A four-step guide to reusing your existing phonics books

Choosing a new systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme doesn’t mean clearing out all of your existing phonics books. More often than not, your decodable books, flashcards and other materials can be reused after an audit against your new phonics teaching progression. In this guide, we explain how you can save these resources and your budget.

With many schools now adopting a validated systematic synthetic phonics programme, phonics leads around the country will be looking into their cupboards wondering what to do with the books and resources they currently have. The initial and ongoing costs of some programmes can be high, but you can reduce the expense by matching as many of those trusty materials to your new programme as possible. You may be surprised by how many books you can continue to use without negatively impacting on your fidelity.

This guide will take you through the steps you need to follow. It is written for Letters and Sounds schools, i.e. those who previously followed the original 2007 Letters and Sounds progression and are also continuing with a new SSP aligned to Letters and Sounds. For new SSPs that have remained close to the original progression like My Letters and Sounds, there will be more of an overlap with existing resources. For others, there may be less, but these steps will help you audit your materials accordingly.

Step 1: Information gathering

Charting your new SSP programme

Obtain a progression chart from your chosen SSP provider. This document should cover the full scope and sequence of their phonics teaching and should crucially contain the order in which grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) and tricky words are introduced.

Compiling your decodable readers

Compile a list of your current decodable readers, putting them in order of teaching and include titles, reading bands, targeted GPCs and tricky words. If the books are part of the same scheme, try to find a corresponding progression chart to help you order them.

Step 2: Analysing the overlap of GPC and tricky words

Comparing phonics documents

Lay the progression chart containing your new SSP programme's GPC sequence alongside your reader list. Identify overlaps by seeking points where your decodable readers address the same GPCs and tricky words as the new programme. For example, both programmes might introduce the short "a" sound at the same stage.

Inevitably you will find some books that do not align, particularly for tricky words. The occasional unaligned tricky word could be overlooked (particularly for very common words), but you should use your judgement accordingly.

Categorising your decodable readers

Divide your readers into three categories:

Fully aligned: these readers target only GPCs already covered in the new programme at a specific stage. They may include the occasional tricky word that has not yet been taught.
Partially aligned: these readers might introduce a small number of unaddressed GPCs but focus heavily on the GPCs that have already been covered. They may contain multiple tricky words that have not been taught.
Not aligned: these readers target GPCs and tricky words that have not been covered sufficiently or at all.

Step 3: Using aligned readers

Readers that are fully aligned

Any decodable books that fully align should be kept. These can be integrated into the new programme at the corresponding stage where the targeted GPCs are introduced. If they contain a small number of tricky words not yet taught, these should be clearly identified on the book, perhaps by a sticker on the back cover.

Readers that are partially aligned

For the partially aligned readers, you should highlight sections that include GPCs that would have already been taught. Use of these books can be delayed until the GPC has been covered, particularly if that book is useful for reinforcing previously learned phonics. Tricky words should be clearly identified.

Step 4: Repurposing non-aligned readers

Despite these books not aligning with your new SSP programme, you may still have a use for them. The stories and illustrations could be used for comprehension practice, vocabulary building, or discussions related to phonics concepts already learned. They could also be useful for providing more challenging phonics practice with advanced pupils who can decode words with more complex GPCs. If you decide to keep the non-aligned books, ensure that you clearly label them, so they do not get mixed up with those that do match to your new progression.

For the books that are no longer relevant, consider donating them to another school, charity shop or library so they can continue to be used elsewhere.

Tags: phonics