The full curriculum, nothing hidden
Scope & Sequence
Every level, every step, every pattern and heart word, exactly as the program teaches it. This page is generated directly from the program's own curriculum files, so what you read here is what your child gets, always.
Three honest notes for specialists. First: the sequence is anchored to the public UFLI Foundations scope, and the letter-sound patterns below are what Spalding and Logic of English practitioners will recognize as phonograms. Second: our "heart words" carry only the truly irregular part, the rest of each word is sounded out, and when a pattern is later taught, the word is reclassified as fully decodable (marked ⟲ below). Irregular words have regular parts, and we teach them that way. Third: every line a child reads in every story is machine-checked against this exact sequence before it ships, a line using an untaught pattern cannot ship. The child's lines stay strictly decodable while the parent reads the rich narration aloud, so the reading diet is decodable practice inside real literature, and the constraint naturally loosens as the scope grows.
The honest census. Across all ten levels we flag 84 tricky words, and the count tells the truth about English. 33 of them are simply early arrivals: the pattern is fully lawful and its own lesson comes later in the sequence (marked ⟲). 44 more belong to small, steady families that behave once you meet the family, would-could-should, walk-talk, bear-wear, through-thought-enough, want-water. Only 7 words in the entire program are true lone rule-breakers: beautiful, eye, friend, of, once, one, two. And even those are taught through their structure and story, the fri-end who has an end, the b-e-a-u-tiful chant, the o in one that its cousins once and only still carry, never as whole shapes to memorize. No whole word in this program is ever taught by memorization.
The rules The main rules of English, as we teach them
Every rule below is taught explicitly at the step shown, practiced in reading and spelling, and reviewed cumulatively after. If a rule is not taught in the program, it is not on this list.
| Rule | In plain words | Taught at | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sound it out, left to right | Every word is built from sounds in order; readers never guess from pictures or shape. | step 1.1 | mat, sat |
| -s at the end says /s/ or /z/ | The plural and verb ending -s has two sounds; the throat decides. | step 2.1 | cats, dogs |
| The FLSZ (FLOSS) rule | A one-beat word with a short vowel doubles a final f, l, s, or z. | step 3.1 | off, hill, miss, buzz |
| The broad a of the -all family | In the all, oll, and ull families the vowel broadens: a goes to /aw/. The broad a is one of a's real jobs in English (water, father), not an exception. | step 3.2 | ball, tall, roll, full |
| ck right after a short vowel | The /k/ sound directly after a short vowel is spelled ck. | step 3.3 | back, kick, duck |
| Digraphs: two letters, one sound | sh, ch, th, wh, ph are letter teams making one new sound. | step 3.4 | ship, chat, thin |
| The silent e and its many jobs | Add e to the end and the vowel flips long: cap becomes cape. That is its most famous job, but not its only one. The silent e we teach also: makes c and g go soft (face, cage), stands in because English words do not end in v or u (have, blue), and gives the final consonant-le syllable its vowel (table, candle). A few words carry an older, historical e we no longer sound out (come, some, are); those we teach as heart words. Naming all of the silent e’s jobs, not just the long-vowel one, is a mark of the Spalding and Logic of English tradition. | step 4.1 | cape, face, cage, have, table |
