PhonicBooks | DK Learning
The Phonic Books® series contain expertly written, highly illustrated, age-appropriate books that provide targeted support for struggling KS3 readers, helping them strengthen their phonics skills and gain confidence in reading. These action-packed fantasy and adventure stories captivate older readers with striking illustrations and engaging storylines. With clear, accessible texts and a focus on phonetic patterns, Phonic Books® reinforce foundational literacy skills while ensuring engaging content for older students. Ideal for those who need extra support to catch up, Phonic Books® offer a practical and motivating way to improve reading fluency and comprehension.
View the Phonic Books Scope and Sequence
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Decodable books for older readers
Decodable books with fantasy and adventure stories, perfect for KS3 intervention programmes
- When a pupil begins a reading intervention program, it is important to assess what knowledge and skills the pupil has and what they have to learn. Use the diagnostic assessment in the Phonic Books Teacher Guide for guidance.
- Select a set of Phonic Books based on the recommendation.
- Work through the books and the corresponding activities in the activity book.
The activity books:
- Offer comprehension, blending, writing and spelling activities based on the stories in the reader sets.
- Help pupils to develop the skills necessary to become proficient readers including blending, segmenting and phoneme manipulation.
- Provide a simple and effective way for pupils to develop their reading and spelling.
- Include some activities that precede reading the books.
Phonic Books Scope and sequence
| Series | Who is it aimed at? | Phonics skills | Word count | |
| Moon Dogs | Set 1 | Those at the very early stages of reading. Consolidation of letter sound correspondences | Sounds of the alphabet at CVC level, double final consonant, ending –s | <60 |
| Extras Set 1 | ||||
| Set 2 | Those at the early stages of reading | Adjacent consonants and consonant digraphs (ch, sh, th, ng) ck, qu, ending -s | <80 | |
| Extras Set 2 | ||||
| Vowel Spellings | Those practising first vowel spellings | Two alternative vowel spellings (ai ay; ee ea; oa ow; ur ir; e ea; ow ou; oo ue; igh i; oo oui; or a aw; oy oi; ar a; air are; ear eer) | 100–130 | |
| Split Vowel Spellings | Those practising split vowel spellings | Split vowel spellings (a–e, e–e, i–e, o–e, and u–e) | 100–130 | |
| That Dog! | Those who can read simple CVC words | Adjacent consonants and consonant digraphs, wh, final le, suffixes -ed and -ing | 300 | |
| Magic Belt | ||||
| Mel on Mars | ||||
| Get Out of the Game | ||||
| Alba | Those who are able to read text at CVC/CVCC level who need support with consonant digraphs and some vowel spellings | Adjacent consonants and consonant digraphs, and alternative spellings for vowel sounds: ae, ee, oe, er, ow, ie, oo | 300 | |
| Totem | ||||
| Pet Sitters | ||||
| Dragon Eggs | Those practising alternative vowel spellings | Alternative spellings for the vowel sounds: ae, oe, er, ow/oi, oo, ie, or, air, and ar | 650–750 | |
| Talisman Series 1 | Those practising alternative vowel spellings and R-controlled vowels | Alternative spellings for the vowel sounds: ae, ee, oe, er, ow/oi, oo, ie, or, air, and ar | 450–500 | |
| Rescue | ||||
| Island Adventure | Those practising alternative vowel spellings | Alternative spellings for the vowel sounds: ae, ee, oe, er, ow/oi, oo, ie, or, air, and ar | 550–650 | |
| Talisman Series 2 | Those practising alternative spellings (vowel and consonant sounds) and Latin suffixes | Alternative vowel and consonant spellings and Latin suffixes, including additiona variant spellings | 550–650 | |
| Titan’s Gauntlets | Those practising alternative spellings (vowel and consonant sounds) and Latin suffixes | Alternative vowel and consonant spellings and Latin suffixes, including additional variant spellings | 700–900 | |
| Hidden in Paris | ||||
| Amber Guardians | Those needing to bridge the gap between decodable and mainstream books. Longer stories with a higher ratio of text to illustration to build reading fluency and stamina | Suffixes, prefixes and root words | 2800–3000 | |
These fantastic series from Phonic Books™ are expertly written by specialists who understand how important it is for children who have really struggled to read to have access to books that they think of as mature, fun and exciting. These highly illustrated, age-appropriate, appealing books include a practice page at the start to familiarise pupils with specific sounds and common words before they read, ensuring they gain confidence and achieve success.
