iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 12/02/2026

Had a great time at the Virginia Reading League Conference today! Hope we can do it again soon! @thereadingleagueva.bsky.social

Julia Shayto from Phonics & Stuff at the Virginia Reading League Conference

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 12/01/2026

For example, if you want to start with 's', 'a', 't', 'p', 'i', 'n'. By the time you get to 'n' you'll get 32 new words and have 63 words total.

Graph showing words learned by teaching the letter sounds s, a, t, p, i, and n. A student would have 63 words total and 32 new words when learning the 'n' letter.

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 12/01/2026

Join us for a virtual event hosted by LearnUp Centers and Phonics & Stuff! I'll be talking about how to use the Phonics & Stuff tools to teach reading. I've broken down 30,000 words so you don't have to! Come learn how this fuels our free games and teaching tools. www.eventbrite.com/e/learnup-sp...

LearnUp Speaker Series - What an analysis of 30,000 words tells us about how to teach reading.
Join us for a free webinar with Julia Shayto, who will be sharing insights on how to teach readign based on extensive analysis of phonics and spelling patterns.
Wednesday, February 4th 2026.
6 - 7 PM PST
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/learnup-speaker-series-with-julia-shayto-creator-of-phonicsstuff-tickets-1979748963443

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 29/11/2025

Explore interconnected morphemes as webs! Similar to a morpheme matrix, a morpheme web shows the variety of words that can be built with a morpheme base. We offer a handful of free ones, while members get access to over 5,000 morphemes! phonicsandstuff.com/morpheme-webs

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 07/10/2025

It's been a few years, but we finally have a real home page. Plus, a new mascot. Say hello to Nibbles!

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 27/02/2025

How often does the rule 'i before e' actually apply? In our database of 30k+ words, 'i before e' occurs 902 times compared to 'e before i', which occurs 226 times. However, if you look at weighted word frequencies (how often a word actually occurs in English), it's a more interesting story.

Word frequencies.
word freq word freq
believe 240 their 68
friend 262 being 158
friends 331 either 407
die 432 received 487
married 547 neither 653
cried 554 seeing 729
tried 567 receive 847
replied 593 eight 864
quiet 665 foreign 1333
chief 692 weight 1475
view 701 seized 1935
lie 752 height 1945
piece 756 receiving 2193
ladies 795 weird 2213

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 11/02/2025

We have a new worksheet! Create 'Fill In Vowels' worksheets with customized settings. phonicsandstuff.com/worksheets/p...

Options for creating a 'Fill In Vowels' worksheet.
Number of Words
Number of Sounds
Add Instructions
Add Word Box
Missing Vowels - a e i o u

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 02/02/2025

We just made a new fun tool! Teaching students how to write letters correctly is critical, so we made some simple animations for use in classrooms or at home. Come try it out and let us know what you think! phonicsandstuff.com/handwriting

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 18/01/2025

On our site you can use Google to sign in now, so you don't have to remember another password. If you previously made an account, you can login with Google and it'll still have all your data. We also added a reminder for which you used to login, because I forget all the time on other sites.

Login page for phonicsandstuff.com with a reminder showing if you logged in with Google or email.

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 30/12/2024

Solstice! Completely missed posting this last week.

Morpheme mapping for solstice
sol = sun
st = stand, make firm
ice1 = person, quality of being, action

Word mapping for solstice
Graphemes: s o l s t i ce
Phonemes: /s/ /ō/ /l/ /s/ /t/ /ĭ/ /s/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 27/12/2024

Easy enough! We'll keep working on it.

Screenshot of reading flash card page. If a user isn't log in, it prompt them to log in.

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 11/12/2024

Huh, I used the Oldham pronunciation for our word Mapper. phonicsandstuff.com/word-mapper?...

Word mapping for cook

c
oo
k

/k/
/oo/
/k/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 05/12/2024

We only have 16 words in our database with the 'dj' spelling for the /j/ sound. They're all for words starting with 'adj'. Adjective is one of the more common ones. It's sort of odd that we don't pronunce the 'd' sound, but that's English for you.

