Sound Waves Spelling
Welcome to the new and improved Sound Waves Spelling!
Sound Waves Spelling is a whole-school program developed by Australian teachers for use in Australian classrooms.
New edition, new features!
Re-imagined teaching resources, improved student book activities, exciting new products – the new Sound Waves Spelling has got the lot!
Already familiar with Sound Waves? We’ve compiled a list of what’s new for teachers and students.
Four areas of teaching
Phonemic awareness, synthetic phonics, morphology and etymology
Informed by research on the best practices for teaching spelling, the program incorporates four key areas of teaching:
- Phonemic awareness: the ability to work with phonemes.
- Synthetic phonics: phonics instruction that involves teaching phoneme–grapheme relationships.
- Morphology: knowledge of the meaningful parts of words: prefixes, suffixes, and Greek and Latin roots.
- Etymology: understanding of word origins and history.
A whole-school approach
Written specifically for Australian classrooms
Sound Waves Spelling follows a logical and thorough scope and sequence.
The program is organised around the 43 phonemes (sounds) of Australian English and the graphemes (a letter or letter combination) used to represent them in written language.
Instruction builds from Foundation to Year 6, starting with simple phoneme–grapheme relationships before exploring more complex relationships, morphology and etymology.
Download the Scope and Sequence document.
Explicit teaching and targeted practice
Success starts with effective instruction
With Sound Waves Spelling, you can deliver explicit teaching and targeted practice in a way that is comprehensive and cohesive.
The Sound Waves Spelling Online Teaching Resources include everything you need to explicitly teach phoneme–grapheme relationships, and spelling and vocabulary concepts.
This teaching is paired with targeted practice that allows students to apply their knowledge and skills in student book activities that mirror what has been taught in lessons.
From planning to assessment – and everything in between
Sound Waves Spelling provides everything you need to deliver effective spelling lessons from Foundation to Year 6.
A clear and consistent focus 
Each year level is divided into weekly units of work*.
Units are based on one or two of the 43 phonemes of Australian English. In these units students study:
- the focus phoneme/s and the common graphemes used to represent them
- Focus Words that contain the focus phoneme and link to Focus Concepts
- Focus Concepts that cover a range of spelling and vocabulary concepts.
* Foundation differs to reflect the specialised nature of instruction required in the first year of schooling.
Effective and engaging teaching resources 
All lessons follow the gradual release of responsibility framework that begins with explicit teaching and ends with independent student practice.
The Sound Waves Spelling Online Teaching Resources include comprehensive lesson guides and projectable slideshows (featuring videos and interactive tools) for every lesson. With everything you need at your fingertips, you can deliver systematic, explicit and engaging lessons with ease.
Take a closer look
To explore the online teaching resources, sign up for a free trial or download our online guide.
Catering for a range of student abilities
Sound Waves Spelling provides whole-class, small-group and independent activities to suit the diverse learning needs within classrooms.
Keep your spelling superstars engaged using the challenges and extension words, while you provide extra support for students requiring remediation.
Assess, diagnose and remediate
Each year level includes dedicated assessment that allows you to monitor your students’ progress.
Foundation Skills Checklist: This end-of-term assessment allows you to monitor a student’s ability to identify and use the phonemes and graphemes introduced in the Foundation program. It includes remediation activities to use where required.
Content Reviews (new): Years 1–6 now include eight Content Reviews in each year level. These mid and end-of-term tests assess students’ understanding of phoneme–grapheme relationships and previously taught concepts. The reviews include single-word and sentence dictation, and Focus Concept activities.
Spelling Diagnostic Test: This assessment is used in Years 1–6 and allows you to diagnose strengths and weaknesses for specific spelling concepts. It includes remediation activities to use where required.
Teacher support
Workshops, articles, videos and more
Professional development and support options are available to enhance your synthetic phonics knowledge and help you get the most out of Sound Waves Spelling.
With our ongoing support options you can:
- request an in-school workshop delivered by a Sound Waves Spelling expert
- browse professional learning articles and videos
- find technical support, answers to frequently asked questions and more.
It’s all there, all year round! Explore now.