| Soft c says /s/ | Before an e, c goes soft to /s/. | step 4.7 | face, race, nice |
| Soft g says /j/ | Before an e, g goes soft to /j/. | step 4.8 | cage, page, huge |
| The ve convention | English words do not end in plain v, so an e tags along, even after a short vowel. | step 4.9 | have, give, live |
| -es adds a beat after a hissing end | After s, x, z, ch, sh the plural is -es and says /ĕz/. | step 5.1 | boxes, dishes, benches |
| -ed has three sounds | The past-tense ending says /ĕd/, /d/, or /t/ depending on the sound before it. | step 5.2 | planted, played, jumped |
| Every syllable has a vowel | Big words split into beats, and every beat holds a vowel sound. | step 5.4 | sunset, napkin |
| Open syllables say their name | A syllable ending in its vowel goes long. This is the first of the three ways a vowel says its own name (open syllable, silent e, and the long families below). | step 5.7 | he, go, robot, music |
| tch guards a short vowel | Right after a short vowel, /ch/ is spelled tch; elsewhere plain ch. | step 6.1 | catch, match, pitch |
| dge guards a short vowel | Right after a short vowel, /j/ is spelled dge; elsewhere ge. | step 6.2 | edge, badge, bridge |
| The long families (the third way) | ild, old, ind, and ost run long even without a silent e. The third of the three ways a vowel says its own name. | step 6.4 | wild, cold, find, most |
| y works as a vowel | At the end of a one-beat word y says /ī/; ending a longer word it says /ē/. | step 6.5 | my, sky; happy, baby |
| The r changes its vowel (r-controlled) | A vowel followed by r makes one new sound, and it counts as a vowel sound in its own right: ar, or, er, ir, ur. For the /er/ family, the keepers remember: her first nurse works early. | step 7.1 | car, corn, her, bird, fur |
| w bends ar | After w, the ar team slides toward /or/. | step 7.7 | war, warm |
| Spelling by position | Some sounds pick their spelling by where they sit: ai inside a word, ay at the end; oi inside, oy at the end. | step 8.1 | rain / play; coin / boy |
| igh, the three-letter /ī/ | The igh team says long i. | step 8.5 | light, night, bright |
| oo has two jobs | The oo team says long /o͞o/ or short /o͝o/, and readers flex between them. | step 9.1 | moon, food; book, look |
| au and aw, the yawn sound | The /aw/ sound is spelled au inside a word and aw at the end (position again). | step 9.4 | haul, sauce; paw, draw |
| The six syllable shapes | Every syllable in English takes one of six shapes, and the program teaches all six in order: closed (cat, step 1.1), silent-e (cape, 4.1), open (he, go, 5.7), consonant-le (table, 6.7), r-controlled (car, 7.1), and vowel team (rain, 8.1). Name the shape and the vowel tells you its sound. | step 1.1 | cat, cape, he, table, car, rain |
| Peel the prefixes and suffixes first | Word parts carry meaning; strip un-, re-, -ing, -ed and read the base. | step 10.1 | unpack, replay, jumping |
And one note about speech: unstressed vowels relax to /uh/ (the schwa) when we talk, about, from, the. We treat that as pronunciation, not spelling, and never as "another sound" of the vowel. For writing, the parent gives the clear as-written pronunciation first (a-bout), then the natural one. Specialists have a name for this principle, and it is ours too: sound for spelling, read for reading.
The teams Every letter team, every sound, in teaching order
