Questions

What is Phonics Picnic?

Phonics Picnic is a free website that splits English words into their phonics units and reads each sound, and each whole word, aloud. It has 8892 words in American English and 8877 in British English.

Is it free? Do I need an account?

It is free, with no account and no sign-up. There is no advertising, no cookies and no third-party analytics.

How do I hear a word sound by sound?

Open the word's page, for example frog. Tap a tile to hear it; press Read aloud to hear its sounds and then the whole word. The dial above the word chooses what Read aloud reads: the sounds, the sounds then the word, or the word.

How do you sound out frog?

Frog has 4 sounds: f · r · o · g. Every word on the site has its own page that shows its sounds the same way, for example night (n · igh · t) or cake (c · a…e · k).

How are the words split into sounds?

Our splits primarily follow UFLI Foundations' grapheme units. CMUdict supplies American pronunciation and stress; it does not decide the teaching groupings. Published spelling–sound research and recorded editorial decisions fill gaps. Software proposes alignments, and ambiguous cases are flagged for review; some groupings remain provisional. The site uses stored splits. Read more about our sources and process.

Why do some tiles have two or three letters?

Those letters spell one sound together: sh in ship, igh in night, ck in duck. A few tiles go the other way, one spelling for more than one sound: x in fox, qu in quiz, ing in jumping. A split unit such as a…e in cake is written where its letters stand, with a line joining them.

What does the heart mean?

A heart marks a part of a word that is not spelled the way its sound usually is, the part learned by heart. These are UFLI Foundations' heart words; in England they are called tricky words or common exception words. Some hearts last only until a lesson teaches that spelling.

Is it the same voice everywhere?

Yes. One voice reads every sound and every word, at three speeds: normal, slow and slower, and the same clip plays wherever that sound appears. The British pages use the same voice speaking British English.

Has a person listened to the sounds?

The voice was chosen by ear, sound by sound, and every sound and every word has been listened to by a person. New words are listened to as they are added, and a clip that did not pass was not put up.

Is it American or British English?

Both. US and UK at the top of every page switch between them; the British pages are under /en-GB/, with British spellings (colour) and British sounds.

Which phonics programs does it line up with?

In American English: UFLI Foundations lessons, CKLA Skills, Montessori's pink, blue and green series, Common Core, Florida B.E.S.T., TEKS and the Ontario Language curriculum, and the Dolch, Fry and word family lists. In British English: Letters and Sounds, Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, the national curriculum in England with its common exception words, and the Australian Curriculum.

Is it made by UFLI or Little Wandle?

No. Phonics Picnic is original work, not made or endorsed by UFLI, the University of Florida, Little Wandle or any program named on it. Lesson numbers are there only to help you find your place.

Does it tell me what to teach?

No. It gives the words, their sounds and a way to hear them, in the order a program already has. What to teach, when and how is yours.

Can I use it on a projector or whiteboard?

Yes. Any page of words works as a classroom tool. Projector fills the screen with one word at a time; the arrow keys or a slide clicker step through sound, sound, word, next word. Play all reads the page's words one after another, each once, twice or three times, with a pause of one, two or four seconds. No advertising on the screen, nothing to install, no account: a bookmark or a shared link opens the same words the same way.

Can I print the words?

Yes. Any page of words prints as a copy sheet: each word with its dots and lines, once to trace, then room to write it. The sheet carries a QR code that opens the same words, so the words on paper can be heard.

Can I make my own word list?

Yes, up to 100 words. Pick words on any page, name the list and save it; share it as a link or a QR code that opens the same words on any device. A list that has been shared stays as it is, and editing it saves a new list.

What does the site keep about me?

Nothing about who you are. The site counts how it is used, one browser tab at a time: which pages were opened, which words were heard, which buttons were pressed, never anything typed or a child's answers. Word lists you save stay in your browser on your device, and clearing the browser's data removes them. See Privacy.

What does IPA show?

IPA shows each sound under its letters in the International Phonetic Alphabet, the way dictionaries write sounds.

A word is missing or split wrongly. What do I do?

Write to hello@phonicspicnic.com with the word. A word is added only once its split has been checked, so it may take a little while.