Discovery Phonics
After completing Speech Sound Play (the 10-Day Phonemic Awareness Mastery Plan), use the 30-Minute Daily Core Phonics Routine to learn the 100 most commonly used Grapheme-to-Phoneme Correspondences (GPCs), while also applying Discovery Phonics throughout the day with the MyWordz® and MySpeekie® tech. Word Mapping Mastery® for all.
There Is No “After Phonics”
Many people use the phrase "after phonics" to describe the period following the end of a phonics programme. However, phonics is not just a programme. It is the process of guiding learners to understand how words are mapped to speech sounds and to the visual representations of those sounds, called graphemes. It is about connecting phonemes and graphemes. This is the foundation of reading and spelling.
At The Reading Hut Ltd, we teach around 100 commonly used grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) through a 30-minute daily Core Phonics Routine. The Chant Strip is shown above. These are tested in the Phonics Screening Check and can be seen here. Some children begin self-teaching the whole code (350+ GPCs) with this kick-start alone. Many, however, do not. At least one in four learners need additional support throughout the day, which means that teachers need to know how to map words accurately and consistently!
These children, especially, benefit from Discovery Phonics. This is a flexible, responsive approach that allows adults to support phoneme–grapheme mapping whenever it is needed. It gives children the tools to decode and encode words that contain GPCs not included in the Core Phonics Routine.
Discovery Phonics helps all children move into the self-teaching phase. The most successful learning in reading and spelling often occurs implicitly, without being directly taught by a teacher. This is what supports orthographic mapping, the process that allows children to recognise words automatically, spell words accurately, and know when a word is spelt correctly. The word becomes stored in their Brain Word Bank, as seen on the intro to Speech Sound Play site.
Using MyWordz® and MySpeekie® word mapping tools gives children access to this support independently as they engage with words throughout the day. These word mapping tools make the full code visible through speech sounds and pictures of the speech sounds, the graphemes, and what we refer to as Sound Pics®. This is Word Mapping Mastery® for all learners. Linguistc and neurodiversity is embraced from day one, avoiding the dyslexia paradox.
Discovery Phonics with MyWordz® Tech
Discovery Phonics with MyWordz® technology makes the entire "Universal Code" visible and easier to understand, regardless of a child's accent or whether English is their first language. Linguistic and neurodiversity are embraced from day one.
Start with Speech Sound Play, the Phonemic Awareness Mastery Plan, then begin the 30 Minutes Per Day Core Code Routine. At the same time, use Discovery Phonics throughout the day as and when needed for each child. Start The Writing Framework with The Village With Three Corners when children are approaching the end of the Purple Code Level.
Discovery Phonics is not a pre-planned activity, however if you prefer more structure, start using the Speedy Six Spelling Routine, Snap and Crack (for comprehension), or Rapid Writing (for sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation). The more structured Speech Sound Pics Approach activities explained on the WordMappingMastery.com website.
The focus is always on word mapping as personalised, meaningful, and playful guidance through Discovery Phonics.
Discovery Phonics involves mapping words throughout the day, at the moment a child needs support with that specific word. These words will often differ from those needed by other children. The focus is on helping each individual progress into the self-teaching phase, where they can read without needing to decode every word and spell without relying on memorised letter sequences. This speech-to-print approach strengthens both phonemic awareness and phonological working memory.