SOUND CITY READING
  • A Sequential Phonics Program
    • How To Navigate This Site
    • How To Get Started
    • Deciding Which Books To Use >
      • Level 4 - Phonics Patterns
    • Understanding Vowels
    • Understanding Consonants
    • Lesson Outlines >
      • Basic Phonics Patterns Lesson Outline
    • Printing Recommendations >
      • Doing Your Own Printing
      • Using A Print Shop
    • Other Recommended Sites
  • Overview
    • Overview Of All Of The Phonics Books
    • Sound Story Overview
    • Phonemic Awareness Picture Pages Overview
    • Level 1. Learning The Alphabet Overview
    • Level 2. Exploring Sounds In Words Overview
    • Level 3. Short Vowels Overview
    • Level 4. Phonics Patterns Overview >
      • Phonetic Words And Stories, 1-8
      • Basic Phonics Patterns, 1-8
      • Know The Phonetic Code, 1-3
      • Color-Coded Phonetic Lists
    • Level 5. Advanced Phonics Patterns Overview
    • Handwriting Books Overview
    • Charts, Cards, And Games Overview
    • Wall Charts Overview >
      • Current Wall Charts
      • Previous Wall Charts
  • PDF Files
    • How To Work With PDF Files
    • PDF File For Baseline Assessment
    • PDF File For Sequence Charts And Lesson Plans
    • PDF File For A Sound Story About Audrey And Brad
    • PDF File For Phonemic Awareness Picture Pages
    • PDF Files For Handwriting >
      • PDF Files For Manuscript Handwriting Books
      • PDF Files For Cursive Handwriting Books
    • PDF Files - Phonics Books Listed By Level >
      • PDF Files For Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet
      • PDF Files For Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words
      • PDF Files For Level 3 - Short Vowels
      • PDF Files For Level 4 - Phonics Patterns Books 1-8
      • PDF Files For Level 5 - Advanced Phonics Patterns
    • PDF Files For Wall Charts
    • PDF Files For Flashcards
    • PDF Files For Activities And Games
    • Older PDF Files
  • Picture Files
    • Sound Story Pictures
    • Keyword/Sound Chart Pictures
    • Level 1 And 2 Pictures
    • Level 3 Pictures
    • Level 4 Pictures
    • Consonant Blends
    • Level 5 Pictures
  • Audio
    • Sound Story >
      • Sound Story Borders Part 1
      • Sound Story Borders Part 2
      • Sound Story, Small, Part 1
    • Sound Pictures >
      • Sound Pictures Pt 1
      • Sound Pictures Pt 2
    • Letter Sounds >
      • Alphabet Sounds
      • More Letter Sounds
    • Sound Charts >
      • Learning The Alphabet And Exploring Sounds In Words Charts
      • Rhyming Short Vowel Words And Sentences Sound Charts
      • Mixed Short Vowel Words And Sentences Sound Charts
      • Book 1 Sound Charts
      • Book 2 Sound Charts
    • Sound Blending >
      • Rhyming Short Vowel Words And Sentences Sd Bl
    • Picture/Word Pages >
      • Rhyming Short Vowel Words And Sentences P/W Pages
  • Video
    • Sound Story Part 1 Videos
    • Book 2 Long A Patterns
    • Advanced Sound Charts
  • Reading Street
    • Reading Street Stories
    • Reading Street Tests
    • Spelling Worksheets For Reading Street
    • Decoding Practice Pages To Use With Reading Street
    • Word Cards And Phonogram Cards
  • Blog
    • Read My Blog
    • Contact Me
    • Share Your Experience
    • Take This Expanded Survey
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Overview Of All Of The Phonics Books


To see more information about any of the books, including sample pages, click on the desired subheadings ​under the Overview Of Materials tab.
To download free PDF files for any of the books, click on PDF FILES on the main menu and click on the desired sub-heading.

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Scroll down to see the books for each level with a short summary of each one.  

