MEET BEAT BOX PHONICS
Small sounds.
A beat of their own.
Phonics Studio turns familiar sounds into an adult-led rhythm activity. Listen to a sound model, echo a pattern and practise one coloured tile at a time, individually or together as a class.
Supplementary practice using sounds already taught in the child’s phonics programme.
LISTEN FIRST. THEN HAVE A GO.
The child sets the pace
Choose familiar sounds
Select a prepared lesson or make a pattern from taught sounds. Begin with voice sounds and body beats before adding letter cues.
Hear a clear model
Play individual sounds or hear a groove with a four-beat count-in. Slow, Steady and Bouncy paces leave room for the recorded sounds.
Echo the rhythm
Use Copy with the loop for four repeats, or stop and model a short part together. Quiet gaps and highlighted counts make the rhythm visible.
Practise each turn
A guided tile waits until the adult confirms the response. Listening to a loop does not mark a sound secure or count as an assessment.
A PATH YOU CAN ADAPT
5 levels. 21 prepared lessons.
Choose the level that matches what has been taught. These levels are a practice map, not a replacement teaching sequence.
Find your sound
Copy gentle voice sounds and body beats. Pictures come before letters.
Meet the letters
Connect familiar sounds to letters, then blend a first word.
Sound teams
Practise taught letter teams as one sound, then blend them into words.
Build a longer beat
Keep each known sound clear as you blend adjacent consonants.
Remix the spellings
Revisit taught alternative spellings and split digraphs.
FAMILIAR RHYTHMS, PHONICS SOUNDS
6 grooves to get you started
Try pop-and-tap backbeats, a classic p · t · k pattern, double pops, an offbeat switch or a sh · ch remix. Keep sh and ch together as single taught sounds.
Customise a lesson or make your own with repeated sounds, emphasis, half-, one- or two-beat positions and quiet rests. Word-blending patterns remain separate from counted grooves so each word gets the time it needs.
TRY THE DOUBLE POP
Change just one sound
Listen to the steady pattern first. Then replace the t after beat 3 with another p. Echo a short part before joining the full groove.
Only choose this pattern after p, t and k have been taught. Gentle articulation is enough.
A FEW GOOD QUESTIONS
Before you get started
Does the studio automatically judge pronunciation?
No. Beat Box does not use microphone recognition to decide whether a sound is correct. Adults listen and confirm guided turns; sound security is not awarded just for playing a loop or completing self-reported practice.
Is this a validated systematic synthetic phonics programme?
No. RhymeTime Phonics Studio is supplementary practice, not a DfE-validated systematic synthetic phonics programme. Adults should follow their school’s chosen programme and select the correspondences already taught.
Can a whole class take part?
Yes. An adult can lead a class through a shared rhythm or guide an individual child. Whole-class turns do not create individual assessment results for every pupil.
What can I change in a prepared lesson?
Make a separate customised copy, select taught sounds or voice cues, change their order and repetition, and choose the listening pace. Counted grooves also support durations, emphasis and rests. Existing saved lessons retain their original recipe.
Is Phonics included in every RhymeTime plan?
No. School Phonics access is separately licensed and enabled. Family plans offer Rapping, Phonics Studio or both; the family pricing page shows those options.
Find the right starting sound.
Tell us whether you’re exploring Phonics for a school or at home.