It’s a little hard to scan through all the playing cards in the Spelfabet shop, so this page aims to help you see how they’re set up, find the deck(s) you want and get the best value for your money.
All our playing cards are downloadable, printable, and child-sized (5 X 6.5cm). The words on them are based on a sound-to-print, synthetic/linguistic phonics teaching approach. There are free sample decks, so you can try some out at no cost.
In the tables below, “V” means vowel sound, “C” means consonant sound, and only the top rows of each table are visible until you select “show 25 entries” on their drop-down menus.
Basic/initial code
The first 18 decks cost AUD$20 if bought as a set, and cover the simplest spellings in English, starting with VC and CVC words, increasing to CCCVCC and CCVCCC, and then introducing six consonant digraphs.
| Deck name and link | Syllable structure | Spellings added | Example words | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playing Cards Basic Code CVC 1 | VC and CVC | a, b, c, g, h, i, n, o, p, s, t | cat, got, hit, man, sip | $0.00 |
| Playing cards basic code CVC 2 | CVC | c, d, e, f, g, j, k, l, m, r, u, v, w, z | jet, fun, kid, let, van | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code FF LL SS ZZ | CVC and CVCC (where CC=x) | ff, ll, ss, zz, x | fizz, mess, will, puff, box | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code VCC & CVCC | VCC and CVCC | No extra spellings | act, its, gift, rest, self | $0.00 |
| Playing cards basic code CCVC | CCVC | No extra spellings | cross, drum, flat, still, twin | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code CCCVCC & CCVCCC | CCCVC, CVCCC, CCVCCC, CCCVCC, CCCVCCC | No extra spellings | scrap, sifts, stamp, strict, splints | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code CCVCC 1 | CCVCC | No extra spellings | blink, clamp, crest, drift, dwelt | $0.00 |
| Playing cards basic code CCVCC 2 | CCVCC | No extra spellings | frost, flips, gland, print, plant | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code CCVCC 3 | CCVCC | No extra spellings | scamp, skips, slept, spilt, split | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code CCVCC & CCCVC | CCVCC and CCCVC | No extra spellings | stink, scrub, spring, trust, twigs | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code VCCC & CVCCC | VCCC and CVCCC | No extra spellings | acts, camps, ducts, films, kilns | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code VCCC & CVCCC 2 | VCCC and CVCCC | No extra spellings | opts, midst, nests, tempt, wilts | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code SH | VC to CCVCC | sh | ash, fresh, shelf, shut, wish | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code CH | CVC to CCVCC | ch | brunch, chest, hunch, rich, zilch | $0.00 |
| Playing cards basic code TH | CVC to CVCCVCC | th | depth, method, sloth, that, this | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code NG | CVC to CCCVC | ng | cling, hang, long, spring, thing | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code CK | CVC to CCVC | ck | black, deck, lick, rock, truck | $2.00 |
| Playing cards basic code WH & QU | CVC to CVCCCVC and VCCVCVCC | qu and wh | equip, quench, squint, whack, whisk | $2.00 |
Extended code 1
The next 15 decks cost AUD$16.67 if bought as a set (the same per-deck price as the first set), and mostly introduce one vowel spelling per deck. There are two combined decks, and three decks which contrast “short” and “long” vowels with split spellings (“cap/cape”, “win/wine”, “hop/hope”, etc).
| Deck name and link | Syllable structure | Spellings added | Example words | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extended code: AI as in rain | 1 syllable words | ai as in rain | aim, faith, paint, strain, wait | $0.00 |
| Extended code: EE as in see | 1 syllable words | ee as in see | feet, need, queen, street, tree | $2.00 |
| Extended code: OA as in boat | 1 & 2 syllable words | oa as in boat | coat, goal, oats, road, soapbox | $2.00 |
| Extended code: UR as in turn | 1 & 2 syllable words | ur as in turn (ge as in urge se as in nurse ve as in curve) | burn, hurt, murmur, surge, turnip | $2.00 |
| Extended code: EA as in head | 1 to 3 syllable words | ea as in head (er as in weather ure as in pleasure ous as in jealous y as in heavy ow as in meadow) | already, dreamt, instead, pleasant, wealth | $2.00 |
| Extended code: OW as in now | 1 to 3 syllable words | ow as in cow | allow, crowd, growl, now, towel | $0.00 |
| Extended code: OO as in soon | 1 syllable words | oo as in boot | booth, food, noon, spook, zoo | $2.00 |
| Extended code: OO as in good, IGH as in night | 1-2 syllable words | oo as in good igh as in night | book, stood, wool, bright, delight, insight | $2.00 |
| Extended code: OO as in soonExtended code: OR as in for | 1-2 syllable words | or as in for | born, export, orbit, port, torch | $2.00 |
| Extended code: OI as in coin | 1-2 syllable words | oi as in coin (ce as in choice) | avoid, foil, joint, noisy, moist | $2.00 |
| Extended code: AR as in farm | 1-2 syllable words | ar as in car | arm, garden, march, shark, target | $2.00 |
| Extended code: AR as in farmExtended code: AIR as in hair, EAR as in near | 1-2 syllable words | air as in hair ear as in hear (u as in tearful) | air, dairy, fair, clear, smear, year | $2.00 |
| Short A & split A…E | 1 syllable words | a...e as in tape cf a as in tap | can/cane, mad/made, plan/plane | $0.00 |
| Short I & split I…E | 1 syllable words | i...e as in pine cf i as in pin | hat/hate, slid/slide, twin/twine | $2.00 |
| Short E O U & split E…E O…E U…E | 1 syllable words | e...e as in theme & e as in them o...e as in slope & o as in slop u...e as in tube & u as in tub | them/theme, cloth/clothe, us/use | $2.00 |
Extended code 2
The next 12 decks cost AUD$13.33 if bought as a set, and first introduce final “le” and “ing” syllables and doubled consonants, then review consonant digraphs, then introduce seven new vowel spellings, each with two to five spellings.