Morpheme mapping for adjective
ad = to, toward
ject = throw
ive = adjective form of noun

Word mapping for adjective
Graphemes: a dj e c t i ve
Phonemes: /ă/ /j/ /ĕ/ /k/ /t/ /ĭ/ /v/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 30/11/2024

We released a new, free decodable reader! Find out what adventures Gran has on her trip. phonicsandstuff.com/decodables

All Short Vowels and Basic Consonants included
Digraphs: a_e ee e_e i_e o_e u_e th ng sh ch ck wh qu
Word Types: V VC CV CVC VCC CCV CVCC CCVC CCVCC VCCC CVCCC CCCVC multisyllable
Tricky Words: the he she me we be of a I to do who two you your was are
were they their there where what one once some from by my why said says all so no have

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 29/11/2024

I read this Zig Engleman book after hearing about him on @mrzachg.bsky.social's podcast. It was great but it took me a long time to get through because I had to stop to make notes or read related studies.

Teaching Needy Kids in our Backyard System
42 years of trying
By Siegfried 'Zig' Engleman

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 28/11/2024

You can see our phoneme frequencies here. phonicsandstuff.com/articles/pho...

Frequencies for the /er/ sound by grapheme
Table with columns
Grapheme Frequency (total) Frequency (%) Weighted Frequency (total) Weighted Frequency (%)
er 3,916 67.01 6,359,311.35 63.19
or 615 10.52 895,874.83 8.90
ur 434 7.43 627,090.31 6.23
ir 212 3.63 498,658.94 4.95

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 28/11/2024

The 'ur' in turkey is one of the digraphs for the sound /er/. The most common is 'er' (about 60% of the time), while 'or', 'ur', and 'ir' each occur about 6% of the time.

Word mapping for turkey
Graphemes: t ur k ey
Phonemes: /t/ /er/ /k/ /ē/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 23/11/2024

Is anyone interested in beta testing our flashcard tool on Phonics & Stuff? We'd love some feedback before making it public. Send me a DM, if so.

Flashcard with picture and word: cat
Rating buttons of hard, medium, and easy.
A button to flip the card over.

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 20/11/2024

Wednesday is a strange word. It was one of the most requested words to add to our database. We had to make some new correspondences for the silent d and silent e.

Word mapping for Wednesday
W - /w/
e - /ĕ/
d - (silent)
n - /n/
e - (silent)
s - /s/
d - /d/
ay - /ā/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 18/11/2024

In some rare cases you need context to read an individual word correctly. They're called heteronyms, when two (or more) words are spelled the same way, but have different pronunciations and meanings. We wrote up some fun examples with Tony, Deb, and a unicorn. phonicsandstuff.com/articles/het...

Heteronyms and context clues with the picture of a unicorn

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 16/11/2024

Vacuum is a strange word. We had to create a new letter-sound (correspondence) pair in our database to account for the 'uu' spelling. We haven't seen anything else like that? Let us know if you see other words with that spelling.

Morpheme mapping for vacuum
vac = empty
4u = connector
um = forms a noun

Word mapping for vacuum
Graphemes: v a c uu m
Phonemes: /v/ /ă/ /k/ /y-ū/ /m/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 14/11/2024

Literacy. In honor of all the new Science of Reading and literacy people joining Bluesky! Enjoy some phonics and morphemes! #scienceofreading #phonics #morphemes

Word mapping for literacy
Graphemes: l i t er a c y
Phonemes: /l/ /ĭ/ /t/ /er/ /ŭ/ /s/ /ē/

Morpheme mapping for literacy
liter1 = letters, writing
acy = state of

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 08/11/2024

We're working on a flashcard app using spaced repetition. You'll pick your scope and sequence, then we populate the deck with words from our database. It's meant for a student working with a teacher. Your student reads a word, then you rate if it was Hard, Medium, or Easy for them.

Demo of flashcard app
The word appears on the flashcard app.
A user rates it 'Hard', 'Medium', or 'Easy', then the next word appears.

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 05/11/2024

Huh, it's also almost like they looked at this really strange distribution of attainment and thought something is off here... ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2023/07/year...

https://ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2023/07/year-1-phonics-attainment-2023/

Graph showing phonics Year 1 phonics scores for 2022 and 2023. The distribution is skewed entirely to the right after 32, which is the passing grade.

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 31/10/2024

Trick-or-treat! Happy Halloween!

