Powerpoint presentation to show parents and carers eg at parent information sessions www.readingteachertraining.com www.youtube.com/soundpics www.facebook.com/readaustralia

1. Reading and spelling info
session for parents
Brief overview of the Speech Sound
Pics™ (SSP Phonics) Approach !

2. Terminology……keeping it simple
Words are made up of speech sounds
ck
These speech sounds can be represented
on paper using ‘speech sound pics’
ie pictures of speech sounds

3. Say the word (grass)
Listen for the speech sounds
____ _____ _____ _____
1 2 3 4
Imagine you are taking a picture of each of the
4 speech sounds with your speech sound camera
– what might each one look like?
Which sound pic shall we choose?
The children imagine they are taking pictures of the 4 speech sounds, and choose
sound pics (representations) When you talk about letters these are simply letters
of the alphabet – and also have their own name. So, yes, this is an ‘es’ but what speech
sound is it a picture of? It’s one (there are 8 or 9) of the pictures for the speech sound ‘ssss’

4. Amazing spelling skills start
with SPEECH, and hearing
the smaller parts in words.
Spelling starts from speech, not print.
We created the written word to record our spoken words, not the other way around.
Words are spelt using sound pics™ – representations of the smaller parts of our words –
so children MUST be taught them all. All can be seen within the Speech Sound Clouds.

5. SSP Phonics Spelling
- say the word
- listen for the speech sounds and
work out how many there are
- draw the lines and
numbers _ _ _
1 2 3
- work out the
sound pics
a n t

6. Demonstration of the SSP Approach to
Spelling within Prep
(Video attached)

7. The SSP Spelling Process Shown Visually
(i-e – blue level sound pic- sound pic sandwich)

8. How to count sound pics for spelling
(95% of the time)

9. We use resources to help children
discover the code more easily
d o l __ i n
ph
. .. ..
f i __
sh
..

10. Students discover the code
themselves (these were Prep
discoveries)

11. reading

13. Speedy Green Decoding
(Find them easy? Ask someone to time you!)
sat pit
Santa it
in pit
nip pin clock
. . . ___
sit ant
tan tin
pan pants
Stan nap

15. Speedy Purple Decoding
(Find them easy? Ask someone to time you!)
mat lamp
dad riddle
gap grass
pot bump clock
. . . ___
cat pill
kitten sock
duck pants
fluff kicks

16. it is a big hat
it is a little hat
it is a fat cat
it is a red cat

19. Songs in P- 2 help us see other sound pics
that represent the same speech sound

20. Jolly Phonics songs are also used

21. We will be forming these
letters using phrases !
Lower case only
at home
please, other
than at
the beginning of
names, in Prep
Oder children will also
learn correct formation

22. Letter formation
(we recommend RWI cards and phrases )
froggy legs Ill show you where
to start

24. We don’t need to know letter
names to read and spell in the
early stages, and they can confuse
the process

25. Children just need to be able to
hear the smaller parts in
words, and know how many sound
pics are needed

26. And know which sound pics they
could be !

27. Pronunciation of the
Speech Sound Pics™
There is a power point presentation on
slideshare.net/readingwhisperer that goes
through the Speech Sound Clouds and gives the
speech sound for each. The children hear the
speech sound as they click on the star.
The most commonly used ones are shown, but
ALL sound pics used for this speech sound are
also shown using the Speech Sound Clouds.

28. i
y

29. How can parents help?
Help your child hear the smaller parts in words
(speech sounds) and work out how many there are.
c / ow
Help them see the speech
sound pics within words

30. You can do this in the car, walking…. Anywhere !
There are no letters involved – just listening..
Say the word
How many speech
sounds can you hear?
What are they?
Children who can do this will find reading, and especially spelling, far easier
We teach them this if they do not find this easy. YOU can help at home!

31. You will need to learn to speak in
speech sounds!
Visit the RTT site for videos
and resources
Puppets with mouths – showing
the speech sounds

32. To develop exceptional spelling (encoding) skills we need to
start from SPEECH. If children cannot hear the smaller parts
in words (phonemic awareness) they will not be able to
develop these skills. They need to SEE words as made up of
speech sound pics (pictures of the speech sounds, not letters)
At all times, from term 1 of Prep, those using SSP try to see sound pics
in words, and encourage children to do the same. This really helps to
shape their reading AND spelling brains and prevent difficulties. It also
allows teachers to see where there are gaps in PA and code knowledge.
Use every opportunity to do this !
Questions? Emma@ReadAustralia.com

33. Practice this yourself!

34. P-2 ? Find your own member of the
Speech Sound Family !

35. Our first focus group (green)
s is one of the pictures
for the speech sound
ssss. This is the first
the children will learn, as
there are 8 pictures
So even though these are the first sound pics we teach, it is important that we help
children hear the speech sounds they represent.
Eg ‘Can you hear the ‘ssss’ speech sound in the word ‘rice’?’ .. ’is it at the
beginning, middle or end?