Specialists call these phonograms. Each team is listed with every sound the program teaches for it, in the order taught (step numbers in parentheses). Where a team has other jobs in English that the program has not yet given a full lesson, the last column says so plainly, those words are carried as explained heart words until their lesson lands. Sounds are added in the order the reading demands them, one-syllable words before multisyllable ones, and each new job is contrasted with the old one the day it arrives (the er family alone is sequenced strictly by frequency: er, ir, ur, wor, ear).
| Team | Sounds, in teaching order | Other jobs, coming later |
|---|---|---|
| a | /ă/ (1.1) | |
| o | /ŏ/ (1.12) | |
| d | /d/ (1.13) | |
| c | /k/ (1.14) | |
| u | /ŭ/ (1.15) | |
| g | /g/ (1.16) | |
| b | /b/ (1.17) | |
| e | /ĕ/ (1.18) | |
| m | /m/ (1.2) | |
| s | /s/ (1.3) | |
| t | /t/ (1.4) | |
| p | /p/ (1.6) | |
| f | /f/ (1.7) | |
| i | /ĭ/ (1.8) | |
| n | /n/ (1.9) | |
| -s | /s/ (2.1) → /z/ (2.2) | |
| x | /ks/ (2.10) | |
| qu | /kw/ (2.11) | |
| v | /v/ (2.12) | |
| z | /z/ (2.13) | |
| k | /k/ (2.3) | |
| h | /h/ (2.4) | |
| r | /r/ (2.5) | |
| l | /l/ (2.6) | |
| w | /w/ (2.7) | |
| j | /j/ (2.8) | |
| y | /y/ (2.9) → /ī/ (6.5) → /ē/ (6.6) | |
| ff | /f/ (3.1) | |
| ll | /l/ (3.1) | |
| ss | /s/ (3.1) | |
| zz | /z/ (3.1) | |
| ng | /ŋ/ (3.10) | |
| nk | /ŋk/ (3.11) | |
| all | /awl/ (3.2) | |
| oll | /ōl/ (3.2) | |
| ull | /o͝ol/ (3.2) | |
| ck | /k/ (3.3) | |
| sh | /sh/ (3.4) | |
| th | /th/ (voiced) (3.5) → /th/ (unvoiced) (3.6) | |
| ch | /ch/ (3.7) | also /k/ (school) and /sh/ (machine); machine is taught now as an explained heart word, the /k/ and /sh/ jobs are Level 11+ lessons |
| wh | /w/ (3.9) | |
| ph | /f/ (3.9) | |
| a_e | /ā/ (4.1) | |
| i_e | /ī/ (4.2) | |
| o_e | /ō/ (4.3) | |
| e_e | /ē/ (4.4) | |
| u_e | /yū/ and /ū/ (4.5) | |
| ce | /s/ (4.7) | |
| ge | /j/ (4.8) | |
| ve | /v/ (4.9) | |
| -es | /ĕz/ (5.1) | |
| -ed | /ĕd/, /d/, /t/ (5.2) | |
| -ing | /ĭŋ/ (5.3) | |
| tch | /ch/ (6.1) | |
| dge | /j/ (6.2) | |
| old | /ōld/ (6.4) | |
| ild | /īld/ (6.4) | |
| ind | /īnd/ (6.4) | |
| ost | /ōst/ (6.4) | |
| le | /ul/ (6.7) | |
| ar | /ar/ (7.1) | |
| or | /or/ (7.2) | |
| ore | /or/ (7.2) | |
| er | /er/ (7.3) | |
| ir | /er/ (7.4) | |
| ur | /er/ (7.5) | |
| wor | /wer/ (7.6) | |
| air | /air/ (7.7) | |
| are | /air/ (7.7) | |
| ear | /air/ (7.7) | |
| war | /wor/ (7.7) | |
| ai | /ā/ (8.1) | |
| ay | /ā/ (8.1) | |
| ee | /ē/ (8.2) | |
| ea | /ē/ (8.3) | also /ĕ/ (bread, head) and /ā/ (great, break); great is taught now as an explained heart word, the full second and third jobs are Level 11+ lessons |
| oa | /ō/ (8.4) | |
| ow | /ō/ (8.4) → /ow/ (9.2) | |
| igh | /ī/ (8.5) | |
| ie | /ī/ (8.6) | |
| oe | /ō/ (8.7) | |
| ue | /ū/ (8.7) → /o͞o/ (9.5) | |
| ew | /ū/ (8.7) → /o͞o/ (9.5) | |
| ey | /ē/ (8.7) | also /ā/ (they), taught now as an explained heart word (a rare job for the team) |
| oo | /o͞o/ (9.1) → /o͝o/ (9.1) | |
| ou | /ow/ (9.2) | also /ū/ (soup), /ŭ/ (young, touch) and /or/ (four); young, touch and four are taught now as explained heart words, the remaining jobs are Level 11+ lessons |
| oi | /oy/ (9.3) | |
| oy | /oy/ (9.3) | |
| au | /aw/ (9.4) | |
| aw | /aw/ (9.4) | |
| ui | /o͞o/ (9.5) | |
| tion | /shun/ (10.6) | |
| sion | /shun/ (10.6) |
What the program does not teach yet, and knows it. The suffix spelling conventions (the 1-1-1 doubling rule for hop → hopping, dropping the silent e for make → making, and changing y to i for cry → cried) are read correctly by the flex-it routine but are not yet taught as spelling rules; they are scheduled for Levels 11+, alongside the silent-letter teams (kn, wr, gn), ei and eigh, the full ough family as a lesson of its own, and ci/ti/si for /sh/. We would rather name the edge of the map than pretend there is no edge.
