Words in Colour is an approach to literacy invented by Caleb Gattegno. [1] Words in Colour first appeared in 1962, published simultaneously in the UK and US. Later versions were published in French ( French : Lecture en Couleurs) and Spanish ( Spanish : Letras en Color). [2]
Words in Colour is a synthetic phonics system that uses colour to indicate the phonetic properties of letters. [3] The system has been adapted for the use of deaf children, [4] and for dyslexic children. [3] Words in Colour was one of a number of colour assisted schemes, being followed by Colour Story Reading, Colour Phonics System and English Colour Code. [5]
Caleb Gattegno created a phonic chart named Fidel™. [6] Its purpose is to teach children how to correlate different sounds with letters.
| Letters and Groups | IPA | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| t, tt, te, ed, d, tte, pt, bt, ct, cht, th, phth, 't | /t/ | Dark Magenta |
| w, wh, u, o | /w/ | Cyan |
| m, mm, me, mb, lm, gm, mn, 'm | /m/ | Crimson |
| a, e, u, o, i, ou, io, oi, iou, oa, eou, eo, ia, ai, ie, ei, au, iu, ea, eau, ah, ough, he, y | /ə/ | Yellow |
| s, ss, se, 's, c, ce, sc, st, sw, ps, sce, sse, sch, sth, tz | /s/ | Light Green |
| o, oe, ow, owe, oa, ou, ew, oh, ough, eau, oo, au, eo, ot | /oʊ/ | Brown to Teal |
| p, pp, pe, ph, bp | /p/ | Maroon |
| s, ss, se, 's, z, zz, ze, x, si, thes, sth | /z/ | Purple |
| f, ff, fe, ph, gh, lf, ft, ffe, pph | /f/ | Lavender |
| r, rr, re, wr, rh, rps, rp, rt, rrh, rre, lo, 're | /ɹ/ | Orange |
| h, wh, j | /h/ | Light Blue |
| l, ll, le, lle, 'll | /l/ | Navy |
| e, ee, ea, y, ie, ei, i, eo, ey, ay, oe, ae, is | /i/ | Red |
| v, f, ve, lve, ph, 've | /v/ | Ochre |
| th, the, h, t, phth | /θ/ | Canary |
| th, the | /ð/ | Pink |
| g, gg, gu, gh, gue, ckgu | /ɡ/ | Gray |
| u, o, a, ou, oo, oe | /ʌ/ | Light Yellow |
| d, dd, de, ed, ld, 'd, t, tt | /d/ | Green |
| e, ea, a, u, ai, ay, ie, eo, ei, ae | /ɛ/ | Blue |
| b, bb, be, bu, pb | /b/ | Dark Green |
| a, au, ai, i | /æ/ | Light Pink |
| i, y, o, ey, a, ay, u, ui, e, ee, ia, ai, ie, ei, ea, hi, ae, hea, is, ois | /ɪ/ | Magenta |
| s, z, ge, t | /ʒ/ | Azure |
| n, nn, ne, kn, gn, pn, mn, gne, in, on, dne, nd, ln | /n/ | Violet |
| o, a, ho, oh, ow, eau | /ɒ/ | White |
| y, i, j, u | /j/ | Rose |
| u, e, o, i, ea, ou, y | /ɚ/ | Light Red-Pink |
| o, a, au, aw, awe, ough, oa, augh, oo, ou, hau, ho, ao, oi, owa | /ɔ/ | Light Brown |
| a, ea, ah, aa, au, e | /ɑ/ | Dark Purple |
| k, kk, ke, ck, c, cc, ch, lk, qu, que, che, cqu, cch, co, kh | /k/ | Orange-Yellow |
| o, oo, ew, ou, ui, u, oe, ue, eu, ough, wo, ieu | /u/ | Dark Teal |
| a, ai, ea, e, ei, hei, ae, aye, ayo, ey | /ɛə/ | Teal |
| oo, ou, u, o | /ʊ/ | Grayish Blue |
| m | /m̩/ | Yellow to Crimson |
| n | /n̩/ | Yellow to Violet |
| 's | /əz/ | Yellow to Purple |
| l, le, 'll | /l̩/ | Yellow to Blue |
| wh | /ʍ/ | Light Blue to Teal |
| r, re, 're | /ɹ̩/ | Yellow to Orange |
| u, you, eu | /jɚ/ | Light Red-Pink to Grayish Blue |
| o, a, au, oa, oo, ou, ho, ao, oi, owa | /ɔː/ | Brown |
| sh, ch, t, s, ss, c, sch, sc, che | /ʃ/ | Light Teal |
| ch, tch, t, c, che | /tʃ/ | Dark Magenta |
| ng, n, ngue, nd | /ŋ/ | Grayish Yellow |
| I, i, y, ie, ye, igh, eye, eigh, is, ais, ei, aye | /aɪ/ | White to Pink |
| a, ai, ay, ey, ei, eigh, ea, aigh, et, ae, au, e, ee | /eɪ/ | Blue to Pink |
| u, you, ew, iew, eau, ue, ieu, ewe, yew, hu, eu, eue | /ju/ | Pink to Green |
| ou, hou, ow, ough | /aʊ/ | Purple to Teal |
| oi, oy, aw | /ɔɪ/ | Brown to Pink |
| oi | /wɑ/ | Teal to Purple |
| o | /wʌ/ | Teal to Yellow |
| j, g, d, dge, ge, gg, dg, dj | /dʒ/ | Green to Blue |
| qu, cqu | /kw/ | Orange to Teal |
| x, xe, cc, xc | /ks/ | Orange to Green |
| x | /ɡz/ | Gray to Purple |
| x | /kʃ/ | Orange to Blue |
| x | /ɡʒ/ | Gray to Blue |
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