Which books do children need, to read?

Mapped Books support the Speech Sound Pics® (SSP) Approach, which provides a systematic way to introduce the Core Code of around 100 grapheme to phoneme correspondences (GPCs) that are assessed in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check.

Children can begin with the 10-day Speech Sound Play Plan and then either continue with SSP or use another synthetic phonics programme. At the Green Code Level, children need to practise blending the GPCs from that level within readers so that the activity makes sense and has a clear purpose. This practice becomes more engaging and also allows us to add some Duck Level words, which are high-frequency words.
 

Monster Mapped® Words are distinctive because they are not only Code Mapped® to show the graphemes but also display Phonemies®, the family of Speech Sound Monsters®. Each Monster represents a sound of English, working like phonetic symbols designed for children. By showing the letters that map to the sounds, less cognitive effort is required and children quickly gain confidence in reading. The recommended sequence is to read the Monster Mapped® book first, then the Code Mapped® version without the sound prompts, and finally the regular version. This gradual process builds independence. Monster Mapping® makes the complexities of English orthography visible. For example, the sound /s/ can be represented by <s> in sip, <c> in cent, or <ss> in grass, and the grapheme <s> can represent different sounds in words such as sip, was, or sugar. Spelling Clouds® are used to make these patterns clear.
 

By 'following the Monster Sounds', children are able to work out new words. THEN they look at the graphemes, and develop orthographic knowledge without instruction. Even those with weak phonemic awareness can succeed, since the system reduces barriers. If they struggle, they can use MyWordz® technology! With MySpeekie®, they can type the Speech Sound Monsters and hear the word spoken aloud.

Miss Emma, The Neurodivergent Reading Whisperer®, created the Speech Sound Pics® Approach to be inclusive from the very beginning. It is designed as if every child may have speech sound processing difficulties and be at risk of finding phonics hard to learn. This is why it is also the first approach created with non-speaking children in mind.
 

The philosophy behind the Speech Sound Pics Approach is prevention rather than remediation. It is easier to prevent reading and spelling difficulties than to wait until children fail, which also helps to avoid the dyslexia paradox. Traditional synthetic phonics programmes in England are delivered through a fixed weekly plan, with little space for differentiation. In contrast, the SSP routine allows children to learn at their pace, and Monster Mapped® words and books support this learning. They can be used at home regardless of how phonics is taught in school. It is easy if the child is learning using the old DfE Letters and Sounds programme GPC teaching sequence! Many synthetic phonics programmes are based on this order: starting with s a t p i n etc 

Some children will learn to read regardless of the method, some will benefit from systematic phonics, some will eventually learn but find the process extremely difficult, and one in four will not reach expected reading levels by age 11 without extra support. These resources are designed for all children who want to enjoy learning to read, but especially for the one in four who would otherwise be left behind.