36. Collect things! When you say the word
you can hear the speech sound/s
(beginning, middle or end)

37. Students will quickly be decoding
books using these sound pics !

38. Home readers will be books the
children can read

39. Children go through the levelled
readers at their own pace

40. Slideshare.net/readingwhisperer
Download free decoding (reading)
and encoding (spelling) material
that follows the order your child
will learn the phonemes (speech
sound pics) as well as folder
content resources at slideshare

41. Eg slide from Green level decoding
practice power point
Nat pants in the sand pit
Green Level sound pics
s a t p i n

42. ‘Sharing books’ are those you read to your
child. Please point to the print as you read.
Try to find sound pics !

43. Build words using magnetic letters or
make sound pic cards in P-2.
This reader can
be downloaded
from the
web site and
printed, or
read as a PDF

44. Children can look for sound pics, at
their level. Watch Prep students do
this on the youtube channel

45. Within the SSP Levels children are
taught all of the most commonly
used ‘speech sound pics’
but also discover the code
themselves.
This is easier for us if
we start with what we
know…. how to speak !

46. All students need to know
these sound pics, and how
to use them within reading and
spelling activities
We will check which reading
and spelling skills current students
need practice with, and plan
accordingly

47. P – 2 will have home folders
They will have their sound pics, words created using these
sound pics, tricky words and also readers created using their
sound pics

48. The Speech Sound Family love you
reading to them!
If you speak in speech sounds they
can understand you, as most only speak
in speech sounds. This is why they love
it when you say the sound pics before
you blend them into the word.
Please use puppets to show how words
are created using smaller parts.

49. Ikea has some great puppets at the moment with
mouths you can open and close with your
fingers. You need to be able to open and close
the mouth to show the individual speech sounds.
These are especially important for children who
have poor phonemic awareness.
They are about $5

50. Knowing how to spell
‘butterfly’ , or read the
word is not enough.
Children need to learn,
and work out, WHY
words are created in
this way (ie the parts/
speech sound pics.)
This will help them
develop the skills needed
to spell and read even
the most difficult of
words, including those
they have never heard of.
SSP is not used to help
children read and spell,
but to become readers
and writers.
To shape reading and
spelling brains for ALL
children.

51. If they can’t decode at least 85% of the book it isn’t a ‘reader, so you share it with
them for enjoyment. Their ‘reader’ is a book they can read, not have to guess at.

52. Working together…
Parents and Grandparents
TAs
Older students
Children helping
children within classrooms…

53. • Check 1 Speech Sound Identification – student says
what s/he sees and tells you the sound you ask
for – beginning, middle or end. Also ask them
Use pics showing words used in to count how many speech sounds they can
that level- created using their hear.
sound pics – eg within Green
use Pat, ant, sit, tap etc
Check 2 Sound pic identification - student asked to point
to the ‘pic of X speech sound and also asked to identify the speech sound when
teacher points to sound pic
Check 3 Student asked to point
to the sound pics that make a word (eg ant if green level) – see if they order
correctly. Teacher points to sound pics in order to create a word and students
identifies whole word.

54. Check 4 Student shown sound pic words for that level and asked
to identify, and put into a sentence. Shown tricky words and asked to identify.
Check 5 Student asked to write words, from within that level, after
being given the word verbally. Check letter formation within this check.
Student reads assessment sentences, no picture clues,
Check 6 based on their level
Eg (Green Level) Pat sat in a pan in the sand pit.
1 verbal question about the text, and one to encourage an opinion
eg Who sat in the sand pit? Why do you think he was doing that?
1 verbal question about the text, with written answer.
eg where was he sitting?
When students have moved past Green, and are able to also read questions
please change 1 verbal question about the text, with written answer, to 1
written question, with written answer.

55. Ask children to manipulate sound pics eg if I say
‘lim’ without the ‘l’ what would I say?
Read assessment texts, ask child to identify
sound pics for a specific speech sound
(see video example here)

56. Reading Whisperer ® Classroom lessons
(see Video Folder – Classroom Lessons – or
ReadingTeacherTraining.com)
These are shorter than home lessons and last around
8 – 12 minutes. Watch in the classroom with all
children, in small groups if they need more
practice, or on a 1:1 basis.
Speech Sound Pic Detective
All cover the skills and concepts needed at each level (as
seen as you scroll through the levels) They are helpful for
terminology, in particular ie how to introduce concepts
There is a lesson for each sound pic focus in every level ie
approx. 70 lessons, with a lesson per Speech Sound Cloud
coming soon (including special ending cloud lessons)

57. Free online lessons available for home/ classroom
ReadingTeacherTraining.com

58. SSP Phonics Levels
This is the order your child will be taught the
alphabetic code (speech sound pics).
This systematic approach builds confidence for
every child.
This approach also helps us all see how each
child is progressing, and enables children to
more easily work at their own pace.