Level 1 First Sounds, First Words
CVC core. Your child reads real words from week 1. UFLI 1 to 19 equivalent
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | a /ă/, first sound, first letter | a /ă/ | ||
| 1.2 | m /m/. And the first word: am | m /m/ | ||
| 1.3 | s /s/, Sam appears | s /s/ | as (only "s" is odd)s says /z/ here. Becomes fully decodable at step 2.2 ⟲ | |
| 1.4 | t /t/ | t /t/ | I (only "I" is odd)says its name. Decodable as an open syllable at 5.7 ⟲ | |
| 1.5 | VC & CVC blending routine, first sentences | a (only "a" is odd)in speech it relaxes to /uh/ (the schwa). That is how we talk, not how we spell: for writing, say it clearly as written, 'a' ⟲ the (only "e" is odd)th comes at Level 3 ⟲. The e relaxes only in our speech; for spelling, wake it up and say 'thee' read reads | ||
| 1.6 | p /p/ | p /p/ | ||
| 1.7 | f /f/ | f /f/ | ||
| 1.8 | i /ĭ/, second vowel | i /ĭ/ | is (only "s" is odd)s says /z/. Decodable at 2.2 ⟲ | |
| 1.9 | n /n/ | n /n/ | his (only "s" is odd)s says /z/. Decodable at 2.2 ⟲ | |
| 1.10 | CVC practice. A and i minimal pairs | |||
| 1.11 | Nasalized a: an, am families | |||
| 1.12 | o /ŏ/, third vowel | o /ŏ/ | to (only "o" is odd)o says /ū/ here | |
| 1.13 | d /d/ | d /d/ | of (only "f" is odd)f says /v/. The only English word where it does | |
| 1.14 | c /k/ | c /k/ | ||
| 1.15 | u /ŭ/, fourth vowel | u /ŭ/ | ||
| 1.16 | g /g/ | g /g/ | has (only "s" is odd)s says /z/. Decodable at 2.2 ⟲ out | |
| 1.17 | b /b/. The b/d showdown | b /b/ | was (only "a·s" is odd)s says /z/ (that rule arrives at 2.2 ⟲); a after w bends, a story told at 9.6 ⟲. For spelling, wake the a: say 'wass' | |
| 1.18 | e /ĕ/. Fifth and final short vowel | e /ĕ/ | ||
| 1.19 | Short-vowel review. All five vowels |
Level 2 Alphabet Complete & Word Building
The rest of the alphabet, then blends. 4- and 5-sound words. UFLI 20 to 41c equivalent (blends made an explicit unit for intervention. Flagged for reviewer)
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | -s /s/, one cat, two cats (plural) | -s /s/ | they (only "ey" is odd)ey says /ā/ here, a rare job for that team (ey usually says /ē/, key, taught at 8.7). The heart stays on the /ā/ job you door | |
| 2.2 | -s /z/. And four heart words earn their wings | -s /z/ | are (only "a·e" is odd)the r sounds out. a-r together just say /ar/ (that pattern arrives at 7.1 ⟲), and the e is silent | ⟲ is, his, has, as |
| 2.3 | k /k/. And when to use k vs. c | k /k/ | do (only "o" is odd)o says /ū/ | |
| 2.4 | h /h/ | h /h/ | have (only "e" is odd)the v-e convention makes this decodable at 4.9 ⟲ | |
| 2.5 | r /r/ | r /r/ | fromevery letter behaves; the o only relaxes in fast speech. For spelling, wake it: say 'from' with a clear /ŏ/, rhymes with Tom | |
| 2.6 | l /l/ | l /l/ | said (only "ai" is odd)say + d: said is just say wearing its past-tense coat, the y trades places with i inside the word. Speech clips it to 'sed'; for spelling, think 'say-d' | |
| 2.7 | w /w/ | w /w/ | what (only "wh" is odd)wh comes at Level 3 ⟲. The a after w bends in speech (that story arrives at 9.6); for spelling, wake it: say 'what' with a clear /ă/ | |
| 2.8 | j /j/ | j /j/ | one (only "o·e" is odd)the o hides a /w/ nobody wrote, and the e is silent. Its cousins once and only keep the same o, one family, one strange old spelling | |
| 2.9 | y /y/ | y /y/ | two (only "wo" is odd)the w is not random: two keeps the tw of its family, twin, twice, twenty, twelve. o says /ū/ | |
