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 Sound Discovery® is a high quality synthetic phonics literacy programme developed by Ridgehill Publishing for the teaching of reading, spelling and writing.
It is suitable for first-time learners, slow-to-start learners and dyslexic learners of all ages, including adults. It is also suitable for first time teaching of children and adults when English is being taught as an additional language.
Sound Discovery® meets the criteria as defined in the Rose Review of what constitutes “high quality phonic work”:
- Fully compatible with a broad and rich curriculum
- Systematic, with a clearly defined and structured progression for learning all the major grapheme/phoneme correspondences: digraphs, trigraphs, adjacent consonants and alternative graphemes for the same sound.
- Capable of being delivered in discrete daily sessions at a brisk pace that is well matched to children’s developing abilities.
- Underpinned by a synthetic approach to blending phonemes in order all through a word to read it, and segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to spell them.
- Clear that blending and segmenting are reversible processes.
- Multi-sensory, encompassing various visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities which actively engage children (for example, manipulating magnetic or other solid letters to build words, activities involving physical movement to form letter shapes).
- Clear about the importance of speaking and listening as the foundation for embarking on a systematic phonics programme and for acquiring the skills of reading and writing.
- Offer guidance on how to assess progress and use this information to inform the next steps of learning.
- Offer guidance about adapting the programme for children with special educational needs or who have missed earlier elements.
Diane McGuinness, a world authority on synthetic phonics, has set a challenge to literacy programmes to see if they meet her exacting standards for providing “the essentials of good reading instruction”, based on what is known about how writing systems should be taught. Sound Discovery® provides a “good fit” to her prototype of a good literacy instruction programme. Her criteria are:
- No sight words except for truly undecodable words.
- No letter names.
- A “sound-to-print” orientation. Phonemes, not letters, are the basis of the code
- Teach phonemes only and no other sound units.
- Begin with an artificial, transparent alphabet: a one-to-one correspondence between 40+ phonemes and their most common spelling.
- Teach children to identify and sequence sounds in real words by segmenting and blending, using letters. Don’t do this in the auditory mode alone.
- Teach children how to write each letter. Integrate writing into every lesson.
- Link writing (spelling) and reading to ensure children understand how the code works.
- Teach spelling alternatives (there’s more than one way to spell this sound) not reading alternatives.
- Spelling should be accurate or, at a minimum, phonetically accurate.
- The final step is to introduce the entire advanced spelling code … a process that has yet to find its way into any reading programme.
An analysis of how Sound Discovery® matches up to “The Prototype” of a good literacy instruction programme, is found in the “Research and Independent Reports” (link to Research-and-Independent-Reports.htm) section of the website.
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Sound Discovery Decodable Texts |
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Sound Discovery® Fold-It Books (SD10)
- Photocopy Masters at Step 1 of the Sound Discovery® Programme
- 57 booklets and 2 worksheets for comprehension
These little books were written for a group of Y3 children who were struggling to learn to read. They were making progress with the Snappy Lesson® approach, but it was difficult to find sufficient reading materials for them. These photocopiable booklets are the result of the authors efforts to fill that gap. The concept is very simple - copy one sheet for each child and fold into four. Make as many books as you require, and let the children colour them and take them home. She was delighted when a class teacher told her that one child had read his little book to the teacher and then to the whole class - and was very proud of his achievement!
These first 20 stories have been written using just the alphabet sounds, and cover Steps 1.1 –1.4 as described in the Sound Discovery Manual, and in Sound Discovery Words and Sentences, Part 1. There are three sheets for each story.
a - is the illustrated story for group or individual reading.
b - has illustrations and space for modelled writing.
c - has the story with space for the child’s own illustrations.
Story version (a) can be enlarged and used for group reading.
Picture version (b) can then be used for writing. Children are encouraged to recall the story and compose a simple sentence for each picture. The teacher helps to put this into phonically regular text, and scribes or dictates the sentence. More details can be found in the Sound Discovery Manual (p. 11). At the end of a session the children can be given their own reading book to take home and show off their skills.