Word mapping for Halloween
Graphemes: h a ll o w ee n
Phonemes: /h/ /ă/ /l/ /ō/ /w/ /ē/ /n/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 29/10/2024

Predictable books are just the worst! phonicsandstuff.com/articles/pre...

Predictably Terrible Books
This is a dumpster.
This is a fire.

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 25/10/2024

Shibboleth. Now you can sneak into places you aren't allowed.

Word mapping for shibboleth.
sh = /sh/
i = /ĭ/
bb = /b/
o = /ŭ/
l = /l/
e = /ĕ/
th = /th/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 24/10/2024

I got you covered. phonicsandstuff.com/word-mapping?w=Shibboleth

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 13/10/2024

We added 'Quick' word lists to our Word List Builder and worksheets. Need CVC words with 'a'? One button push! How about 'sh' digraphs? One button push! Our Word List builder is powerful, but complicated. The new quick lists should make it more accessible. Let me know! phonicsandstuff.com/wordlist

Screenshot of phonicsandstuff.com Word List Builder with short 'a' CVC words selected.

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 07/10/2024

Another 'erer'. Flatterer! The person who makes things flat… Ok, not really, but it's funnier that way.

Word mapping for flatterer
Graphemes: f l a tt er er
Phonemes: /f/ /l/ /ă/ /t/ /er/ /er/

Morpheme mapping for flatterer
flatter = flatter
er = person or thing doing action

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 28/09/2024

Metamorphosis. The act of going beyond one's shape.

Word mapping for metamorphosis
Graphemes: m e t a m o r ph o s i s
Phonemes: /m/ /ĕ/ /t/ /ŭ/ /m/ /ō/ /r/ /f/ /ŭ/ /s/ /ĭ/ /s/

Morpheme mapping for metamorphosis
meta = beyond
morph = shape
4o = connector
sis = act, state, condition of

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 18/09/2024

The 'sm' at the end of words does something to the 'm'. It's no longer just proununced /m/, it's more like a /u-m/. Sarcasm, organism, and heroism are all examples of this quirky phonics bit.

Word mapping for sarcasm
Graphemes: s a r c a s m
Phonemes: /s/ /aw/ /r/ /k/ /ă/ /z/ /ŭ-m/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 12/09/2024

Multiplicand. Just a fun word to say. If you do it with a rising tone it sounds like a question. Multiplic…and?

Word mapping for multiplicand
Graphemes: m u l t i p l i c a n d
Phonemes: /m/ /ŭ/ /l/ /t/ /ĭ/ /p/ /l/ /ĭ/ /k/ /ă/ /n/ /d/

Morpheme mapping for multiplicand
multi = many
plic = fold, yield, braid
and1 =

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 11/09/2024

Like the word succeed, the word accept has two c's, but they are for the sounds /k/ and /s/.

Word mapping for accept
Graphemes: a c c e p t
Phonemes: /ă/ /k/ /s/ /ĕ/ /p/ /t/

Morpheme mapping for accept
ac = to, toward
cept = grasp

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 09/09/2024

Fun phonics fact today! There's several double 'c' words that use two different sounds /k/ and /s/ for the 'c'. For example, succeed. You could almost replace it with an 'x' which uses the /k-s/ sounds, but that's a bit more blended.

Word mapping for succeed
Graphemes: s u c c ee d
Phonemes: /s/ /ŭ/ /k/ /s/ /ē/ /d/

Morpheme mapping for succeed
suc = under
ceed = yield, move away

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 04/09/2024

Harbinger We say the /j/ sound twice because it's also part of the n, which is pronounced /ng/. phonicsandstuff.com/word-mapping...

harbinger
h
a
r
b
i
n
g
er
/h/
/aw/
/r/
/b/
/ĭ/
/ng/
/j/
/er/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 31/08/2024

Mishap. A 'sh' that isn't a /sh/.

Word mapping for mishap
Graphemes: m i s h a p
Phonemes: /m/ /ĭ/ /s/ /h/ /ă/ /p/

Morpheme mapping for mishap
mis = wrong
hap = luck, fortune, fate

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 28/08/2024

Sweetheart - a 'th' that doesn't make the /th/ sound.

Word mapping for sweetheart
Graphemes: s w ee t h ea r t
Phonemes: /s/ /w/ /ē/ /t/ /h/ /aw/ /r/ /t/

Morpheme mapping for sweetheart
sweet = sweet
heart = heart

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 27/08/2024

The 'ph' spelling is usually prounced with /f/, except when there's two separate words being combined. It's a little loophole.