| 2.10 | x /ks/, one letter, two sounds | x /ks/ | were (only "ere" is odd)sounds like 'wur'. Decodable-ish at 7.6 ⟲ | |
| 2.11 | qu /kw/. The letter that never goes alone | qu /kw/ | ||
| 2.12 | v /v/ | v /v/ | ||
| 2.13 | z /z/, alphabet complete! | z /z/ | ||
| 2.14 | Initial blends, s-, l-, r- families (stop, flag, grab) | |||
| 2.15 | Final blends, fast, jump, hand, milk | built | ||
| 2.16 | Blends on both ends, stamp, crust, strap (CCVCC / CCCVC) | |||
| 2.17 | Cumulative review. Short vowels + every blend |
Level 3 Digraphs & First Spelling Conventions
Letters team up, sh, ch, th and friends unlock real stories. UFLI 42 to 53 equivalent
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | FLSZ rule, off, hill, miss, buzz | ff /f/, ll /l/, ss /s/, zz /z/ | who (only "o" is odd)o says /ū/. The wh part becomes regular at 3.9 ⟲ | |
| 3.2 | -all, -oll, -ull, ball, roll, full | all /awl/, oll /ōl/, ull /o͝ol/ | want (only "a" is odd)a after w relaxes toward /ŏ/. Regular at 9.6 ⟲ | |
| 3.3 | ck /k/, back, kick, duck | ck /k/ | your (only "our" is odd)y + our: your has our sitting inside it. Speech says 'yor'; for spelling, think 'y-OUR' | |
| 3.4 | sh /sh/. The first letter team | sh /sh/ | some (only "o·e" is odd)o says /ŭ/. The silent-e story comes at Level 4 | |
| 3.5 | th (voiced), this, that, them, then, with | th /th/ (voiced) | there (only "ere" is odd)th is regular as of today! ere says /air/ ⟲ here (only "ere" is odd)h is regular; ere says /ear/ | |
| 3.6 | th (unvoiced), thin, thick, bath, path | th /th/ (unvoiced) | come (only "o·e" is odd)o says /ŭ/. Just like some | |
| 3.7 | ch /ch/, chip, chat, lunch | ch /ch/ | ||
| 3.8 | Digraph review 1. Sh / ch / th discrimination | would (only "oul" is odd)sounds like 'wo͝od'. For spelling, march the letters: w-o-u-l-d, and its twins could and should march the same way | ||
| 3.9 | wh /w/ and ph /f/, when, whip; Phil, graph | wh /w/, ph /f/ | where (only "ere" is odd)wh is regular at this very step! ere says /air/ ⟲ | |
| 3.10 | ng /ŋ/, ring, song, long, strong | ng /ŋ/ | could (only "oul" is odd)rhymes with would, same oul. March the letters: c-o-u-l-d, the twins always match | |
| 3.11 | nk /ŋk/, pink, bank, think, drink | nk /ŋk/ | ||
| 3.12 | Digraph review 2. All the teams, cumulative |
Level 4 Silent-e (VCe) & Soft c/g
The silent e flips the vowel. Cap becomes cape. UFLI 54 to 62 equivalent
How the silent e is actually taught: the flip, minimal pairs first.
cap → capetap → tapemad → madebit → biterid → rideslim → slimehop → hopenot → noterob → robecub → cubetub → tubecut → cute
Each pattern opens with a word the child can already read, then the e lands and the vowel says its name. From the Level 4 teaching script itself:
“You already read this word: cap. Now watch. I'm adding one letter: cape. This e at the end is silent. It makes no sound. But it has a job: it reaches back over the p and makes the a say its NAME: /ā/. So this word is… cape.”
“Never call it 'magic e' without the job description. The e isn't magic, it has a JOB: it makes the vowel say its name.”
“Don't rush mixed lists yet. Pairs first (bit/bite), then singles. The checking habit is the whole lesson.”
Exception words that break the pattern (come, some) are never taught as examples of it; they wear hearts instead, see the heart-word column below.
