From sounds to words
- Beginning sounds. Hear the first sound of a word and match it to its letter.
- Ending sounds. Listen to the end of the word, which is harder to hear.
- Short vowels. The middle sound: c _ t, p _ g, s _ n.
- Build the word. Write all three sounds, one in each box.
- Rhymes. Hear that cat and hat end the same way.
- Word families. Change the first sound: cat, hat, bat.
- Digraphs and blends. Two letters, one sound (sh, ch) or two quick sounds (fr, st).
Pictures first
Phonics practice works when children say the word out loud. A picture gives them the word without needing to read it, so they can focus on the sounds. Each picture is chosen to have one obvious name, and the letters use simple shapes children learn first, like the single-story a.
Keep going
Pair these with spelling worksheets for the words that can’t be sounded out, and withpicture puzzles for spelling whole words with pictures.
In the New Zealand Curriculum
- First 6 monthsNew entrants learn each letter’s sound and read simple words by blending sounds, mostly in decodable books.
- Year 1Short and long vowels, two-letter sounds such as ch and fl, and words ending in -ed and -ing.
- Year 2Vowel teams such as ai and igh, and words with prefixes and suffixes.
The 2025 English curriculum takes a structured literacy approach, and schools use the Phonics Check at about 20 and 40 weeks of school. These sheets cover the early part of that path: first, middle and last sounds, CVC words, consonant digraphs and beginning blends.
Long vowels and vowel teams from Years 1 and 2 are not in this maker. Untick vowels to match the order your phonics programme teaches them, so the sheet only uses sounds your class has met.
Summarised in our own words from the New Zealand Curriculum: English, Years 0–6 (2025), and the Ministry of Education’s year-by-year guide for parents and whānau.
