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English · Reception

Phase 3 phonics sounds: digraphs and trigraphs

By Dave Allen · Updated · 5 min read

Drafted and fact-checked with AI help, against the sources below. Not yet reviewed by a teacher. How we write our guides

What it is

Grapheme
A letter or group of letters that stands for one sound, such as t, ch or air.
Digraph
Two letters that make one sound, such as sh in shop or ai in rain.
Trigraph
Three letters that make one sound, such as igh in night or ear in dear.
Common exception words
Common words with a part your child can't sound out yet, such as was and they. Your child may call them tricky words.

Your child's school will use a phonics programme, and many organise sounds into phases. Phase 3 follows Phase 2, where children learn their first single letter sounds, such as s, a, t and p, and start to blend them into short words.

By the end of Phase 3, your child can write a grapheme for nearly every sound in English. That means they can read and spell many more words, such as chip, rain and night.

  • New letters: j, v, w, x, y, z, zz and qu.
  • Digraphs for consonant sounds: ch (chip), sh (shop), th (thin and then), ng (ring).
  • Digraphs for vowel sounds: ai (rain), ee (feet), oa (boat), oo (boot and look), ar (farm), or (for), ur (hurt), ow (cow), oi (coin), er (corner).
  • Trigraphs: igh (night), ear (dear), air (fair), ure (sure).

How it's taught at school

The sounds on this page come from the Department for Education's 2007 phonics guidance. Each programme chooses its own order, so your child may meet them in a different sequence. Schools are advised to teach phonics every day from the start of Reception, and new graphemes are added a few at a time.

  1. Your child learns the new grapheme and the sound it makes.
  2. They practise reading words with it, by saying each sound and blending.
  3. They practise spelling words with it, by splitting a spoken word into its sounds and writing each one.
  4. They read the new words in captions, sentences and books.
r - ai - n    rain
n - igh - t   night
One sound, two or three letters

Your child also learns the letter names in this phase, and some common exception words such as he, she, we, me, be, was, my, you, her, they, all and are.

By the end of Reception, children are expected to know a sound for each letter of the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs. They should also be able to spell words by working out the sounds in them and writing a letter or letters for each sound.

Tip
This guide uses the standard word digraph for two letters that make one sound, but your child's school may have its own name for them, and a picture or action for each sound. Ask your child to show you, and use the same words at home.

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Common mistakes (and how to help)

Reading the letters of a digraph one at a time
If your child reads chip as c-h-i-p, point to the ch and say it as one sound. Spotting two letters that work together takes lots of practice, so keep it light and praise each one they spot.
Mixing up the two sounds of oo and of th
Both are right! The oo in boot and the oo in look sound different, and so do the th in thin and then. If one sound doesn't make a word, try the other.
Writing a spelling that sounds right but isn't the usual one
Writing coin as koin shows your child has heard every sound, which is the hard part. Praise that, then show the spelling in the book. Spelling takes longer than reading, because many sounds can be written in more than one way.
Adding an uh to the end of sounds, like chuh or shuh
The sh sound is like asking for quiet, with no uh on the end. Clean sounds are much easier to blend, so say them that way when you help.

Three quick activities at home

Digraph hunt

About 5 minutes · You need: Your child's reading book or any picture book

  1. Pick one digraph your child has learned this week, such as ee.
  2. Look through a page together and find every word with those two letters side by side.
  3. Your child reads each one, saying the digraph as one sound.

Count the sounds on your fingers

About 5 minutes

  1. Say a word with a Phase 3 sound, such as boat.
  2. Your child says each sound, holding up a finger for each one: b, oa, t.
  3. Count the fingers. Three sounds, even though the word has four letters.

Write a shopping list

About 10 minutes · You need: A pencil and a scrap of paper

  1. Choose two or three things to write, such as jam, fish or chips.
  2. Your child says each word slowly, splits it into sounds and writes a grapheme for each one.
  3. Praise every sound they've written. You can show the usual spelling afterwards.

Try it with your child

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Questions parents ask

Why do x and qu make two sounds?

The sounds of x and qu are really two sounds each, ks and kw. Children don't need to know this yet, because it doesn't change how they use the letters to read and spell.

My child knows the sounds but still reads slowly. Is that normal?

Yes. Knowing a sound is the first step, and reading a word without sounding it out comes after a few meetings with it. Reading the same book again is a great way to build speed.

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Related guides

Sources

  1. Department for Education: Letters and sounds: principles and practice of high quality phonics
  2. Department for Education: The reading framework
  3. Department for Education: Early years foundation stage statutory framework for group and school-based providers
  4. Department for Education: National curriculum in England: English programmes of study