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | a_e /ā/. Cap becomes cape | a_e /ā/ | away (only "ay" is odd)a + way, two words you know holding hands. ay says /ā/, its team lesson arrives at 8.1 ⟲. The first a relaxes only in speech; for spelling, wake it: say 'A-way' | |
| 4.2 | i_e /ī/. Bit becomes bite | i_e /ī/ | very (only "er" is odd)er says /er/. Decodable at 7.4 ⟲ | |
| 4.3 | o_e /ō/. Hop becomes hope | o_e /ō/ | how (only "ow" is odd)ow says /ow/. Decodable at 9.8 ⟲ | |
| 4.4 | VCe review 1 + e_e /ē/, these, theme, Pete | e_e /ē/ | been (only "ee" is odd)be + en, the -en ending that taken and given wear too. Speech clips it to 'bin'; for spelling, wake it: say 'BEE-en' | |
| 4.5 | u_e /yū/ and /ū/, cute, mule; rude, June | u_e /yū/ and /ū/ | now (only "ow" is odd)ow says /ow/. Decodable at 9.8 ⟲ | |
| 4.6 | VCe review 2, all five, mixed discrimination | many (only "a" is odd)a says /ĕ/, say 'menny' | ||
| 4.7 | _ce /s/, soft c: face, race, nice, mice | ce /s/ | any (only "a" is odd)a says /ĕ/. Rhymes with many | |
| 4.8 | _ge /j/, soft g: cage, page, huge, change | ge /j/ | again (only "ai" is odd)a + gain. In speech it softens to 'uh-GEN'; for spelling, wake it: say 'a-GAYN', rhymes with rain, and the letters spell themselves | |
| 4.9 | VCe review 3 + the ve convention, have, give, live | ve /v/ | because (only "au" is odd)be + cause. be behaves, an open syllable saying /bē/; au says /aw/, its team lesson arrives at 9.5 ⟲. Nothing to memorize, just one team met early people (only "eo" is odd)eo says /ē/. The -ple chunk becomes regular at 6.7 | ⟲ have |
Level 5 Reading Longer Words I
Endings, syllables, compounds. From one-syllable words to word architecture. UFLI 63 to 68 equivalent
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | -es /ĕz/, boxes, dishes, benches | -es /ĕz/ | says (only "ay" is odd)say + s, the sister of said. Speech clips it to 'sez'; the spelling is simply say plus s | |
| 5.2 | -ed, one ending, three sounds: /ĕd/, /d/, /t/ | -ed /ĕd/, /d/, /t/ | walk (only "al" is odd)for spelling, sound the sleeping l: say 'wal-k'. In speech it hides, 'wawk' | |
| 5.3 | -ing, jumping, fishing, thinking | -ing /ĭŋ/ | talk (only "al" is odd)for spelling, sound the sleeping l: say 'tal-k'. Rhymes with walk, same hidden l | |
| 5.4 | The syllable. Every beat has a vowel | also (only "al" is odd)al says /awl/. The o is a regular open syllable | ||
| 5.5 | Compound words, sunset, backpack, cupcake | their (only "eir" is odd)th is regular; eir says /air/ | ||
| 5.6 | Closed/closed two-syllable words, napkin, rabbit, basket | gone (only "o·e" is odd)o stays short /ŏ/. The e is silent but not magic | ||
| 5.7 | Open syllables, he, she, we, go, no, so + robot, music | done (only "o·e" is odd)o says /ŭ/. Like some and come goes (only "es" is odd)go is regular as of this step! -es just adds /z/ ⟲ | ⟲ I | |
| 5.8 | Schwa. The lazy vowel in unstressed beats: salad, wagon, seven | today (only "ay" is odd)to + day, a compound of two words you know. ay says /ā/, its team lesson arrives at 8.1 ⟲. For spelling, keep the o awake: say 'to-day' July (only "u·y" is odd)Ju- is open; y says /ī/. Decodable at 6.5 ⟲ | ⟲ the, a |
Level 6 Ending Spelling Patterns
Guards, long families, the two jobs of y and the -le beat. Endings your child can trust. UFLI 69 to 76 equivalent
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | tch /ch/. The short-vowel guard: catch, match, pitch | tch /ch/ | once (only "o" is odd)o says /wŭ/, say 'wunss'; the ce is your regular soft c | |
| 6.2 | dge /j/. The second guard: edge, badge, bridge, judge | dge /j/ | friend (only "ie" is odd)think fri-end to spell it: your friend has an end. In speech the ie softens to /ĕ/, 'frend' | |
| 6.3 | tch/dge review. The short-vowel guard generalization | only (only "o" is odd)o says /ō/, 'OWN-lee'; the y is /ē/, decodable at 6.6 ⟲ | ||
| 6.4 | Long VCC families, -ild, -old, -ind, -ost: wild, cold, find, most | old /ōld/, ild /īld/, ind /īnd/, ost /ōst/ | work (only "or" is odd)w+or says /wer/. Decodable at 7.6 ⟲ word (only "or" is odd)same w+or pattern as work. Decodable at 7.6 ⟲ | |
