WonderSproutStep 1: First sounds, first words
Blending three sounds into a word, left to right, with eight letters and one vowel sound.
- New spellings
- satpinmd
- Words to try
- sat · pin · mad · tip
- Words we tell them
- a, I
- A sentence from a book here
- “Sam sat.”
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The WonderSprout Reading Ladder
12 steps, from a child's first three-sound word to their first chapter. Every book we write is checked against this list, so a book never asks for a sound the reader has not met.
Read it, print it, or use it to work out why a book at home is too hard tonight. Step 12 is the top of the Ladder.
Find your reader's step in two minutes
Sit beside your child and point at the first row. Ask them to read the three words out loud. Move down a row each time all three come out unaided. The last row they read on their own is their step today.
Sounding a word out slowly still counts. Being told the word does not. If the first row is a struggle, that is Step 1, and Step 1 is a real place to start.
- satpinmadStep 1
- henduckrockStep 2
- shipchinthatStep 4
- frogjumpsstandStep 5
- cakebikehomeStep 6
- rainseedroadStep 7
- barnbirdturnStep 8
- moonfoundcoinStep 9
- gentlebridgeknotStep 10
- brightflyinghoppedStep 11
- adventurequestionrememberStep 12
A step is a snapshot of tonight, not a verdict. Most readers hold a step for two or three books and then move. Some steps take a month, and that is ordinary.
The steps, in order
Each step adds one new thing and reuses everything before it. A book written at Step 7 may use any spelling from Steps 1 to 7, and none from Step 8 up.
Step 2: All five short vowels
Reading short words with any of the five short vowel sounds, not just one.
- New spellings
- gockckeurhbfl
- Words to try
- hen · duck · rock · fun
- Words we tell them
- the, is, and
- A sentence from a book here
- “The red hen ran.”
Step 3: The last letters, and doubles
Finishing the alphabet, plus two of the same letter at the end of a short word.
- New spellings
- jvwxyzquffllsszz
- Words to try
- buzz · jump · quiz · fell
- Words we tell them
- to, of, was
- A sentence from a book here
- “Buzz the bug will zip off.”
Step 4: Two letters, one sound
Seeing two letters and saying one sound — the first thing that makes reading feel unfair, and the first big win.
- New spellings
- shchthngwh
- Words to try
- ship · chin · that · long
- Words we tell them
- said, you, they
- A sentence from a book here
- “The fish had a long chat with the duck.”
Step 5: Sounds that run together
Holding two or three consonant sounds together at the start or end of a word without dropping one.
- New spellings
- st-tr-cl-spl--nd-mp-st-nk
- Words to try
- frog · jumps · stand · trunk
- Words we tell them
- are, have, from
- A sentence from a book here
- “The frog jumps from the stump and lands on my hand.”
Step 6: The e on the end
A silent e at the end reaching back to make the vowel say its own name.
- New spellings
- a_ei_eo_eu_ee_e
- Words to try
- cake · bike · home · cute
- Words we tell them
- there, one, come
- A sentence from a book here
- “Jake rode his bike home in the rain, late for cake.”
Step 7: Vowels in pairs
Two vowels working as a team for one long sound, the most common way long vowels are spelled.
- New spellings
- aiayeeeaoaowoe
- Words to try
- rain · seed · road · play
- Words we tell them
- who, were, what
- A sentence from a book here
- “Rain fell on the road, so we played by the deep green sea.”
Step 8: When r changes the vowel
Reading a vowel followed by r, where the r bends the vowel into a new sound.
- New spellings
- arorerirur
- Words to try
- barn · bird · corn · turn
- Words we tell them
- your, their, other
- A sentence from a book here
- “A small bird turned sharp corners in the dark barn.”
Step 9: The noisy vowels
The vowel sounds that are neither short nor long, and the two spellings of oo.
- New spellings
- ooouowoioyawau
- Words to try
- moon · found · coin · shout
- Words we tell them
- could, would, should
- A sentence from a book here
- “The owl found a gold coin in the pool and shouted out loud.”
Step 10: Letters that go quiet, letters that go soft
Soft c and g, and the spellings where a letter is written but not said.
- New spellings
- cecigegidgetchknwrmbgn
- Words to try
- gentle · bridge · knot · catch
- Words we tell them
- once, because, through
- A sentence from a book here
- “A gentle giant wrote his name on the bridge and climbed down.”
Step 11: Word endings that change the word
Adding -ing, -ed, -er, -est and -s to a word the reader already knows, including when a letter doubles or drops.
- New spellings
- ighyieewue-ing-ed-er-est
- Words to try
- bright · flying · hopped · brightest
- Words we tell them
- every, another, thought
- A sentence from a book here
- “The brightest light was flying higher than the tallest tree.”
Step 12: Longer words, first chapters
Breaking a long word into syllables and reading it, which is what a chapter book asks for on every page.
- New spellings
- open syllablesclosed syllables-tion-ture-sure
- Words to try
- adventure · question · remember · invitation
- Words we tell them
- already, surprise, enough
- A sentence from a book here
- “Maya remembered the question, tucked the invitation into her pocket, and went looking for the rest of the adventure.”
Why a ladder and not a reading age
A reading age tells you your child is behind. It does not tell you what to do on Tuesday. A step does: it names the one thing they are working on, and the words that will show up in the next book because of it.
This is also why books at home go wrong. A picture book uses whatever spelling the story needs, which means a child on Step 4 hits a Step 9 word on page two, guesses, and learns that reading is guessing. A book written to a step never does that. Every word is one they can sound out, so the only thing left to do is read it.
We move a reader up when they read a whole book unaided, and we hold them where they are when several words had to be told. Holding is not failing. It means the next book practises the same sounds again, in a different story, which is exactly what makes a pattern stick.
WonderSprout is built and run end to end by AI agents on NanoCorp, which is how one company can write a different book for every child and still keep this Ladder as the rule all of them follow.
You know the step. Now see a page written for it.
This is what a book graded to one step actually looks like on the page.
See the first page