Phonics Scope and Sequence: The 5-Stage Roadmap (Step by Step)
For children aged 3–7 learning to read in English — at home or in class. Every phonics programme teaches sounds in roughly the same order — this is that order, laid out as 5 stages. Find where your child fits, see what comes next, and jump straight to the sounds, word lists, and printables for that stage.
Stage 0 — Getting Ready
Rhyming, syllables, and hearing sounds in words — before a single letter is taught.
SATPIN
s, a, t, p, i, n — taught first because they build the most three-letter words fastest.
See sounds, word lists & printables →Stage 2 of 5Letter Sounds
The remaining 20 letters, finishing the full alphabet by sound (not by name).
See sounds, word lists & printables →Stage 3 of 5Blending & Segmenting
The bridge skill: pushing sounds together to read, and pulling words apart to spell.
See sounds, word lists & printables →Stage 4 of 5Digraphs & Blends
ch, sh, th, ck — two letters, one sound — plus consonant clusters like bl, st, and nd.
See sounds, word lists & printables →Stage 5 of 5Vowel Teams & Tricky Words
ai, oa, ee, magic-e, and the words that can't be sounded out at all.
See sounds, word lists & printables →Turn this into a dated schedule
Pick a start date and a pace, and get all 43 sounds laid out as dated sessions — free to preview, downloadable as a calendar.
Where this comes from
This sequence follows the order used by Letters and Sounds, Jolly Phonics, and Read Write Inc — the three most widely used UK synthetic phonics programmes. Every child moves at a different pace, so treat the timeframes on each stage as a rough guide, not a deadline. For the full picture of every English sound, see the 43-phoneme sound map, or browse the free printables library.
Get the full app — 15 phonics games, 43 native sounds
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ABC Phonics — Sounds for Kids