| 6.5 | y as /ī/. End of a one-beat word: my, fly, sky, try | y /ī/ | eye (only "e·e" is odd)the y does its usual /ī/ job, just like my and sky (taught this very step). The two silent e's stand guard on each side, a nose between two eyes | |
| 6.6 | y as /ē/. End of a multi-beat word: happy, funny, baby, candy | y /ē/ | busy (only "u" is odd)u says /ĭ/, 'BIZ-ee'; the final y is the regular /ē/ | |
| 6.7 | Consonant-le, table, little, apple, jungle | le /ul/ | beautiful (only "eau" is odd)eau says /ū/, 'BYOO-tuh-ful'. Spell it with the old chant: b-e-a-u-tiful; the rest of the word behaves | |
| 6.8 | Ending patterns cumulative review, bundle, frosty, unkind, stretchy | learn (only "ear" is odd)ear says /er/, say 'lern' world (only "or" is odd)w+or says /wer/ again. Decodable at 7.6 ⟲ |
Level 7 R-Controlled Vowels (Bossy R)
When r grabs the vowel, car, corn, her, bird, turn, chair. The five spellings your child can finally trust. UFLI 77 to 86 equivalent
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | ar /ar/. The bossy r grabs a: car, star, farm, sharp | ar /ar/ | are (only "e" is odd)ar sounds out now, it was taught this very step. Only the leftover silent e is odd. Not 'air' | |
| 7.2 | or /or/ and ore /or/. The bossy r grabs o: for, corn, fort; more, store, score | or /or/, ore /or/ | four (only "our" is odd)o-u-r here says /or/, say 'for'. The number four your (only "our" is odd)o-u-r says /or/, 'yor'. Already met as a tricky word; here is its r-controlled home | |
| 7.3 | er /er/. The bossy r grabs e: her, fern, term, herd | er /er/ | were (only "ere" is odd)e-r-e says /wer/, say 'wer', rhymes with her | |
| 7.4 | ir /er/. The second spelling of /er/: bird, girl, first, shirt | ir /er/ | girlfully decodable now (g + ir + l), kept here as the anchor word for ir | |
| 7.5 | ur /er/. The third spelling of /er/: turn, hurt, curl, burst | ur /er/ | our (only "ou" is odd)the r sounds out. ou says /ow/ here, a team taught properly at 9.2 ⟲. 'Ow-er', our home. Different from four/your | |
| 7.6 | er/ir/ur generalization + w+or /wer/, one sound, three spellings, and the w-trick: work, word, world, worm | wor /wer/ | world (only "or" is odd)w+or says /wer/, 'werld'. First met in Level 6; now fully explained | |
| 7.7 | air/are/ear /air/ + w+ar /wor/. The gentle r: chair, care, bear; and the w-trick again: war, warm, ward | air /air/, are /air/, ear /air/, war /wor/ | bear (only "ear" is odd)e-a-r here says /air/, 'bair', rhymes with care. Not 'beer' wear (only "ear" is odd)e-a-r says /air/, 'wair'. We wear a coat. Same family as bear | |
| 7.8 | R-controlled review. The bossy r in two-syllable words: garden, winter, market, corner, thunder, perhaps | water (only "a" is odd)w+a here says /aw/, 'WAW-ter'; the -ter is regular r-controlled /er/ |
Level 8 Vowel Teams: The Long Sounds
Two letters, one long sound. When vowels team up, the first one usually does the talking. UFLI 87 to 96 equivalent
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | ai and ay /ā/. The long-a team: rain, train, play, day | ai /ā/, ay /ā/ | they (only "ey" is odd)ey here says /ā/, not /ē/, say 'thay' again (only "ai" is odd)a + gain. Speech softens it to 'uh-GEN'; for spelling, wake it: say 'a-GAYN', rhymes with rain eyes eye | |
| 8.2 | ee /ē/. The long-e team: see, green, sweet, tree | ee /ē/ | been (only "ee" is odd)be + en, like taken and given. Speech says 'bin'; for spelling, wake it: say 'BEE-en' | |
| 8.3 | ea /ē/ and ea /ĕ/ flex, eat, beach, dream; head, bread | ea /ē/ | great (only "ea" is odd)ea says /ā/ here, not /ē/, say 'grayt'; rhymes with eight | |
| 8.4 | oa and ow /ō/. The long-o team: boat, road, snow, grow | oa /ō/, ow /ō/ | ||
| 8.5 | igh /ī/. The three-letter long-i team: light, night, bright | igh /ī/ | ||
| 8.6 | ie /ī/ and ie /ē/, pie, tie; field, chief | ie /ī/ | ||
