In Phase 4 children are not taught any new phonemes or graphemes. Instead, they are taught to further manipulate the phonemes and graphemes they have already learnt. Many of the words children explored in Phase 2 and 3 were monosyllabic (words of one syllable). In Phase 4 children explore more polysyllabic words (words containing more than one syllable). Many of the words in Phase 2 and 3 required children to blend approximately three sounds together in order to read them. Phase 4 requires children to blend an increasing number of sounds together in order to read.

 

In Phase 4 words are often referred to in relation to how many vowels and consonants they contain.
 

CVC Words

The word 'cod' is a CVC word (consonant / vowel / consonant). Other CVC words include: sad, net & him.
 

CCVC Words

The word 'crab' is a CCVC word (consonant / consonant / vowel / consonant). Other CCVC words include: trim, flat & step.

CVCC Words

The word 'help' is a CVCC word (consonant / vowel / consonant / consonant). Other CVCC words include: fist, mend and test.

 

As children progress through Phase 4 they become more confident and skilled in reading and spelling words with a greater number of letters and graphemes.