Bar Charts


The chart on the left shows the five main instructional levels and general guidelines for grade levels.
This chart on the right shows the various books which may be used at each level.  The bars extending to the right show that those books can be used at any of the higher levels as needed.
Click on the chart to see an expanded view.
Click on the chart to see an expanded view.

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Flow Charts


The flow chart below shows the books used at each level and the various choices you can make as you work through the program. In some cases there are several different books or sets of books at the same level. You can select the books best suited to your students.  
Click on the either side of the chart to see an expanded view.

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The flowchart below shows an alternate pathway in which Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words is taught simultaneously with Level 3 - Mixed Short Vowel Words And Sentences.  

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Books To Use At Any Level


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A Sound Story
​About Audrey And Brad​​
This book introduces sound pictures within the framework of a story.  Each picture represents a speech sound in our language.  Students learn the sound for each picture along with the related letters and letter patterns that represent those sounds.  

The sound pictures are used on the sound charts found at the beginning of many of the phonics books.  These charts provide a quick daily review of the patterns already learned.  Even at the advanced level, the sound pictures are useful when teaching less common patterns and when teaching ending syllables such as tion/addition and ture/nature.

The version shown above has a full page for each section of the story, with a large sound picture with the related letters on the facing page.  This format works well when reading the story aloud to a group.

A small version of the sound story is included in most of the phonics books.  ​
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​Phonemic Awareness
Picture Pages​
This book teaches beginning phonemic awareness skills, including oral blending, rhyming, identification of beginning and ending sounds, and syllable awareness.  A knowledge of the alphabet is not required to do the exercises. 

​Many of the same exercises are included in the Learning The Alphabet books and the Exploring Sounds In Words book.  However, some students who have already learned the alphabet and are in the process of learning to read may not have had a chance to develop these phonemic awareness skills, or they may need extra practice.  This book is designed to serve that purpose.
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Picture Dictionary
​A-Z
This book is used to familiarize students with the concept of beginning and ending letter sounds at the Exploring Sounds In Words level.  

It contains one or two illustrated word lists for each letter of the alphabet.  The first list has words that all begin with the same sound.  The second list has words that end with the same sound.  Lists are included for both the short and long vowel sounds.   

​For older students, the book can be used as a picture dictionary to help students spell words while they are doing creative writing.
​
There is a second list in a different format showing the most common three hundred words. This list does not have pictures.  The words can be studied to develop instant word recognition.  The list can also be used as a spelling reference.

Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet 


       Students complete Book 1 first and then complete Book 2.

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Learning The Alphabet, Books 1 And 2 
  • Oral Blending/Segmenting Pages
  • Sound Story Pages
  • Handwriting Readiness Picture Pages
  • Handwriting Letter Tracing Pages
  • ​Letter Discrimination Pages
  • Rhyming Pages
  • ​Print Awareness Lessons

Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words


 These three books are used simultaneously as students work through Level 2.

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Exploring Sounds In Words
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Exploring Sounds In Words
​Manuscript Handwriting
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​Picture Dictionary A-Z
  • Beginning Sound Pages
  • Ending Sound Pages
  • Oral Blending/Segmenting Pages
  • ​Rhyming Pages
  • Put It Together Pages - Beginning And Ending Sounds; Medial Short Vowel Sound; Beginning, Middle, AND Ending Sound
  • Silly Sounds Pages - Blend Two Letter Sounds Together: ab, ac, ad, af, ag...
  • Trace Large Capital And Lower Case Letters
  • Trace And Copy Small Capital And Lower Case Letters
  • Illustrated Word Lists For Each Letter Of The Alphabet That Begin With The Same Letter (Same beginning sounds.)
  • Illustrated Word Lists That End With The Same Letter (Same ending sounds.)
  • High Frequency Word List - First 200 Most Common Words, In Alphabetical Order (Not illustrated)

Level 3 - Short Vowels


Short Vowel Words And Sentences - For beginning and early readers, choose ONE of these books to teach short vowel words. 

