Phonetic Level 1A

Practice makes reading easier, and eventually automatic. Beginning readers want to read, and this format shows them they can. The photos are a scaffold: they help students figure out how to pronounce each label. The control cards let students find and fix their own errors, which is how humans learn best. No teacher correction is required.

First, make sure the student knows the name of each picture. Use the three-period lesson if needed. Next, lay out the picture cards in a column. The student sounds out each word label and matches it to its picture. Finally, the student places each control card just to the right of its photo and word pair to check for errors and fix them independently. Once students are reading successfully, extend the work with a dictation game: one student reads a control card aloud while another writes the word with the movable alphabet, then they check the spelling with the control card. See our guide to phonetic reading cards for more.

These cards work just like the phonetic object box but add a built-in control of error. After your first phonetic object box lessons, move to these cards to keep the reading going while students find and correct their own mistakes.

Students should have solid letter-sound knowledge and experience building words with a movable alphabet. In Montessori, encoding comes before decoding: students spell words before they easily read them.

Typically ages 3 to 6, whenever a student can blend sounds. These cards also support:

• Older students who are beginning to read
• English learners
• Students in reading intervention

Move on to Packet 1B, then work through Packets 1C to 1E, which add gentle challenges. After Level 1 comes Level 2, the blue series, with consonant blends. Find them all with our phonetic 3-part cards.