Phonics Check
By the end of year 1 children should be able to read the words on this list.
This brief phonics check is an easy way to see if your child is struggling. Whilst some states in Australia have now introduced this check in their schools, others have not.
Far too many Australian kids are not taught how to read according to the science of reading. Try this test at home, and in 10 minutes you’ll know if your child is missing out.
Ask your child to read the words below. Explain that some of the words are made up. If they’ve been taught phonics they should be able to read words they don’t know by sounding them out.
If your child struggles and finds this unpleasant, stop.
| in | |
| at | |
| beg | |
| sum | |
| chip | |
| stop | |
| thorn | |
| truck | |
| flute | |
| goat | |
| shrubs | |
| queen | |
| ot |  |
| vap |  |
| osk |  |
| ect |  |
| desh |  |
| chab |  |
| poil |  |
| yune |  |
That’s it! That’s the whole test. This is the very same phonics check provided by the Australian Government’s Literacy Hub.
How did your child go? If this test was a struggle, their teacher might not be trained in the science of reading. Without phonics, learning to read is much harder.
If your year one child struggled to read three or more of these words, book a meeting with their teacher. Their class teacher should be able to identify any specific reading difficulties that can be resolved through early intervention. This will minimise the chance of your child developing a resistance to reading. Reading should be fluent and accurate to be enjoyable, and direct instruction is critical for many children.
It is much easier to remediate reading difficulties in the early years than the “wait and see” approach.
Share this page with other families at your school. We hope that by increasing parent awareness of teachers missing out on phonics education, schools and education departments can be encouraged to get on board with evidence-based reading education for all children.
News
Reading wars rage again as Australian Government pushes to introduce phonics test