All three books have the same format.
  • Very Large Color-Coded Print
  • ​Ten Words And Pictures Per Page 
  • Students Learn To Decode As They Study New Words
  • Includes Easy Sentences
  • The Suffix _s Is Introduced For Nouns And Verbs

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Rhyming Short Vowel
​Words And Sentences
Each word list is made up of rhyming words.  Students study short vowel words in this order: short a, short o, short i, short u, and short e. Students learn all of the short a words, then all of the short o words, and so on.  There are several  picture/word pages and sentence pages for each short vowel.  Students must be able to write all the letters of the alphabet before beginning short a words. 

An optional set of introductory pages, which begin with short u words, may be used if desired while students are still learning to write the letters of the alphabet.  In this case, the instruction can be coordinated with the Exploring Sounds In Words books. 

This book has 5 introductory word lists, 30 regular word lists, and 18 sentence pages.
Mixed Short Vowel
​Words And Sentences
The order in which words are taught in this book is related to the handwriting sequence.  After students learn to write the first eight letters, t i h l n w u b, they will be ready to study the first short u word list.  The words on this list contain only the letters that have been taught so far in handwriting.  As more letters are taught in handwriting, students learn new sets of words that contain those letters. Because of this, the words for each short vowel are not all taught at the same time.  The word lists are mixed, changing from one short vowel to another as needed, based on the letters students have learned in handwriting.  Within each list, rhyming words are grouped together as far as possible.

This book has 24 word lists and 10 sentence pages.
Two-Page Short Vowel
​Words And Sentences
This book has the same format as the other books but teaches only two sets of words for each short vowel. Within each list, words have been selected that begin and end with as many different letters as possible.  To begin this book, students should be able to write all of the alphabet letters.   











This book has 10 word lists and 12 sentence pages.

More Short Vowel Books


The following books also teach short vowel words. 
They can be used for supplementary instruction when using any of the books listed above. 
​They can also be used by themselves for instruction and review with students who are a little older.

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Color-Coded Short Vowel Lists
  • Color-Coded Vowels
  • Rhyming And Body-Coda Word Lists
  • Words Are Not Illustrated
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Students read rhyming and body-coda (same beginning sound) word lists to develop their decoding skills. This book helps students begin to "sound out" words smoothly, without a break between the sounds in the words.  With rhyming lists, students just need to change the beginning letter sounds as they read.  With body-coda lists, they just need to change the ending sounds.  By changing just one sound at a time, students are able to read more fluently as they pronounce each word.  With practice, they learn to slide the sounds together automatically.  Because they learn to change both beginning and ending sounds as they read the two types of lists, they learn to pay attention to both the beginning and ending sound when they read.
Basic Short Vowels
  • All Black Print
  • ​Illustrated Short Vowel Words And Sentences
  • ​Rhyming And Body-Coda Word Lists​
This book has many words to read for each short vowel.  They are arranged in both rhyming and body-coda (same beginning sound) lists.  Reading both types of lists helps students become more fluent when reading short vowel words.  They learn to pay attention to both the beginning and the ending consonants in words.  And they learn to slide the sounds together smoothly as they read.  Each word is illustrated.  Students also learn a few sight words and begin reading simple short vowel sentences. 

Students are also introduced to the use of the suffix _s after nouns and verbs.

  
Know The Phonetic Code, Vol. 1
In this book students study short vowels and also words with phonetic patterns, for example, ai/rain, sh/ship, and ow/cow.
  • Smaller Black Print
  • Rhyming And Body-Coda Short Vowel Word Lists
  • ​Words Are Not Illustrated
  • Also Includes Phonics Patterns From Phonetic Words And Stories, Book 1 and Book 2
  • ​The Same Lists Are Included In Know The Phonetic Code, No Stories​​​​
The text in this book is smaller, and the words are not illustrated.  Students practice reading both rhyming and body-coda (same beginning sound) short vowel lists.  This helps students to become more fluent when they read short vowel words.  

