The Basic Code: Introducing Concepts that Facilitate Self-Teaching

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The Basic Code refers to the foundational set of phoneme-to-grapheme correspondences that children first learn when developing literacy skills. These are often the most straightforward sound-letter relationships in a language and are typically introduced early in phonics instruction.

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The chants strip here shows the correspondences introduced within the Speech Sound Pics (SSP) Approach - the Basic Code. Children work through at their own pace using the 30-Minute Basic Phonics Routine as outlined in the book. Teachers lead to this over a 2/4 week period via Phase 1 — a focus on phonemic awareness using the first six Phonemies (which will initially be mapped to the graphemes s, a, t, p, i, n). Children at risk of dyslexia are identified during this phase, and it is designed for non-speaking children and those who do not speak English — or who are neurodivergent. Engagement and participation of ALL learners are essential. Other than for Phase 1, the teacher is a guide and does not teach these graphemes. Children's learning is personalised, using MyWordz tech and tools.
 

The idea behind learning the 100 or so grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences covered within the Basic Code is to give learners a toolkit of essential correspondences that enable them to start decoding and encoding words on their own. Once these foundational skills are established, around 3 in 4 students can begin to self-teach, expanding their word recognition and spelling abilities as they encounter more complex words in text. This statistic is not acceptable to us, so we incorporate a range of word-mapping activities alongside the Phonics Routine — for example, Snap and Crack, Rapid Writing, and Speedy Six Spelling activities. We need ALL children to reach the self teaching phase so we support teachers in mapping words with children throughout the day, across all subject areas.

Key Concepts for Facilitating Self-Teaching:
 

• Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence: The Basic Code focuses on helping learners understand the relationship between individual speech sounds (phonemes) and their written representations (graphemes). By mastering these simple correspondences, students can begin to decode (read) and encode (spell) words independently, applying these skills as they encounter new words.
   

• Blending and Segmenting: Teaching children how to blend phonemes to form words and segment words into individual sounds are crucial skills for developing reading and spelling proficiency. These skills help children understand how letters combine to form words, which in turn facilitates self-teaching as they practice decoding and encoding new words on their own.
   

• Decoding and Encoding: The Basic Code equips students with the tools to decode (sound out) unfamiliar words by applying the phoneme-grapheme correspondences they have learned. Encoding, or spelling, reinforces these skills, as students must break words into their component sounds and represent them with appropriate graphemes. As they encounter more text, this simultaneous decoding and encoding reinforces their understanding of word structure.
   

• Complexity: students are confident with the Basic Code can more easily explore the less 'regular' mappings used within the Universal Written Code. Self-teaching occurs when students are equipped with strategies to decode unfamiliar words on their own, using their knowledge of the Basic Code as a foundation, combined with other clues such as context and illustrations. Ironically, three-cueing has its place! Just not as a primary strategy when children do not have any code knowledge.
   

• Self-Teaching Hypothesis: Research by Share (1995) suggests that students who are given sufficient decoding skills early on are able to teach themselves new words by applying phonics knowledge as they read. The Basic Code provides the groundwork for this self-teaching process, as it encourages independent exploration of written language.

By introducing the Basic Code in a structured and engaging way, teachers provide students with the tools to embark on their journey toward reading fluency. Self-teaching is facilitated for at least 3 in 4 students who are able to generalise these early phonics concepts and explore words that are of interest to them on a daily basis. What is also essential is that we find the texts children WANT to explore independently.

In the simplification of the reading wars — often driven by academics using generalised research — the debate is framed as phonics vs. whole-word methods, signifying two polar opposites. One focuses on teaching the alphabetic principle, while the other supposedly lets children learn to read by osmosis, simply by immersing them in rich language and literature. Three-cueing - which failed around 15% of children - was replaced by synthetic phonics, yet over 25% of children are now not reading by age 11. Perhaps it's not as simple as that.

My mother, a teacher, didn’t even try to teach my sister and me to read. We were 2 and 3, so why would she? And yet, I was reading by age 3, and my sister—18 months younger—by age 2. All my parents did was read to us daily and provide a home filled with books. I loved Enid Blyton, and they were my first books. This topic fascinates me. So much research focuses on why certain children struggle to read, but what about those who learn without difficulty and without phonics, whole-word flashcards, or deliberate instruction? How did we do it?

This question has always intrigued me, mainly because it highlights not just the learning process but also motivation. We were motivated to read because we knew there were books (being read to us) that we wanted to read ourselves. We also - thankfully- were both born with the phonemic awareness to achieve this. Our emotional investment in the characters of those books drove us to figure it out, even before we had the skills to read independently, and our phonemic awareness enabled our brains to start mapping.

Had someone tried to teach me, I don’t think I would have tried. I’ve never liked being told what to do. Uninvited instruction often frustrates me, and to this day, I catch myself thinking, "Why don’t you explain it better?" When I finally understand something, I reflect, "Why did you waste so much time talking instead of focusing on what I needed?" However without phonemic awareness I would have failed even with this motivation to understand that written code. 

From a very young age, I’ve been aware that teaching is often misused. If there is no learning — or if learning is made unnecessarily difficult — the teacher is simply talking at me. That’s why I’ve always prioritised the learner. I focus on figuring out what they need. I watch their body language, listen to what they say (and don’t say), and I review my sessions from different perspectives to find the most direct route to understanding and independence. Evaluating phonemic awareness is something I am more interested in than most, and I know this is why I get children reading so quickly and easily - regardless of age. It blocks learning of the Basic Code or exploration of the Universal Written Code.  

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My goal is always to give learners enough of what they need so that they can continue mapping words and learning about written words without me. This is why I find whole-class instruction frustrating—even with outstanding teachers—because I can see that every child isn’t getting the orthographic knowledge they need. I don’t believe the existing 'synthetic phonics programme' model works if learning to read or pleasure is the goal. It’s merely a system to manage a large group of children in one room, and hope enough of them absorb something. 

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Now, imagine if each child had their own personal Basic Code tutor and personalised word mapping curriculum, and any phonemic awareness deficits were overcome early - with good phonemic awareness facilitated by daily exploration of words using 'Duck Hands, Speech Sound Lines and Numbers' Especially when it comes to learning to read and spell, I believe the development of technology and AI will soon make this possible. We can’t rely on humans to carry out the task of teaching the Basic Code much longer—not when too few understand how the written code works or how children learn, let alone when trying to do this for 20+ children in a neurodiverse classroom. Or when so many children learn as I do - they thrive in a LESS teaching, MORE learning focussed environment. We are working on a tech-solution, which will free up teachers to do what AI can't - develop relationships, and 'read' their own children. We are also creating a clickable library so that children can choose which books they WANT to read, and we fill in their word mapping gaps in real-time. The ultimate goal is that every child can map words and wants to.