Jolly Phonics Pupil Book 3: What’s Inside and How to Use It

Jolly Phonics Pupil Book 3 builds and consolidates the reading and writing skills from Books 1 and 2. It introduces new alternative letter-sound spellings and new tricky words, with a variety of reading comprehension activities and work on words and sentences.

The third book is less about new sounds and more about using what the child knows: choosing spellings, reading sentences and understanding what has been read.

• Children who have finished Pupil Book 2 and can write short sentences with help.
• Children who read well aloud but are shaky on spelling choices.
• Children who need more practice with tricky words and with understanding what they read.

The age range (3–6 years) is the same as Book 1 in the publisher listing, because the books are meant to be used in sequence over time. Use the order, not the age, to decide when to start.

As with Book 2, the exact page order is in the book and in the Teacher’s Book. We have not listed pages we cannot verify.

Book 3 adds new alternative spellings to those in Book 2. Examples of the kinds of patterns children meet at this stage in Jolly Phonics include:

These are examples from the wider Jolly Phonics code, not a list of Book 3 pages. Our alternative spellings guide covers the patterns and the “try both” strategy.

Comprehension means understanding what has been read. At this stage it is simple: the child reads a sentence or short passage and shows what it means by answering questions, matching, drawing or choosing the right word.

• Ask the child to retell the sentence in their own words.
• Ask a “who, what, where” question.
• Ask the child to point to the word that answers the question.
• Praise understanding, not speed.

If your child reads aloud correctly but cannot say what it meant, slow down and work on meaning before moving on.

1. Read the matching lesson in the Teacher’s Book.
2. Revise earlier sounds and the tricky words from Books 1 and 2.
3. Teach one new spelling or tricky word set.
4. Let the child do the page, then check against the answer key.
5. Ask one comprehension question about something they read.
6. Review the page again at the next session.

• Treating Book 3 as a test of speed.
• Rushing comprehension before the child can read the words smoothly.
• Marking spelling but never rereading for meaning.
• Moving on without revisiting the Book 1 and 2 sounds.

The Teacher’s Book includes guidance on what to teach after Jolly Phonics, with summaries of the Jolly Literacy programmes for spelling, grammar and punctuation, and for reading comprehension and writing. Our Jolly Grammar guides cover the grammar side.

If your child is older and still has gaps in decoding or spelling, our advanced phonics classes for ages 7–12 and advanced phonics guide explain the next level.

See also the overview of all four books.

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 3, 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.