Students learn a few sight words so that they are able to begin reading simple short vowel sentences.  The sentences are illustrated.  Students are also introduced to short vowel words with the suffix _s after nouns and verbs.

Short Vowel Booklets


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Short Vowel Booklets
These small booklets are 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 inches.  Students read short vowel words in short rhyming lists, turn the page, and then read the same words paired with pictures.  After learning a few sight words (a, A, was, as, has, is, his, I) students read simple short vowel sentences, which are also illustrated.  

Level 4 - Phonics Patterns


After students learn to read short vowel words, they will be ready to begin reading words with various phonics patterns, such as sh/ship, ee/feet, ow/cow, and ar/car. 

​ In this program there are three different sets of books to teach the phonics patterns needed for students to begin reading real books and stories.  Each set of books teaches the same phonics patterns in the same order, however each set is printed in a completely different format.  This allows teachers and parents to choose the format best suited for their students.  It also provides additional materials to use as extra practice, either at school or at home.


​Phonetic Words And Stories
​
Books 1-8
​
  • Very Large Color-Coded Print
  • Word Lists Are Printed In Two Columns, The First Column Has Directional Arrows Between Each Sound Unit
  • ​Ten Words And Pictures Per Page 
  • Students Do Phonemic Awareness Exercises With Each Set Of Words To Help Them Learn To Decode Those Words
  • Easy, Illustrated Practice Stories In Both Color-Coded And All Black Print. 

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The Phonetic Words And Stories books are ideal for students who are just learning to read.  They also work well with older students who would benefit from extra practice with phonemic awareness, decoding, and word recognition skills. Students learn to read word phonetically, using a process called decoding.  They also learn to spell new words.  Students study one new phonics pattern at a time.  Sight words are taught as rule breakers that cannot be decoded as expected.  Developing these skills helps students begin to read more confidently and with greater fluency.  After students have studied several new patterns, they read a short practice story that contains words with the new patterns and any previous patterns that have been studied.  As students work through the books in this series, they also learn to read and write words that are contractions, words with common suffixes, and words with more than one syllable.  


​Basic Phonics Patterns
Books 1, 2, 3, 4, 5-6, 7-8
​

  •  Large, All Black Print
  • Illustrated Words And Sentences
  • Illustrated Practice Stories​
Students read illustrated lists of words for each new phonetic pattern.  The patterns are taught in the same sequence in which they appear in the Phonetic Words And Stories books.  Unlike the Phonetic Words And Stories, Books 1-8, these lists have more than ten words, with the number of words depending on the pattern being studied.  Students then read a few illustrated sentences to practice reading some of the same words in context.  Lessons that teach contractions, suffixes, and syllable patterns are included.  After students have studied several new phonetic patterns, they read a short practice story that contains words with the new patterns and any previous patterns that have been studied.  These are the same practice stories found in Phonetic Words And Stories, Books 1-8, presented in a smaller format.

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Know The Phonetic Code
Volumes 1-3
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  • Smaller All Black Print
  • The Words Are Not Illustrated
  • Volume 1 Teaches Short Vowels And The Patterns Taught in Phonetic Words And Stories, Books 1 And 2
  • Volume 2 Teaches The Patterns Taught in Phonetic Words And Stories, Book 3, 4, And 5
  • Volume 3 Teaches The Patterns Taught In Phonetic Words And Stories , Books 5, 6, And 7
  • Includes The Same Illustrated Practice Stories​
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Students read word lists for each new pattern.  Both one and two-syllable words are included for each phonetic pattern.  After learning several new patterns, students read an easy practice story with words that contain those patterns.

