#75: The Phonics Staircase: What It Is and How to Use It
Teaching Phonics Shouldn’t Be a Guessing Game
Have you ever sat down to plan phonics and thought: “What should I teach next?” Should you keep reviewing short vowels? Add blends? Or start vowel teams?
That’s where the Phonics Staircase comes in.
Think of it like a ladder. Each rung is a new phonics skill. Kids climb one rung at a time. If we skip rungs, they slip. If we stay on the same rung too long, they get stuck. The staircase shows us the best order to teach phonics skills so kids can keep moving forward with confidence.
Floor 1: Letter Sounds
Start with a small set of letters that lets kids make lots of words quickly. For example: m, s, a, t, p, i, n. With just those, kids can read sat, pin, tap, map, sip.
After that, add the rest of the alphabet step by step until students know all the common sounds.
Floor 2: Digraphs (Two Letters, One Sound)
Next, teach kids that some letters team up to make a single sound:
- sh → ship, fish
- ch → chin, lunch
- th → thin, bath
Make it fun: give them “digraph detectives” cards and let them hunt for sh, ch, th in books or around the room.
Floor 3: Silent e (Magic e)
Now show how one little e can change a word:
- cap → cape
- hop → hope
- kit → kite
Write pairs on the board, read them together, and talk about how the vowel changes.
Floor 4: Beginning Blends
Teach kids how to blend two consonants at the start of words:
- bl → black, blink
- st → stop, stamp
- tr → tree, trap
Tip: Stretch out the first two sounds (sss…t-op) so they can hear how the blend works.
Floor 5: Ending Blends
Once beginning blends are strong, move to the end of words:
- mp → lamp, jump
- nd → hand, sand
- ft → lift, gift
Kids often mix these up, so give them word sorts: ending in -mp vs. -nd.
Floor 6: Alternate Spellings
Some letters make more than one sound:
- c → /k/ (cat) or /s/ (circle)
- g → /g/ (go) or /j/ (giant)
Make anchor charts with both sounds and add examples all year.
Floor 7: Vowel Teams
Two vowels can spell one sound:
- ai → rain, sail
- oa → boat, coat
- ee → tree, feet
Skip the old rhyme “when two vowels go walking…” (it only works sometimes). Instead, teach each vowel team one at a time with plenty of practice.
Floor 8: Diphthongs (Slide Sounds)
These are vowel sounds where your mouth moves:
- oi/oy → coin, boy
- ou/ow → loud, cow
- au/aw → haul, saw
Use mirrors so kids can see their mouth change as they say the sound.
Floor 9: R-Controlled Vowels
The letter r changes the sound of the vowel:
- ar → car, star
- er → her, fern
- ir → bird, dirt
- or → corn, fork
- ur → turn, curl
Practice with silly rhymes: “The car drove far” or “The bird is in the dirt.”
Floor 10: Suffixes (Word Endings)
Add word parts that change meaning:
- -ly → quick → quickly
- -less → hope → hopeless
- -ful → joy → joyful
Show how the base word stays the same while the suffix changes its meaning.
Floor 11: Trigraphs & Triple Blends
Three letters working together:
- tch → match
- dge → edge
- str → street
- spr → spring
Kids love using magnetic letters to “build” these tricky chunks.
Floor 12: Prefixes (Word Beginnings)
Teach common prefixes that change meaning:
- un- → unhappy
- re- → redo
- dis- → dislike
Connect to what they already know. If happy means glad, unhappy means not glad.
Floor 13: Contractions
Finally, show how two words squish together:
- do not → don’t
- he is → he’s
- we will → we’ll
Write both versions and have kids circle the missing letters.
How to Use the Staircase in Class
- Find each student’s step. Quick checks (like decodable word lists or phonics assessments) show where they are.
- Group by step. Put kids together who need the same skill.
- Teach, practice, check. Use word building, dictation, and decodable texts for practice. When kids can read and spell with the skill, move them up the staircase.
Why Teachers Love the Staircase
- It keeps lessons simple and focused.
- You always know what comes next.
- Kids stop guessing and start decoding.
- It helps you catch gaps before they grow.
Bringing It All Together
The Phonics Staircase is your roadmap. No more wondering where to start or what to review. Each step builds on the last, so your students climb higher, faster, and stronger as readers.
👉 Want the staircase in your lesson planner? You’ll find print-and-go lessons, decodable texts, and centers for every step inside The Science of Reading Formula.
Want the Staircase in Your Planner?
Grab the free Phonics Staircase Scope & Sequence (below) to keep in your lesson planner so you never skip a step—and always know what to teach next. Then pair each step with ready-to-print lessons, decodable passages, and centers inside The Science of Reading Formula.
LINKS
Become a Science of Reading Formula member!
WHAT TO LISTEN TO NEXT
Rate, Review, and Follow
If you loved this episode, please take a minute to rate and review my show! That helps the podcast world know that this show is worth sharing with other educators just like you.
Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review”. Then let me know what you loved most about the episode!
While you’re there, be sure to follow the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and I don’t want you to miss out! Follow right here.
