Marking System

The marking system is a visual representation of the 'thinking steps' to support reading. You have to think about the sound symbol connection and rule application before marking the word. 

They are used to support reading and spelling. For example when reading the word light we underline the phonogram 'igh' in light to help identify them as a three letter code and should be read together to make one sound and not three individual sounds. It is the same for the phonograms 'sh' and 'ar' in sh ar p. 

It is a visual cue to help identify phonograms and to cue in what sound it will make. For example in came has a Silent Final E which tells us to read the vowel a using its second sound (Job 1).

There are 8 different reasons for marking words. View the different marking systems and purpose for each in the chart below. Select Stage 3 to view how the marking system is used when spelling and reading words.