Word mapping for loophole
Graphemes: l oo p h o-e l
Phonemes: /l/ /ū/ /p/ /h/ /ō/ /l/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 25/08/2024

When English steals words from other languages we're more likely to see three vowels in a row, like in beautiful.

Word mapping for beautiful
Graphemes: b eau t i f u l
Phonemes: /b/ /y-ū/ /t/ /ĭ/ /f/ /oo/ /l/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 24/08/2024

Strenuous is like agreeable in that it has three vowels in a row, but only two vowel sounds.

Word mapping for strenuous
Graphemes: s t r e n u ou s
Phonemes: /s/ /t/ /r/ /ĕ/ /n/ /y-ū/ /ŭ/ /s/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 23/08/2024

It's not common for three vowels in a row in English words, but agreeably is one such case. Using the 'ee' for the /ē/ sound means they can't be swapped to a 'y' as often happens.

Word mapping for agreeably
Graphemes: a g r ee a b l y
Phonemes: /ŭ/ /g/ /r/ /ē/ /ŭ/ /b/ /l/ /ē/

Morpheme mapping for agreeably
agree = agree
able = can, is
ly = adverb

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 22/08/2024

"I've got the eye of the tiger" - Katy Perry in Roar. It's interesting how this lyric has both pronunciations of 'the'. The /ē/ occurs when the following word starts with a vowel and /ŭ/ occurs when the next one starts with a consonant.

Word mapping for the
Graphemes: th e
Graphemes: th e
Phonemes: /th(v)/ /ŭ/
Phonemes: /th(v)/ /ē/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 21/08/2024

Bathe (verb) and Bath (noun). Again, the voiced /th/ is a verb and unvoiced one is a noun.

Word mapping for bath
Graphemes: b a th
Phonemes: /b/ /ă/ /th/

Word mapping for bathe
Graphemes: b a the
Phonemes: /b/ /ā/ /th(v)/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 20/08/2024

Clothe (verb) and Cloth (noun). Another pair of words, where the voiced /th/ word is a verb, uses 'the' for it spelling, while the unvoiced counterpart is a noun. Language is weird.

Word mapping for cloth
Graphemes: c l o th
Phonemes: /k/ /l/ /ŏ/ /th/

Word mapping for clothe
Graphemes: c l o the
Phonemes: /k/ /l/ /ō/ /th(v)/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 19/08/2024

For the /th/ sound both the voiced and unvoiced almost always use the same spelling 'th'. However, there's a subset of voiced /th/ words that are verbs and use 'the' for their spelling and they all have an unvoiced counterpart that is a noun. So 'breathe' is the verb and 'breath' is the noun.

Word mapping for breath
Graphemes: b r ea th
Phonemes: /b/ /r/ /ĕ/ /th/

Word mapping for breathe
Graphemes: b r ea the
Phonemes: /b/ /r/ /ē/ /th(v)/

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 18/08/2024

The morphemes of pretentious seemed odd, but when phrased as 'to stretch oneself before' it makes sense to me.

Word mapping for pretentious
Graphemes: p r e t e n ti ou s
Phonemes: /p/ /r/ /ē/ /t/ /ĕ/ /n/ /sh/ /ŭ/ /s/

Morpheme mapping for pretentious
pre = before
tent = hold, stretch
4i = connector
ous = forms adjective, having qualities of

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 17/08/2024

I've seen this in the phonics attainment surveys each year. Can you guess what the passing threshold is for phonics score? This is not a normal distribution and I doubt teachers just stop teaching once they've magically gotten to 32.

Phonics scores for 2022 and 2023. A graph showing the majority of students manage to make it to the required threshold and a completely empty distribution before that.

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Julia Shayto @phonicsandstuff.com · 17/08/2024

Spelling pencil can be confusing because 'le' is the most common spelling for /ŭ-l/, but there are others. Our database groups /ŭ-l/ together, so you can see them all. So when little pupils use several pencils to write symbols at level tables, we know that /ŭ-l/ can be spelled different ways.

Word mapping for pencil
Graphemes: p e n c il
Phonemes: /p/ /ĕ/ /n/ /s/ /ŭ-l/

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