Why do you only teach alien words in Year 1 Summer 1?

Little Wandle is an early reading programme and our aim is to teach every child to read words, real words. We know that many children need not only to learn to read words but also learn what these words mean. This is why we don't waste valuable teaching time reading words that mean nothing.

Alien words are used to prepare children for the Phonics Screening Check in our Year 1 Summer 1 planning. We teach children to always sound out and blend these words so they follow that same procedure in the test.

We do not use alien words in other phonics lessons before Summer 1 as children need to learn to read real words that grow their vocabulary.