Version (c) can be used in the classroom in independent reading times, when children can re-read the text and draw pictures to demonstrate their comprehension. Some later stories also have missing words to fill in, and the final story has comprehension questions.
This table shows how the booklets fit with the Sound Discovery programme. |
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| Title |
Step |
Sounds |
New
Keywords* |
Words from later steps |
| 1 Ant |
1.1 cvc |
satpin |
|
ant |
| 2 Ant in a pan |
1.1 cvc |
satpin |
the |
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| 3 Pat is an ant |
1.1 cvc |
satpin |
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| 4. Sam the man |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd |
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| 5. Sam’s cat |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd l |
|
flat |
| 6. The rat |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd l |
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| 7. Sam and his cat |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd |
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| 8. Red hen |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd
obgx (ck) |
|
nest |
| 9. Lost! |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd
oflbug (ck) |
was |
lost |
| 10. Ben |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd
oflbug w |
he to
put full of |
too |
| 11. Get up Ben! |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd
oflbug x (ck) |
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clock still spots |
| 12. Rip |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd
oflbug (ck) |
|
rest
cannot |
| 13. Sam’s van |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd
oflbug
jvwzyk qu x (ck) |
all have
gone |
with
helps
from |
| 14. Sid |
1.1 cvc |
satpincehrmd
oflbug
jvwzyk qu x (ck) |
go some |
went |
| 15. Sid’s wigwam |
1.2
2 syllable
cvc |
all alphabet sounds |
they
said |
this |
| 16. Mumps! |
1.3 cvcc |
all alphabet sounds |
give
down |
look
week
suffixes
-ing (i+ng)
-ed (t) |
| 17. Bandits! |
1.2/1.3 |
all alphabet sounds |
|
see play toy
handbrake
wheel grab wild
-ed (d) |
| 18. Puggin the piglet |
1.2/1.3 |
all alphabet sounds |
she were
called (d)
began |
from
for |
| 19. The Muzzwump hunt |
1.2/1.3/1.4 |
all alphabet sounds |
do come
be by
live |
find
print
tracks
-ed(e+d) |
| 20. Tinman (reading and comprehension) |
1.2/1.3/1.4 |
all alphabet sounds |
eyes |
make
made
day
out |
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Sound Discovery® Texts for Reading, Dictation and Comprehension (SD5)
- 10 small photocopiable texts at Step 1 with Who, What, Why, Where and When Questions for each (with answers)
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Title |
Step |
Sounds |
Irregular Words and Words from Later Steps |
Text 1.1-1 Ben’s Pig |
1.1 |
Alphabet sounds |
- |
Text 1.1-2
Tim’s Cat |
1.1 |
Alphabet sounds |
the |
Text 1.2-1
Meg’s Tennis Lesson |
1.2 |
Alphabet sounds |
to, go, she |
Text 1.2-2
Jim’s picnic |
1.2 |
Alphabet sounds |
was, he |
Text 1.3-1
The Pond |
1.3 |
Alphabet sounds |
to, into, the |
Text 1.3-1
Ron went to Camp |
1.3 |
Alphabet sounds |
to, into, the |
Text 1.4-1
The Twins |
1.4 |
Alphabet sounds |
she, the. they |
Text 1.4-2
The Flag |
1.4 |
Alphabet sounds |
the, she, to, |
Text 1.5-1
The Tramp |
1.5 |
Alphabet sounds |
the, he |
Text 1.5-2
The Stuntman |
1.5 |
Alphabet sounds |
the, to, be, he, onto |
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King Wizzit Storybooks (SD 15)
- 12 Storybooks at Step 2.1 and Step 2.2 of the Sound Discovery® Programme (consonant and vowel digraph sounds) incorporating all 45 of the NLS Reception High Frequency Words and some Medium Frequency keywords
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Title |
Step |
Sounds |
Irregular Words and Words from Later Steps |
1, Fish and Chips for the King |
2.1 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck |
14 |
2. The King’s Ship |
2.1 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck |
15 |
