The Speech Sound (Phonemic Awareness) Play Plan: A Speech-to-Print ‘Pre-Phonics Phase that leads into the Speech Sound Pics (SSP) Approach
Mapped Words: TheSpellingRoutine.com
Orthographically Mapped Sight Words
400+ High Frequency Words (Mapped)
By linking the speech sounds (with Phonemies), the spelling (the letters), and the meaning, children store words in the orthographic lexicon, quickly recognise words by sight and know when they don't look right when writing the words. These high frequence words are important.
They are exposed to lots of high frequency words within the One, Two, Three and Away! series.
Start the 36 Mapped Pre-Readers when children have moved to the SSP Yellow Code Level.
Watch the video lessons, use your Duck Hands when ready - pause and write when ready!
Watch the 2 Minute Monster Sounds video daily until you know them!
Over 400 words often called common exception or high-frequency words recognised on sight and spelt correctly in writing within 12 months, before Year 1.
“When you show the sight word code, there’s no need to teach sight words.”
Emma Hartnell-Baker, The Neurodivergent Reading Whisperer®
Aussie Avery shows children the Duck Level (sight) words, and LOVES being the teacher!
Use Speech Sound Play as your lead-in to Speech Sound Pics (Word Mapping) in the early years. It makes more sense developmentally, and children are not constrained by a grapheme–phoneme correspondence (GPC) learning sequence.
You can use the 10-day Speech Sound Play Plan with a whole Reception class before starting any synthetic phonics programme. This is a precious window to screen and intervene, especially for dyslexia risk, and to ensure every child’s brain has the chance to understand how phonemes and graphemes (letters and sounds) map onto each other. Think of it as an SEN-inclusive Phase 1 of Letters and Sounds.
If using this with toddlers or younger children, follow the 10-day plan without time constraints. Avery and others will help show you how it all works. It’s easy for little ones to grasp, but ironically harder for skilled readers to understand fully. That is because fluent readers often do not stop to think about the role of each letter in written words, or how those letters map to the sounds we speak.
The Speech Sound Pics (SSP) Approach has always centred on mapped words, including high frequency words. The Code Mapping Tool show which letters are graphemes, and the Speech Sound Monsters (Phonemies) show the sound value! Learn about Word Mapping