The Lindo Phonics Blog
Plain answers about the scheme your child's school uses, the level they are on, and what they should actually be reading at home. Written by a parent, with a real book at every level.
18 articles
Little Wandle Fluency Books: When Decodables Stop Being Enough
What parents mean by Little Wandle fluency books, when a child is ready to move past decodables, and how to build reading speed at home without pushing.
Read → Little WandleLittle Wandle Tricky Words, Term by Term
Every Little Wandle tricky word by Reception term, what tricky really means, and the one thing not to do when your child gets stuck on one.
Read → Little WandleLittle Wandle Phase 5: The Alternative Spellings
Little Wandle Phase 5 covers the whole of Year 1 and adds no new sounds. Nine things to know, plus the June phonics screening check explained.
Read → Little WandleLittle Wandle Phase 4: Blends, Not New Sounds
Little Wandle Phase 4 adds no new sounds. Here is what the Reception summer term is really doing, and seven steps that help at home in five minutes.
Read → Little WandleLittle Wandle Phase 3: The Sounds, and a Book Made Only From Them
The thirteen Little Wandle Phase 3 sounds, the Spring 1 tricky words, why Spring 2 adds nothing new, and how to help without turning it into a test.
Read → Little WandleLittle Wandle Phase 2: The First Sounds They Meet
What Little Wandle Phase 2 covers across the Reception autumn term, the exact sounds and tricky words, and how to help at home in five minutes.
Read → Essential Letters and SoundsEssential Letters and Sounds: A Parent's Guide
What ELS is, why it splits Phase 3 into consonants then vowels, and the one piece of its parent guidance that matters more than all the rest.
Read → Twinkl PhonicsTwinkl Phonics Levels Explained
All six Twinkl Phonics levels, how they line up with the Letters and Sounds phases, and why two of them introduce no new sounds at all.
Read → Sounds-WriteSounds-Write Initial Code: What Parents Need to Know
The eleven Initial Code units in order, why three of them teach no new sounds, and why Sounds-Write talks about spellings where other schemes talk about letters.
Read → Jolly PhonicsJolly Phonics: The Seven Letter Groups in Order
All 42 Jolly Phonics sounds by group, why the first six are s, a, t, i, p, n rather than A, B, C, and what the actions are actually for.
Read → For parentsWhen Reading Practice Turns Into a Fight Every Night
If the ten minutes has become an argument, the fix is to make it shorter rather than better. What is usually going on, and what actually changes it.
Read → For parentsHow to Find Out Which Phonics Scheme Your School Uses
Five ways to identify your school's phonics scheme, how to recognise each one from the book itself, and why the answer changes which books are fair to give your child.
Read → Letters and SoundsLetters and Sounds: The Six Phases
What each of the six phases teaches, why two of them introduce no new sounds, and why schools still say Phase 3 years after the framework left the validated list.
Read → For parentsPhonics Books for Year 1: What Level Should They Be On?
Year 1 means Phase 5 in every scheme, under eight different names. A cross-scheme table, a five-minute check you can do at home, and what the screening check really tests.
Read → Bug ClubBug Club Phonics Books: The Levels Explained
Every Bug Club Phonics band from Lilac to Lime, the sounds taught at each one, and why Yellow band introduces no new sounds at all.
Read → For parentsWhat Are Decodable Books? A Plain-English Guide
Decodable is not a reading level or a colour band. It describes the fit between a book and one particular child, and six common myths get in the way of seeing that.
Read → Read Write IncRead Write Inc Books at Home: A Parent's Guide to the Levels
The Read Write Inc colour levels in order, what sounds sit in Set 1, 2 and 3, and why the Book Bag Book that comes home is not the book they read in school.
Read → Little WandleLittle Wandle Books: What Your Child Reads at Each Phase
Which Little Wandle phase your child is on, the exact sounds taught in each one, and why the book that comes home looks easier than you expected.
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