Word Time Information

In the Read Write Inc. (RWI) phonics programme, "Green Words" are real, phonetically decodable words that children can sound out and blend using the sounds they have already learnt in class.

They are called green words because green means "go"—children are safe to go ahead and sound them out. 

This contrasts with Red Words, which are "tricky" or common exception words that cannot be phonetically decoded yet (e.g., "said" or "your"). 

Word Time is an essential step in our Read Write Inc Phonics programme, where children learn to blend sounds together to read words. During these sessions, we introduce our friendly toy frog, Fred, who can only speak in sounds—a technique we call 'Fred Talk'.

Green Words

For example, Fred will say m-a-t, and the children will blend those sounds together to say the whole word, mat. As your child progresses through the Word Time levels, they will practice these decodable 'Green Words' daily until they can read them effortlessly and fluently.

You can support your child at home by practising 'Fred Talk' during everyday activities (e.g., "put on your c-oa-t") and reviewing the word lists sent home to help build their reading confidence!

Below you will find the different Word Time words your child will be beginning to learn and work through as they learn the Set 1 sounds in Reception.

The purpose of the Word Time words is to support your child in the early stages of orally blending and spelling CVC words using sounds they already know.

These words are to be practised as often as possible to encourage your child's oral blending development. 

Red Words

Red Words are words that children encounter frequently in their reading that cannot be sounded out using phonics. In our programme, we teach children that you "can't Fred a Red" because these words have tricky spellings that don't follow the usual rules (such as said, the, was, and your).

Because these words can't be decoded, children need to practice recognising them on sight until they can read them quickly and confidently.

You can help your child at home by spotting these tricky words in their reading books, making flashcards, or playing simple matching games to help them memorise these everyday words.

See below for red words and the red word progression.