Teach your child to read
Resources
One skill at a time. Guides and word lists from the specialists behind Wonster Words.
How-toExplainerFeaturedIs My Child on Track With Reading?A five-minute check you can do at home tonight, what's typical at each age, and what to do about what you find.Foundations
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Word listWorksheetsCVC words are three-sound words with a short vowel in the middle, like cat, pen and sun, and they are the first words a child can sound out alone. Here they are by vowel and by word family, with free worksheets and no signup.Phonics
Word listWorksheetsTwo letters, two sounds. The voiced th (/ð/) buzzes in this and mother, and the unvoiced th (/θ/) is only air in thin and bath. Each sound has its own word list and three worksheets, and a mixed review sorts the two.Phonics
How-toExplainerThe most common place children get stuck learning to read. Why it happens, and the techniques that fix it.Phonics
Word listWorksheetsA silent final e reaches back over one consonant and makes the vowel say its own name. Four vowels do it all the time (a_e, i_e, o_e and u_e), and e_e is real but rare.PhonicsSpelling
How-toHow to sort the list your school sent, how many words your child actually needs, and what five minutes a day should look like.Sight wordsPhonics
Word listWorksheetsAll 220 Dolch sight words, from the pre-primer and primer lists for kindergarten up to third grade. Each level is split into the words to sound out and the heart words to learn by heart, with worksheets for both. Only 49 of the 220 are heart words.Sight words
Word listWorksheetsFry words 26 to 100, the next 75 most common words in English, sorted for a first grader: 54 to sound out and only 21 to learn by heart, with worksheets for both.Sight words
Word listWorksheetsFry words 101 to 200, sorted for a second grader: by the end of the year 78 of them follow patterns your child has been taught, and only 22 have to be learned by heart.Sight words
Word listWorksheetsThe 25 most common words in English, from the Fry list, sorted for a kindergartner: 16 to sound out and only nine to learn by heart, with worksheets for both.Sight words
How-toWhy spelling is harder than reading, the five-minute routine that works, and what to do when your child gets a word wrong.SpellingPhonics
ExplainerThe handful of rules that are worth teaching, roughly when each one lands, and the ones to handle with caution.SpellingPhonics
Word listWorksheetsThe words a kindergartner learns to spell, grouped by skill from two-letter words to sh, ch and th, with free spelling and writing worksheets for every group.Spelling
Word listWorksheetsThe words a first grader learns to spell, grouped by the five patterns of the year, with free worksheets for each group.Spelling
Word listWorksheetsThe words a second grader learns to spell, grouped by the patterns of the year, with free worksheets for each group.Spelling
How-toSeven games you can play tonight with nothing but a pencil, why they beat worksheets, and how to tell a spelling game from a reading one.SpellingPhonics
GuideWhat to look for, what a spelling app cannot do, and who each option is genuinely best for.SpellingApp guides
How-toExplainerWhat struggling spelling looks like, why writing a word out ten times does not fix it, and the multisensory techniques that do.SpellingReading help
ExplainerWhat age spelling starts, the five stages it arrives in, and why nite for night is a good sign.SpellingFoundations
ExplainerWhat happens when you hear your child is behind in reading, what that means, and what you can do about it.Reading helpFoundations
GuideThe useful question is not which app is best. It is which one fits your child right now.App guidesFoundations
GuideAn honest comparison from a phonics app developer, including where our own app falls short.App guides
GuideWhat a child needs from a reading app changes sharply between three and seven. What each age needs, what to avoid, and which apps genuinely fit.App guides
GuideYou can teach a child to read without paying anything. What is genuinely worth using, and the one point at which paying starts to make sense.App guidesPhonics
ExplainerGuideWhat they do well, where they fall short, and how to tell if they can help your child.App guidesFoundations
