounds together to read the word. These books look like this:
Paper versions of the books read in school

Once children have mastered the sound blending books, they will move on to reading phonics books every day in school. These books are carefully selected to match the phonics knowledge that your child has learnt so far.  Over time, these books become progressively more challenging.  Children  read these books three times (over the course of three days).  The first time they read a new book, they are learning to read each word and to develop fluency; the second time, they are developing their expression and the third time they develop their reading comprehension. After they have read the book in school, they bring a paper copy home to read to you.  This is a chance for you to celebrate the progress they have made together.  These books look like this:

Book bag books

Children will receive a second story book to read at home. This is a new book that they will not have seen before. Your child should be able to read all of the words in this book.  If they get stuck, you can encourage them to sound the word out (in school we call this ‘Fred Talk’ and they will be very familiar with this).  If they get stuck on a word that is not phonetically decodable, simply tell them what the word is. These books look like this: