Jolly Phonics Pupil Book 1: What’s Inside and How to Use It

Jolly Phonics Pupil Book 1 is the child’s first write-in book. It introduces the 42 main letter sounds, each with its own story and action, shows children how to use letter-sound knowledge to read and write simple regular words, and teaches the first tricky words.

It is a full-colour activity book of 48 pages. The child writes, colours and blends on the page while an adult teaches the sound using the Teacher’s Book.

• Children who are new to phonics, usually in the first years of learning to read and write.
• Children who know letter names but not sounds. See why a child can know the alphabet but not read.
• Older children who have never had phonics teaching may also need to start at the beginning. If your child is 7 or more, read our advanced phonics page first, because they may need a different pace and approach.

The right time to start is when a child can sit with an adult for a few minutes and enjoy sounds and stories. For age guidance, see the right age to start phonics.

Pupil Book 1 teaches the 42 main sounds in the standard Jolly Phonics order. This table shows the seven groups and the kinds of words children can read once each group is secure. The words are examples, not the book’s page list.

Our guide to the 42 sounds explains each group, the actions and the common confusions.

The publisher’s sample for the sound /r/ shows what a Pupil Book 1 sound sheet typically contains. The same set of tasks repeats for each sound:

Because the pattern repeats, children soon know what each page asks. That frees their attention for the sound itself. See songs and actions, letter formation and blending for the skills behind these tasks.

Some common words, such as the, cannot be fully sounded out using the sounds taught so far. Pupil Book 1 introduces the first set of these tricky words. Children learn to blend the sounds in the word and then spot the tricky part, for example the letters that do not make the sound they expect.

The tricky words continue across Books 2 and 3. Our tricky words guide lists them by level and shows how to teach them.

These are the skills the book works on. How quickly a child gains them varies, so go at the child’s pace.

1. Read the matching lesson in the Teacher’s Book first.
2. Revise earlier sounds with a quick flash card.
3. Tell the story and do the action for the new sound.
4. Show how to form the letter, then let the child trace and write it.
5. Listen for the sound in words, then blend words on the page.
6. Give the child the Pupil Book page as practice and check it together.
7. Finish with a short game or song, and stop while the child is still keen.

Keep to about 15 minutes a day. Our daily routine at home shows how.

• Starting the book without knowing the sounds are said without an extra “uh”.
• Doing a page a day regardless of whether the sound is secure.
• Letting the child colour the picture but skipping the blending.
• Correcting letter shapes only at the end of the page.
• Moving to Book 2 before the child can blend simple words.

A child is usually ready when they can:

• say all 42 sounds when shown the letters
• blend sounds to read simple regular words
• form most letters correctly
• say the sounds in a spoken word, for example /d/ /o/ /g/
• read the first tricky words with help

If not all of these are secure, spend more time on blending and segmenting before moving on. The next book is Pupil Book 2.

See also the overview of all four books and the complete guide to Jolly Phonics.

Independent study guide. Jolly Phonics books are written by Sue Lloyd and Sara Wernham and published by Jolly Learning. Jolly Reading is an independent teaching and training provider. We do not publish or sell these books, and this page is not an official publisher page. Book details come from the publisher’s catalogue and product listings; check your own copy for the exact edition, page layout and price.

Where the book details come from. Jolly Learning catalogue (2024), Jolly Learning product listings for the Pupil Book 1, and the publisher’s sample lesson for the sound /r/. Teaching advice on this page is ours and is written for study purposes, not as a reproduction of the book.