Phase 3 phonics continues to build on the first 18 sounds to include the other 26 sounds in the English language and some of the spellings for these sounds. 

In this Phase the children will use what they have learnt in Phase 1 and Phase 2 to help them to discriminate between the different sounds to be able to segment to spell words and they will use their skills for blending to read simple words using the sounds they have learnt. During Phase 3 the children will learn that different letters together can make different sounds. These are called digraphs and trigraphs. The children will continue to learn "tricky words" such as "he", "she" and "was" in this Phase, building on those learnt in Phase 2. 

By the end of this Phase the children will be able to hear up to 3 sounds in a word (including digraphs and trigraphs), recognise spellings for each sound taught and be able to use these to write and read simple words. They will be able to use their skills to read decodable books with their sounds they have learnt in.  

Below is the order in which these sounds are taught, videos to show you how to pronounce the sound (shown by our children) and parent newsletters to support each sound at home. 

Order in which we teach the sounds in Phase 3 

Week 1   j     v    w      x

Week 2   y    z    zz    qu

Week 3   ch   sh   th    ng 

Week 4   ai    ee   igh   oa   

Week 5   oo    oo   ar   or 

Week 6   ur    ow   oi   er 

Week 7   ear    air     ure 

How do we pronounce each sound?

Let's ask the children

Parent Newsletters for Phase 3 

Updated July 2023