How to Use the Literacy Support Kit (LSK) with students needing extra support
Quick Start
If you already teach literacy and are looking for extra resources to save time, simplify teaching, extend practice, or address a specific issue, all you need to do is select the teaching point to view all of the downloadable resources related to that concept—it’s as simple as that!
Keep reading to see what resources are included and more details about how to use them.
The Literacy Support Kit (LSK) offers a structured and supportive approach to literacy instruction designed specifically for students needing additional help with foundational skills.
Many students lack the prerequisite skills to cope with standard literacy intervention programs or require extra practice to master the basics. Without this support, they can experience slow progress and a decline in self-esteem.
The LSK provides a searchable library of resources aimed at supporting struggling students to build confidence, experience a sense of achievement, and make meaningful progress.
Aligned with and designed to supplement established literacy intervention programs like Playberry T3 or Sounds Write, the LSK focuses on key areas such as phoneme awareness, blending, decoding, pre-writing, and handwriting. These resources help students develop the confidence and foundational skills necessary to fully participate in standard literacy programs.
This guide offers a step-by-step approach for effectively using the phonics resources within the LSK, ensuring that students who require a slower pace or additional reinforcement of core concepts receive the support they need to thrive.
The Literacy Support Kit is an independent resource designed to supplement literacy intervention programs like the Playberry T3 and Sounds Write programs. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Playberry or Sounds Write.
Scope and sequence
The Literacy Support Kit (LSK) is carefully designed to introduce the most fundamental phonics elements in a sequence that prioritises mastery, confidence, and accessibility for children who find standard Tier 3 intervention programs overwhelming.
This approach systematically builds foundational literacy skills by incrementally introducing letters and their common sounds alongside frequent, high-impact digraphs. The LSK sequence is deliberately structured to ensure that students experience consistent success and a sense of achievement at every step, laying the groundwork for tackling more advanced spelling patterns, grammar, and long vowels later.
How This Sequence Supports Students
Incremental Skill Building:
The sequence begins with letters and sounds that are simple to learn and apply (e.g., [i], [t], [p], [n]), enabling students to start blending sounds into simple words quickly. This gives immediate relevance to each new skill, reinforcing understanding and motivation.Introducing Common Digraphs Early:
By integrating key digraphs ([sh], [th], [ck]) early in the sequence, the program helps students recognise and apply these essential spelling patterns sooner, reducing confusion and ensuring they can approach real-world texts more confidently.Logical Progression to Mastery:
Each step in the sequence builds upon previously mastered content, allowing students to consolidate their learning before introducing new challenges. This reduces cognitive overload and helps ensure that foundational gaps are thoroughly addressed.Focus on Achievement and Confidence:
Children who struggle with literacy often experience a cycle of frustration and failure. The LSK reverses this by providing frequent opportunities for success through manageable steps, helping students gain confidence in their abilities. This mastery-based approach fosters resilience and a positive attitude towards reading and writing.Bridging the Gap for Struggling Learners:
Standard Tier 3 interventions often assume a level of readiness or prior knowledge that some children lack. The LSK scope and sequence meets these learners where they are, breaking down skills into finer-grained steps that support gradual but steady progress.Preparing for Advanced Concepts:
Once students achieve fluency with single-letter sounds, common digraphs, and simple blends, they are better prepared to tackle more complex aspects of literacy, such as long vowels, advanced spelling rules, and grammar. This ensures that the foundation is secure before moving into more demanding material.Flexibility for Individual Needs:
The LSK sequence can be tailored to individual progress rates, allowing educators to spend additional time on challenging areas while moving quickly through easier material. This adaptability ensures that each student can experience success and mastery on their own terms.
The Literacy Support Kit (LSK) is carefully designed to introduce the most fundamental phonics elements in a sequence that prioritises mastery, confidence, and accessibility for children who find standard Tier 3 intervention programs overwhelming.
