The Fun of Phonics program is READ for Life's pilot project. It came out of Teacher Catherine and Teacher Jody's experience teaching phonics at Layibi Techo Primary School in 2013. Since then, we have expanded to work with 54 schools in Gulu and are continuing to grow! 

The Fun of Phonics Curriculum

We developed the Fun of Phonics program with the goal of creating a Phonics curriculum that combines international literacy methodologies with themes and vocabulary that are relevant for Ugandan children.

English is a tricky language to learn to read and write.  In the English alphabet, there are 26 letters, 44 main sounds, and over 100 ways of writing these sounds.  The aim of the Fun of Phonics curriculum is to break down the main sounds to help pupils learn to read and write.  

The Fun of Phonics curriculum is composed of 3 sets of letter sounds to learn.  It moves from the most common and simple sounds to more complex sounds.  As pupils progress through the sounds, they become capable of sound and reading more and more words.  In this way, the focus of instruction shifts from memorization of words to application of reading skills.

Set 1: Designed with young learners in mind, each letter sound taught in Set 1 comes with an action and a song.  Set 1 is normally taught in nursery school (3-5 year olds) as well as P1 class (6-7 year olds). 

Set 2: In Set 2, new spellings of Set 1 sounds are introduced as well as some new, more complex sounds.  Each new sound in Set 2 is introduced with an afro-centric picture illustrated by a Ugandan artist. Set 2 is normally taught to P2 learners. (8-9 year olds)

Set 3: In Set 3, still more new spellings of Set 1 and 2 sounds are introduced as well as some new, more complex sounds.  Each new sound in Set 3 is introduced with an afro-centric picture illustrated by a Ugandan artist.  Set 3 is normally taught to P3 learners (10-11 year olds).

Learning Resources

As the Fun of Phonics program has grown, we have developed more and more resources to help teachers bring high quality phonics instruction into their classrooms. 

• The Manual: 

The manual features a page of resources and lesson planning ideas for each letter sound taught in the Fun of Phonics curriculum.  It also includes resources for pre-reading and pre-writing as well as assessment ideas.  

• Set 1 Songs:

Each sound in Set 1 is taught using a song to reinforce the letter sound.  In the manual, the songs are written in the western style as well as with solfa notation.  We also have recordings of each song. 

• Flashcards:

We use flashcards to introduce each new letter sound.  

• Training DVDS:

Coming soon! These DVDs are being developed with the idea that schools may need a reminder every now and again about concepts covered in training.  They will feature lessons from Set 1, 2 and 3.