3. On the Dragon’s Back |
2.1 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck |
19 |
4.The Festival |
2.2 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck ee |
27 |
5. The King’s Maid |
2.2 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck ee ai |
18 |
6. The King’s Best queen Contest |
2.2 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck ee ai |
25 |
7. No Rest for the King |
2.2 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck ee ai oa |
26 |
8. Off to the Land of Sox |
2.2 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck ee ai oa ie |
28 |
9. The Wells of Gold |
2.2 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck ee ai oa ie |
29 |
10. In the Land of Sweets |
2.2 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck ee ai oa ie ue |
29 |
11. King Tosh |
2.2 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck ee ai oa ie ue |
42 |
12. The Banquet |
2.2 |
all alphabet sounds,
sh ch th ng
nk ck ee ai oa ie ue |
38 |
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Phonics First Books (42 sounds)
- 29 Storybooks at 7 levels each incorporating a new group of 6 letter sounds, covering all 42 sounds by the end of the series
Two books of Teaching Notes have also been written for interested adults to provide further explanations of the words chosen for the story books. The Notes include grammar and punctuation points, spelling alternatives and irregular words. |
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Title |
Level and Book Number |
Sounds |
Irregular Words |
Ant in the Pan |
1.1 |
s a t i p n |
3 |
Ant in the Tin |
1.2 |
s a t i p n |
3 |
Pit-a-Pat |
1.3 |
s a t i p n |
2 |
Nip, Nip, Tip, Tip |
1.4 |
s a t i p n |
4 |
Pat’s Map |
2.1 |
s a t i p n
c e h r m d |
5 |
Sam’s Rat |
2.2 |
s a t i p n
c e h r m d |
2 |
Sam’s Red Hat |
2.3 |
s a t i p n
c e h r m d |
3 |
Sam’s Nit |
2.4 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d |
3 |
Sam’s Hat |
2.5 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d |
3 |
On the Log |
3.1 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b |
7 |
Slug on the Log |
3.2 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b |
8 |
Sam’s Black Flag |
3.3 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b |
4 |
Sam’s Umbrella |
3.4 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b |
4 |
Plots and Plans |
3.5 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b |
5 |
Sam’s Slim Mum |
3.6 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b |
9 |
The Best Mint of All |
3.7 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b |
13 |
Frog’s Splendid Bus |
4.1 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or |
16 |
The Splendid Picnic |
4.2 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or |
17 |
A Little Foal is Born |
4.3 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or |
15 |
Grand Magic |
4.4 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or |
15 |
A Day at the Zoo |
5.1 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or
z w ng v oo |
27 |
Titbits for Horse |
5.2 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or
z w ng v oo |
23 |
Sam’s Mad Day |
6.1 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or
z w ng v oo
y x ch sh th |
13 |
A Day Away |
6.2 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or
z w ng v oo
y x ch sh th |
12 |
A Princess Fit for a Prince |
6.3 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or
z w ng v oo
y x ch sh th |
28 |
The Secret Code
1 The Jumble Sale |
7.1 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or
z w ng v oo
y x ch sh th
qu ou oi ue ar |
18 |
The Secret Code
2 The Ink Blot |
7.2 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or
z w ng v oo
y x ch sh th
qu ou oi ue ar |
15 |
The Secret Code
3 Time Travel |
7.3 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or
z w ng v oo
y x ch sh th
qu ou oi ue ar |
19 |
The Secret Code
4 The Code Revealed |
7.4 |
s a t i p n
c k ck e h r m d
g o u l f b
ai j oa ie ee or
z w ng v oo
y x ch sh th
qu ou oi ue ar |
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