Spalding phonograms are the written symbols, letters or letter teams, that represent the sounds in the English language. Instead of asking students to memorize words by sight alone, the Spalding method teaches students to hear, say, write, and analyze the sounds that make up words. Students learn phonograms such as a, sh, ough, or ea, along with spelling rules, handwriting, pronunciation, and word meaning. The point is not just decoding. It is training the mind to understand how language works.

At Great Hearts, Spalding is used in the early grades as a foundational approach to literacy. Students practice phonograms, spelling, handwriting, reading, and sentence work in a structured, explicit way so they build strong habits from the beginning. This supports the broader classical curriculum because students are not just learning to “read enough to get by.” They are being prepared to read carefully, write clearly, spell with confidence, and eventually engage with rich literature, history, poetry, philosophy, and primary texts across the K–12 curriculum.

All Phonograms Videos

1(a) 2(c) 3(d) 4(f) 5(g) 6(o) 7(s) 8(qu) 9(b) 10(e) 11(h) 12(i) 13(j) 14(k) 15(l) 16(m) 17(n) 18(p) 19(r) 20(t) 21(u) 22(v) 23(w) 24(x) 25(y) 26(z)27(sh) 28(ee) 29(th) 30(ow) 31(ou) 32(oo) 33(ch) 34(ar) 35(ay) 36(ai) 37(oy) 38(oi) 39(er) 40(ir) 41(ur) 42(wor) 43(ear) 44(ng) 45(ea) 46(aw)47(au) 48(or) 49(ck) 50(wh) 51(ed) 52(ew) 53(ui) 54(oa) 55(gu) 56(ph) 57(ough) 58(oe) 59(ey) 60(igh) 61(kn) 62(gn) 63(wr) 64(ie) 65(dge)66(ei) 67(eigh) 68(ti) 69(si) 70(ci)