The teaching sequence here fairly closely matches the one in the Alba/Totem books.
| Deck name and link | Syllable structure | Spellings added | Example words | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final -le syllable | 2-syllable words | doubled consonants | candle, little, middle, puzzle, sprinkle | $2.00 |
| Final -ing syllable | 2-syllable words | "ing" suffix | adding, giggling, kicking, mixing, topping | $2.00 |
| Basic code ch & tch | 1-syllable words | tch | bench, fetch, pinch, stitch, which | $2.00 |
| Basic code ch, sh, th | 1 & 2 syllable words | No extra spellings | chest, branch, publish, thus, width | $2.00 |
| Basic code ck, ng, qu, wh | 1 syllable words | No extra spellings | bring, check, quest, track, whack | $2.00 |
| Extended code ai, a...e, ay, a | 1 & 2 syllable words | ay as in day a as in apron | basic, fail, play, ray, saving | $0.00 |
| Extended code ee, ea, e, y, ey | 1 & 2 syllable words | ea as in sea e as in me y as in funny ey as in chimney | demon, kidney, least, three, very | $2.00 |
| Extended code o...e, oa, ow, o | 1 & 2 syllable words | ow as in slow o as in go | banjo, follow, load, most, vote | $2.00 |
| Extended code er, ir, ur | 1 & 2 syllable words | er as in term ir as in bird | burden, confirm, first, perfect, suburb | $0.00 |
| Extended code ou, ow | 1 & 2 syllable words | ou as in out | about, found, now, power, sound | $2.00 |
| Extended code igh, i...e, y, i | 1 & 2 syllable words | y as in my i as in find | blind, fry, invite, slight, white | $2.00 |
| Extended code oo, ew, u...e, u | 1 & 2 syllable words | ew as in chew u as in flu | crew, fluent, prune, room, scuba | $2.00 |
Extended code 3
The next 12 decks cost AUD$13.33 if bought as a set, and revise spellings from the previous sets while adding extra spellings, and mixing them into a deck of high-frequency words.
The teaching sequence here fairly closely matches the one in the Rescue/Talisman 1/Island Adventure books.
| Deck name and link | Syllable structure | Spellings added | Example words | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extended code a...e, ai, ay, a, ey, ea | 1 & 2 syllable words | ey as in they ea as in break | plane, afraid, delay, table, obey, great | $0.00 |
| Extended code ee, ea, e, y, ie, ei, e...e | 1 to 3 syllable words | ie as in brief ei as in ceiling | coffee, disease, secret, family, achieve, deceit, athlete | $2.00 |
| Extended code o...e, oa, o, ow, oe | 1 to 3 syllable words | oe as in toe | mangoes, only, poach, remote, thrown | $2.00 |
| Extended code er, ir, ur, ear, or | 1 & 2 syllable words | ear as in learn or as in word | circle, hurl, search, swerve, work | $0.00 |
| Extended code ou, ow, oi, oy | 1 & 2 syllable words | oy as in boy | annoy, join, sprout, owl | $2.00 |
| Extended code oo, u...e, ue, ew, ou, u | 1 & 2 syllable words | ue as in glue ou as in soup | smooth, rule, clue. shrewd, group, ruby | $2.00 |
| Extended code igh, i...e, ie, i, y | 1 & 2 syllable words | ie as in tie | allies, crisis, define, tying, upright | $2.00 |
| Extended code or, ore, aw | 1 & 2 syllable words | ore as in more aw as in saw | crawl, law, snore, thorn, wore | $2.00 |
| Extended code a, al, ar, ough, augh, au | 1 & 2 syllable words | a as in ball al as in talk ar as in warm ough as in bought augh as in taught au as in August | caught, fought, stalk, trauma, wall, warm | $2.00 |
| Extended code air, are, ear, ere, eir | 1 & 2 syllable words | are as in care ear as in wear ere as in here eir as in their | bear, care, stairs, heir, where | $2.00 |
| Extended code ar, a, al, au, ear | 1 & 2 syllable words | a as in glass al as in calm au as in aunt ear as in heart | dark, hearth, laugh, palm, vast | $2.00 |
| High-frequency words | 1 & 2 syllable words | No extra spellings | away, call, down, first, game, house, morning, party, too, you | Not available separately |
Advanced code 1
These 12 decks cost AUD$13.33 if bought as a set, and introduce a new vowel sound and extra spellings for two “short” vowels. There are then four decks focussed on consonant sounds with multiple spellings, then four decks of words built with Latin suffixes, and a deck of homographs.