Know The Phonetic Code
No Stories
​

  • Smaller All Black Print
  • The Words Are Not Illustrated
  • These Are Exactly The Same Word Lists Found In Know The Phonetic Code, Volumes 1-3.
  • Students Study Words With All Of The Patterns Taught In ​Phonetic Words And Stories, Books 1-8
  • Short Vowel Words Are Also Included At The Beginning Of The Book
  • This Book Does Not Have Practice Stories
  • You Can Use This Book As A Review Book When Teaching The Advanced Phonics Patterns
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Color-Coded Phonetic Lists
  • Color-Coded Vowels
  • Rhyming And Body-Coda Word Lists
  • No Pictures
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Students read lists of words for each phonetic pattern taught in Phonetic Words And Stories, Book 1-8. 

The words have color-coded vowels.  Each vowel sound is printed in a designated color.  For example, patterns with the long a sound are printed in dark red, and patterns with the long e sound are printed in dark green.  The colors do not have to be taught.  Students automatically internalize the colors as they practice the vowel charts each day.

There are three reasons for the colors. 
  1. Students can see the vowel pattern clearly, since it stands out in the word. 
  2. Patterns that represent more than one sound can be printed in different colors to show that.  For example, the ea in eat will be dark green to show the long e sound, whereas the ea in head will be light green to show the short e sound.  This is a visual way to help students intuitively understand that some letter patterns can represent two or more sounds.  If they are reading and see the words bean and head, the color coding will tell them that the vowel sounds are different.
  3. Sometimes two or more different letter patterns can represent the same sound in words, such as ai/ rain, a_e/safe, and ay/play.  The ai, a_e, and ay patterns are all printed in the same dark red color because they all represent the same sound.  If students are reading the words plain, stay, and cake, it will be intuitively clear that the vowel sound in each word is the same, because the vowel patterns are printed in the same color. 

Whenever possible, the words are presented in both rhyming and body-coda (same beginning sound) lists.  When students practice reading both types of lists, it helps them learn to decode words smoothly, without a break between the sounds.  

Level 5 - Advanced Phonics Patterns


Advanced Phonics Patterns From Children's Books
  • Smaller All Black Print
  • No Pictures
  • Students Read Twelve New Words With Each New Phonetic Pattern
  • Students Read Sentences With Each New Pattern
  • ​Students Read Trade Books That Coordinate With The Phonics Instruction
  • Students Study New Prefix And Suffix Patterns
  • Previous Syllable Patterns Are Included For Review
  • Advanced Ending Syllables (addition, nature, vision) Are Taught In Two Different Formats
Use this book after students have studied all the patterns in Phonetic Words And Stories, Books 1-8.  Students learn more consonant patterns, more suffix patterns, new prefix patterns, and new advanced ending syllable patterns.  As students work though the book, they will be able to read eighty one children's trade books, from the first grade to the fourth grade reading level.  Trade books must be purchased separately or checked out of the library.
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Handwriting Instruction


Easy Handwriting

Manuscript Handwriting

Cursive Handwriting


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Manuscript Handwriting 
​Tracing Pages

  • Students Trace Inside Large Capital And Lower Case Letter Outlines
  • Students Trace Inside Small Capital And Lower Case Letter Outlines   On  1 1/4 " Lined Paper​
Manuscript Handwriting
​On Letter Sized Paper
Students Trace And Copy Large And Small Letters


​
Cursive Handwriting
On Letter Sized Paper
Students Trace And Copy Large And Small Letters

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Exploring Sounds In Words
Manuscript Handwriting
  • Students Trace Large Capital And Lower Case Letters
  • Students Trace And Copy Small Capital And Lower Case Letters On 1" Lined Paper 
Manuscript Handwriting
​On Legal Paper 
Students Trace And Copy Large And Small Letters
Cursive Handwriting
On Legal Paper
Students Trace And Copy Large And Small Letters

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Manuscript Handwriting
​On Ledger Paper
Students Trace And Copy Large Letters
Cursive Handwriting
​On Ledger Paper
Students Trace And Copy Large Letters

To see more information for the various books, click on the desired subheadings ​in Overview Of Materials.

To download free PDF files for any of the books, click on PDF FILES on the menu and click on the desired sub-heading.