This approach systematically builds foundational literacy skills by incrementally introducing letters and their common sounds alongside frequent, high-impact digraphs. The LSK sequence is deliberately structured to ensure that students experience consistent success and a sense of achievement at every step, laying the groundwork for tackling more advanced spelling patterns, grammar, and long vowels later.
The Literacy Support Kit components
Tracking & Blending
Students may initially acquire single phoneme code quite easily but find difficulty in blending phonemes in a timely manner. Read More
Handwriting
Handwriting is very important for developing confidence and freeing up working memory for students to focus on spelling. Read More
Spelling Drills
Those who are familiar with the Playberry T3 Spelling routine may choose to use these sheets as an interim step for students who are struggling. Read More
Structured Reading Sheets
Students need plenty of practice in reading words to the phonic structure that they have learned. Read More
Cloze Exercises
From the earliest stages, we want our students to be reading for meaning. We have provided simple cloze activities to enhance their reading practice. Read More
High Frequency Words
High Frequency words are often phonetically irregular making them more challenging for students to learn. [ e.g. ‘some’ makes ‘ s-u-m’]. Read More
Morphology
Morphological awareness is a skill that helps students read and spell and is often easier than working with syllables. Read More
Placement: Assessing Student Level
The Literacy Support Kit offers 2 levels of materials which can be used:
- Blue is the easiest level.
- Green is the harder level (but simplified compared to typical intervention programs).
To determine which materials are most suitable for your student, use the ‘Chunk and Word Screening’ test (below), starting with the blue chunks and words.
Step 1
Test the student with vc chunks & 3 letter cvc words
If the student decodes the majority of words like this: i-t, t-in Stop testing and use the blue materials
If the student decodes the majority of chunks without any difficulty Test the student with vcc chunks and 4 letter words.
Step 2
Test the student with vcc chunks and 4 letter words
If the student decodes the majority of words like this: s-a-n-d Stop testing and use the green materials
If the student decodes the majority of chunks and words without any difficulty test 5 letter words
Step 3
Test the student with 5 letter
words
If the student has difficulty with words with a consonant blend at the beginning use the green tracking blends materials
If the student decodes the majority of words without difficulty move to a standard intervention programme
Avoiding predictable sticking points
Most Literacy intervention programs introduce multi-syllable words and teach syllable patterning quite early on. This is for good reason, as these are fundamental concepts that fluent readers need to know. However, this is sometimes too complex for students, and they become stuck. Progress slows, and they become frustrated and despondent.
The Literacy Support Kit bypasses these complexities, focuses explicitly on phonics (the fundamental foundational skill), and restricts materials to short vowels (closed syllables). This allows students to keep progressing through all the phonemes and short vowels while gaining the confidence, automaticity and fluency needed to free up the cognitive space required when tackling more complex English rules and structures.
Dipping in and out of the Literacy Support Kit
For some students, the LSK resources are a temporary fix. They can dip in and out of the Literacy Support Kit resources as required.
For example, they may have trouble blending a chunk like /nk/ (as in pink) and need to spend a few weeks of intense focus on that particular skill before transitioning back into their regular intervention sequence. The resources provide you with ready-made games, worksheets, reading sheets (and more) that allow you to explicitly and intensely focus on a particular skill and then transition back to your standard intervention without creating endless modified resources for each student.
Tips for Success
Success with the Literacy Support Kit comes from consistency, patience, and encouragement. Here are some key tips to help students feel confident, stay motivated, and make steady progress on their literacy journey.
- Stay Consistent and Patient: Consistent practice and patience are crucial, particularly with students living with significant learning difficulties.
- Celebrate Small Wins: Recognise each achievement, no matter how small, to build student confidence and motivation.
- Personalise the Approach: Adjust activities based on the student’s needs, using games and alternative materials to keep learning fun and accessible.
Contact Us
For more details on the Literacy Support Kit or how it can complement other literacy programs, please contact us with your questions.