The teaching sequence here fairly closely matches the one in the Titan’s Gauntlets/Talisman 2 books.
| Deck name and link | Syllable structure | Spellings/suffixes added | Example words | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extended code u...e, ue, eu, ew, ui, eau, uu | 1 to 3 syllable words | u...e as in dune ue as in value eu as in feud ew as in stew ui as in nuisance eau as in beauty uu as in vacuum | cute, argue, few, neutral, pursuit, beautiful, vacuum | $2.00 |
| Extended code u, o, ou, oo, oe | 1 to 2 syllable words | o as in won ou as in cousin oo as in blood oe as in does | but, flood, other southern, does | $2.00 |
| Extended code o, a, au, ou | 1 to 4 syllable words | a as in was au as in because ou as in cough | fault, shop, trough, want | $2.00 |
| Advanced code s, ss, se, c, ce, sc, st | 1 to 2 syllable words | se as in house c as in cent ce as in voice sc as in scene st as in castle | cent, juice, listen, mess, nurse, sauce | $2.00 |
| Advanced code l, ll, al, el, il, ol, le | 1 to 2 syllable words | al as in petal el as in pedal il as in idol | beetle, flush, grill, lentil, model, total, pistol | $2.00 |
| Advanced code j, g, ge, dge, dg, dj | 1 to 3 syllable words | g as in gem ge as in large dge as in fridge dg as in budget dj as in adjust | adjust, danger, fidget, hinge, judge | $2.00 |
| Advanced code f, ff, ph, gh, pph | 1 to 3 syllable words | ph as in phone gh as in rough pph as in sapphire | fluff, graph, sapphire, tough | $2.00 |
| Advanced code ture | 1 to 4 syllable words | ture as in nature | culture, furniture, temperature | $2.00 |
| Advanced code ion, ian | 1 to 3 syllable words | ion as in action, sion as in pension ssion as in session cian as in musician tian as in Egyptian | election, magician, optician revision, session | $2.00 |
| Advanced code ial, ious, ia, ient | 1 to 3 syllable words | cial as in facial tial as in partial cious as in vicious tious as in cautious cia as in acacia tia as in militia ient as in quotient | ambitious, anxious, delicious, essential, initial, patient, racial | $2.00 |
| Advanced code ion, ure | 1 to 3 syllable words | sion as in division sure as in treasure | closure, decision, invasion, measure | $2.00 |
| Homographs | 1 to 2 syllable words | No extra spellings | content, does, lead, moped, record | $2.00 |
Extra decks
These 12 decks cost AUD$13.33 if bought as a set, and cover compound words, “soft” C and G, additional spellings of “short” vowel sounds and additional consonant sounds with multiple spellings.
| Deck name and link | Syllable Structure | Spellings/suffixes added | Example words | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound words | 2 syllable words | N/A | backpack, chestnut, drumstick, eggshell, grandstand, himself, lipstick | $2.00 |
| C sounds like /s/e | 1 and 2 syllable words | C pronounced /s/ | cement, ice, place, pencil, produce, civil, race, recent | $2.00 |
| G sounds like /j/e | 1 to 4 syllable words | G pronounced /j/ | age, danger, giant, huge | $2.00 |
| Spellings of /e/ | 1 and 2 syllable words | multiple spellings of /e/ | bed, bread, again, any, bury, leisure, friend, leopard | $2.00 |
| Spellings of /i/ | 1 to 3 syllable words | multiple spellings of /i/ | did, myth, English, busy, women, sieve | $2.00 |
| Spellings of /oo/ | 1 to 3 syllable words | multiple spellings of "short" /oo/ | cook, full, should, woman | $0 |
| Spellings of /m/ | 1 to 3 syllable words | multiple spellings of /m/ | common, climb, solemn, come, phlegm | $2.00 |
| Spellings of /n/ | 1 to 3 syllable words | multiple spellings of /n/ | tunnel, know, gnome, caffeine, julienne, pneumatic, mnemonic | $2.00 |
| Spellings of /t/ | 1 to 4 syllable words | multiple spellings of /t/ | top, tattoo, torte, statuette, subtle, Thailand, receipt, yacht | $2.00 |
| Spellings of /k/ | 1 to 4 syllable words | multiple spellings of /k/ | broccoli, scheme, quiche, opaque, acquit, zucchini, khaki | $0 |
| Spellings of /g/ | 1 to 4 syllable words | multiple spellings of /g/ | juggle, guy, ghetto, synagogue, renege | $2.00 |
| Spellings of /r/ | 1 to 4 syllable words | multiple spellings of /r/ | mirror, wrap, rhubarb, diarrhoea | $2.00 |
The Spelfabet shop has affordable, downloadable spelling teaching resources.