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Sound City Reading

All Materials Copyright 2018 by Kathryn J. Davis
All Rights Reserved
Teachers, parents, tutors, and schools may download and print PDF files to use with the students they teach. Under no circumstances are they to make a profit from distributing the materials.
​Teaching videos are free to watch, and they may be downloaded for personal use, at home or in the classroom. 
​All other uses of these materials are prohibited.
​You can contact me at kathjdavis@gmail.com.
  • A Sequential Phonics Program
    • How To Navigate This Site
    • How To Get Started
    • Deciding Which Books To Use >
      • Level 4 - Phonics Patterns
    • Understanding Vowels
    • Understanding Consonants
    • Lesson Outlines >
      • Basic Phonics Patterns Lesson Outline
    • Printing Recommendations >
      • Doing Your Own Printing
      • Using A Print Shop
    • Other Recommended Sites
  • Overview
    • Overview Of All Of The Phonics Books
    • Sound Story Overview
    • Phonemic Awareness Picture Pages Overview
    • Level 1. Learning The Alphabet Overview
    • Level 2. Exploring Sounds In Words Overview
    • Level 3. Short Vowels Overview
    • Level 4. Phonics Patterns Overview >
      • Phonetic Words And Stories, 1-8
      • Basic Phonics Patterns, 1-8
      • Know The Phonetic Code, 1-3
      • Color-Coded Phonetic Lists
    • Level 5. Advanced Phonics Patterns Overview
    • Handwriting Books Overview
    • Charts, Cards, And Games Overview
    • Wall Charts Overview >
      • Current Wall Charts
      • Previous Wall Charts
  • PDF Files
    • How To Work With PDF Files
    • PDF File For Baseline Assessment
    • PDF File For Sequence Charts And Lesson Plans
    • PDF File For A Sound Story About Audrey And Brad
    • PDF File For Phonemic Awareness Picture Pages
    • PDF Files For Handwriting >
      • PDF Files For Manuscript Handwriting Books
      • PDF Files For Cursive Handwriting Books
    • PDF Files - Phonics Books Listed By Level >
      • PDF Files For Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet
      • PDF Files For Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words
      • PDF Files For Level 3 - Short Vowels
      • PDF Files For Level 4 - Phonics Patterns Books 1-8
      • PDF Files For Level 5 - Advanced Phonics Patterns
    • PDF Files For Wall Charts
    • PDF Files For Flashcards
    • PDF Files For Activities And Games
    • Older PDF Files
  • Picture Files
    • Sound Story Pictures
    • Keyword/Sound Chart Pictures
    • Level 1 And 2 Pictures
    • Level 3 Pictures
    • Level 4 Pictures
    • Consonant Blends
    • Level 5 Pictures
  • Audio
    • Sound Story >
      • Sound Story Borders Part 1
      • Sound Story Borders Part 2
      • Sound Story, Small, Part 1
    • Sound Pictures >
      • Sound Pictures Pt 1
      • Sound Pictures Pt 2
    • Letter Sounds >
      • Alphabet Sounds
      • More Letter Sounds
    • Sound Charts >
      • Learning The Alphabet And Exploring Sounds In Words Charts
      • Rhyming Short Vowel Words And Sentences Sound Charts
      • Mixed Short Vowel Words And Sentences Sound Charts
      • Book 1 Sound Charts
      • Book 2 Sound Charts
    • Sound Blending >
      • Rhyming Short Vowel Words And Sentences Sd Bl
    • Picture/Word Pages >
      • Rhyming Short Vowel Words And Sentences P/W Pages
  • Video
    • Sound Story Part 1 Videos
    • Book 2 Long A Patterns
    • Advanced Sound Charts
  • Reading Street
    • Reading Street Stories
    • Reading Street Tests
    • Spelling Worksheets For Reading Street
    • Decoding Practice Pages To Use With Reading Street
    • Word Cards And Phonogram Cards
  • Blog
    • Read My Blog
    • Contact Me
    • Share Your Experience
    • Take This Expanded Survey