59. Readers for this level- SSP flap books, SPELD SA phonics books (you can download for free
or order hard copies at a reasonable rate – see ReadingTeacherTraining.com/readers.htm
speedy
. . __ . .
Skills included;
Listening for speech sounds, identifying if speech sounds are at the
beginning, middle or end of the word, linking with sound pics,
identifying sound pics, blending sound pics into words, segmenting
sound pics, forming sound pics (letters), writing words, creating
sentences, discussing meaning.

60. s a t
sit ant tap
p i n
pan pin nap

61. Readers for this level- SSP flap books, SPELD SA phonics books (you can download for free
or order hard copies at a reasonable rate – Dandelion Launchers –
see ReadingTeacherTraining.com/readers.htm
Skills included;
Listening for speech sounds, identifying if speech sounds are at the beginning, middle
or end of the word, linking with sound pics, identifying sound pics, blending sound pics into
words, segmenting sound pics, forming sound pics (letters), writing words,
creating sentences, discussing meaning, thinking about sentence structure before writing,
rhyming.
Introduced to concepts that speech sounds can be represented by more than one sound pic
(eg c/k/ck) that sound pics can be made up of more than one letter (eg ck, ff, ll) , that some
sound pics can represent more than one speech sound ( eg c and g) and that when 2 of the
same letter are next to each other this represents the same speech sound (ss, ll)

62. m d g o c k
man dad gap pot cat kitten
gent cent
ck e u r h b
duck end up rat hat big
f ff l le ll ss
fit fluff lamp giggle hill grass

63. Continue with Dandelion readers
Skills included;
Listening for speech sounds, identifying if speech sounds are at the beginning, middle
or end of the word, linking with sound pics, identifying sound pics, blending sound pics
into words, segmenting sound pics, forming sound pics (letters), writing words,
creating sentences, discussing meaning, thinking about sentence structure before
writing, using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops, rhyming, clapping rhythms,
working out which speech sound the sound pic represents, by blending the word for
meaning (oo/ th/ eigh) .
New concepts – when some sound pics sit together they create a brand new sound pic
(sh/ch/th/ng) – and can again represent more than one speech sound (th/ oo) - q is
always sitting with u in a word

64. j v w x y z zz
jam van win box yell zoo buzz
happy
fly
qu ch sh th ng
quit chips ship this thumb ring
ai ee igh oa oo eigh
rain green high boat look moon eight
. height

65. By now children should have all of the foundational skills required to decode (read) and
encode (spell) and you are able to help children with fluency, vocab and comprehension.
Please have a 15 minute reading time every day, with a range of books for the children to
choose. They can read to themselves, to a friend, in groups, to an adult etc.
Readers will be following the order, eg Dandelion – and I will upload as many free readers
as possible this year, so that children can practice these skills in meaningful ways.
New concepts
A speech sound can be split, in print, by sound pics – eg ate has 2 speech sounds a-e/t
(t is last speech sound) however in print the speech sound a-e (ay) sandwiches this sound
pic. (next slide illustrates- you do not need to watch this with the children, but can if
helpful) Some sound pics can be made up of sound pics that dont seem to fit !
(eg ph, wh ) – the King wants it this way so we just remember them
Words learnt as ‘tricky words’ are now either ‘tricky yes, yes’ (decodable) or ‘tricky no, no’
(difficult to decode and easier to memorise eg one / two / was )
Some words may sound the same, but are spelt with different sound pics. (hear, here etc)

66. blue level sound pics
ar or ow oi air ur
car for cow tow soil hair purse
er ay oy ou au
perfect play toy out group touch August
ir ie ue ea ui ey
first chief tie blue beat head suit key they
aw wh ph ew oe ure are
claw whip dolphin few toe pure are dare

67. blue level ‘sound pic sandwiches’
Say the word and listen to the last speech sound.
The Speech Sound Pic Sandwich Maker jumps
the last sound from the end, into the sandwich!
a-e e-e i-e
cake athlete bike
o-e u-e
coke flute
which of these sound pic
sandwiches can you see?

68. Watch Preps going through all levels
with the Fantastic Mrs F
(this happens once a week when all levels covered as takes a white!)

69. Then the children systematically go through
each speech sound to cover any sound pics
missed within levels

71. Please do come in to help in the
classroom !
We really
need your

72. Join facebook.com/ReadAustralia
Watch SSP in action on
youtube.com/soundpics

73. Free planning guides, lessons, resources
and assessment tools for parents and teachers