Phase 1: Foundation

The reading journey begins here. Phase 1 introduces the first 10 sounds and teaches blending — the core skill of sounding out words.

What to Expect

By the end of Phase 1, the learner will know 10 sounds and be able to read simple three-letter words and short sentences. This is the hardest phase because everything is new. Once blending clicks, progress speeds up dramatically.

Sounds Introduced

Sound	Type	As In	Lesson
m	continuous, voiced	ram	1
s	continuous, whispered	bus	1
a	continuous, voiced	and	3
ē	continuous, voiced	eat	5
t	stop, whispered	cat	7
r	continuous, voiced	bar	9
d	stop, voiced	mad	12
i	continuous, voiced	if	14
th (voiced)	continuous, voiced	this	16
c	stop, whispered	tack	19

Skills Learned

Identifying individual letter sounds
Distinguishing continuous sounds from stop sounds
Blending two sounds together (am, at, it)
Blending three sounds into words (sat, mat, cat)
Reading simple sentences (The cat sat.)

Words Learned in This Phase

aL3 massL3 amL4 SamL6 atL7 mastL7 matL7 matsL7 satL8 armL9 artL9 earsL9 marsL9 ratL9 ratsL9 ramL10 damL12 dearL12 deedL12 deemL12 madL12 reedL12 sadL12 addL13 dadL13 amidL14 itsL14 midL14 midstL14 mistL14 ridL14 sitL14 dimL15 isL15 rimL15 thatL16 theseL16 thisL16 theL17 carL19 cardL19 cartL19 castL19 catL19 catsL19 discL19 sacL19

47 words · View full word list

Stories for This Phase

Sam Sat The very first story. Uses only Phase 1 sounds.

a L3 sam L6 at L7 mat L7 sat L8 rat L9 mad L12 is L15 the L17

The Cat at the Mat A cat and a rat at the mat.

at L7 mat L7 sat L8 rat L9 mad L12 sad L12 is L15 the L17 cat L19

It Is Dim Using i, th, and d sounds.

a L3 sam L6 mat L7 sat L8 rat L9 sad L12 dim L15 is L15 it L28 mist L14 rid L14 that L16 the L17 this L16 in L24

Tips for This Phase

Go slowly. The learner is learning two things at once: the sounds themselves and the skill of blending. Expect to repeat lessons 1-5 several times. Each lesson should take 5-10 minutes. Stop before the learner gets frustrated.

Go to Lessons 1-20