| 8.7 | oe, ue, ew long review + ey /ē/, toe, blue, new, key | oe /ō/, ue /ū/, ew /ū/, ey /ē/ | money (only "o" is odd)the o says /ŭ/, 'MUN-ee'; the ey is the regular /ē/, decodable at 8.7 ⟲ key (only "ey" is odd)ey says /ē/, 'kee'; an honest team, just learned early | |
| 8.8 | Vowel-team review, two-beat words: rainbow, teacher, seaweed, railway, oatmeal |
Level 9 Sliding Vowels & Big-Word Splitting
The moon and the book, the loud cloud, coins and toys, the paw and the claw. Plus the move that cracks any long word in two. UFLI 97 to 110 equivalent
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | oo. The two jobs: long /o͞o/ (moon, food) and short /o͝o/ (book, foot) | oo /o͞o/, oo /o͝o/ | would (only "oul" is odd)o-u-l-d says /wood/, say 'wood'; one of three twins (would, could, should) could (only "oul" is odd)same o-u-l-d pattern as would, say 'cood' should (only "oul" is odd)same o-u-l-d pattern again, say 'shood' | |
| 9.2 | ou / ow. The loud /ow/: cloud, out; cow, down | ou /ow/, ow /ow/ | young (only "ou" is odd)ou says /ŭ/ here, not /ow/, say 'yung' touch (only "ou" is odd)ou says /ŭ/ and ch is regular, say 'tuch' | |
| 9.3 | oi / oy. The coin sound /oy/: coin, soil; boy, toy | oi /oy/, oy /oy/ | ||
| 9.4 | au / aw. The yawn sound /aw/: haul, sauce; paw, draw | au /aw/, aw /aw/ | enough (only "ough" is odd)o-u-g-h says /ŭf/, say 'ee-NUFF' | |
| 9.5 | ew / ue / ui. Three more spellings of long /o͞o/: new, flew; blue, true; fruit, suit | ew /o͞o/, ue /o͞o/, ui /o͞o/ | shoe (only "oe" is odd)oe says /o͞o/ here, not /ō/, say 'shoo' | |
| 9.6 | Big-word splitting: closed-syllable division VC/CV, napkin, basket, sunset, magnet | |||
| 9.7 | Big-word splitting: open-syllable division V/CV, robot, tiger, paper. Plus the VC/V flex (cabin, robin) | |||
| 9.8 | Review. The lazy schwa /uh/ in big words, plus every Level 9 vowel team mixed | about (only "a" is odd)the ou is your regular /ow/. The first a relaxes only in speech; for spelling, wake it: say 'A-bout' animal (only "a" is odd)say it to spell it: 'AN-i-mal', waking every vowel, the way you might think Wed-nes-day to spell Wednesday. Speech relaxes it to 'AN-uh-mul' |
Level 10 Word Parts: Prefixes, Suffixes & Roots
Stop reading long words letter by letter. Read them part by part, and the meaning comes with the chunk. UFLI 111 to 128 equivalent
| Step | What is taught | New letters & patterns | Heart words (no whole word is ever memorized: each word is taught through its structure, only the one odd part is held, and the reason is printed under each word) | Now fully decodable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | Prefixes un- and re-. Un- = 'not/opposite', re- = 'again/back': unhappy, redo | people (only "eo" is odd)eo says /ē/, 'PEE-pul'; the -ple is your regular consonant-le beat | ||
| 10.2 | Prefixes pre-, dis-, mis-. Pre- = 'before', dis- = 'not/away', mis- = 'wrong': preheat, dislike, mistrust | through (only "ough" is odd)ough says /o͞o/, say 'throo'; the whole tail is a rule-breaker | ||
| 10.3 | Prefixes in-, im-, non- = 'not', incomplete, impossible, nonstop | thought (only "ough" is odd)ough says /aw/ here, say 'thawt'; same letters as through, different job | ||
| 10.4 | Suffixes -ful, -less, -ness, -ly, helpful, fearless, kindness, slowly | |||
| 10.5 | Suffixes -ment and -able/-ible, payment, treatment; readable, sensible | |||
| 10.6 | Suffix -tion/-sion = /shun/, action, station; mission, vision | tion /shun/, sion /shun/ | science (only "sci" is odd)sc says /s/ before i, 'SY-unss'; the rest behaves | |
| 10.7 | Greek & Latin roots: port, struct, dict, spect, tract. The meaning lives in the root | answer (only "w" is odd)the silent w is a fossil from swear: an answer was once a sworn reply. Say 'AN-ser', spell an + swer | ||
| 10.8 | Putting it together. Academic big words from roots + prefixes + suffixes: construction, prediction, transportation, inspector | machine (only "ch" is odd)ch says /sh/ here, 'muh-SHEEN'; a borrowed-from-French word |
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