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

These details are from the publisher’s listing for the June 2025 edition. Older editions have a different design and ISBN, and the publisher says the core content is the same.

The Jolly Phonics Teacher’s Book is the guide for the adult who is teaching. It gives step-by-step lesson plans for each page of Pupil Books 1 to 3, an introduction to the Jolly Phonics method, and the checklists, charts and templates a teacher needs to run lessons consistently.

Think of the Pupil Books as the child’s workbook and the Teacher’s Book as the teacher’s plan. Without it, the Pupil Books still have activities, but the teacher has to guess the order, the wording and the answers.

If you want to learn to teach the programme with a trainer, see our Level 1 phonics teacher training for ages 4–6.

The publisher lists these parts in the June 2025 edition:

The 2025 edition also adds a new cover and page design, colour-coding and a revised contents section, clearer answer keys for the Pupil Book activities and clearer links to The Phonics Handbook.

The publisher’s sample lesson for the sound /r/ shows the usual pattern for teaching a new sound from the Teacher’s Book. In order:

1. Lesson objective. What the child will learn.
2. Flash card revision. A quick revisit of earlier sounds before the new one.
3. Storyline. A short story that introduces the sound.
4. Action. The action for the sound.
5. Letter formation. How to write the letter.
6. Blending. Using the sound sheet to blend words with the new sound.
7. Sounding. Listening for the sound in different words.
8. Sound sheet. The matching Pupil Book page.
9. Word bank and dictation. Words to read and write.
10. Further ideas. Extra activities.

Each step is short. The pattern is the same for every new sound, so the child always knows what is coming. You can see the same thinking in our Jolly Phonics lesson plan guide.

No book can make teaching effective by itself. The benefit comes from using the plans with clear sounds, regular practice and honest checking of what the child can do.

If you are learning to teach, do not read it cover to cover. Study it in this order:

1. Read the introduction to the method and the English alphabetic code chart.
2. Read the lesson plan for the first sounds, then teach one aloud to a friend or family member.
3. Open Pupil Book 1 beside it so you can see how the lesson matches the page.
4. Read the guidance on struggling readers, even if you are not teaching one yet.
5. Use the checklists with a real child, then plan the next lesson from what you find.

A trainer can shorten this. In Teacher Training Level 1 you learn the method with a trainer and practise it. For older learners, Level 2 covers advanced phonics.

• Skipping the lesson plan and handing the child the Pupil Book alone.
• Moving to the next sound before the child can recognise the current one.
• Saying sounds with an extra “uh”, for example “buh” for /b/.
• Using a different letter style from the child’s school, so handwriting is taught two ways.
• Treating the checklist as a test instead of a planning tool.
• Buying the wrong edition: check that the Teacher’s Book matches the Pupil Books (print or precursive).

Also see the overview of all four books, the 5 skills of Jolly Phonics and how to become a phonics teacher.

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 Teacher’s Book, 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.