The Big Pit

The Big Pit Synopsis

Support children's reading with these engaging high-low fully decodable phonic books. The age-appropriate themes and content will hook the most reluctant and struggling readers.

Build confidence and fluency. Expertly levelled phonic high-low readers for use at home and school.

ABOUT UNDERWATER EXPLORERS: This is the first book about underwater explorers, Jen, Rav, Tess and Max the dog, who have adventures on their mini submarine. This mini-series follows a group of underwater explorers as they have adventures in their mini-sub. It addresses a number of environmental issues related to the ocean.

• Book 1: Underwater Explorers
• Fiction
• Focus Sounds: Phase 2 Set 3: ff ll ss j v w x y z zz
• Revision Sounds: Phase 2 Sets 1 and 2

Why choose a book from Striders Phonics Readers.

• Age-appropriate content and design - Engaging stories and non-fiction topics created specifically for older readers, avoiding the look and feel of books designed for much younger children.
• Inclusive and engaging - Features diverse characters, artwork and photography that reflect a wide range of experiences and backgrounds.
• Bridges the gap to mainstream reading - Includes chapters, recurring fiction characters, contents pages and headings to mirror the features children encounter in age-appropriate books.
• Built-in support for adults - Every book includes guidance notes to help parents, carers and educators support successful reading practice.
• Encourages comprehension and discussion - Fiction titles include character introductions, while non-fiction books feature contents pages and end-of-book summaries to deepen understanding.
• Engaging fiction and non-fiction mix - Four mini fiction series with recurring characters build familiarity and motivation, while stand-alone non-fiction titles introduce fascinating real-world topics.
• Designed for progression and success - Each set revisits sounds from earlier books, supporting retention, mastery and reading confidence.

Striders Phonics Readers are perfect for parents, carers and teachers looking for fully decodable books that provide structured reading practice and clear guidance for supporting older children to read.

SERIES INFORMATION

Striders Phonics Readers are a collection of 32 high-low phonically decodable books for readers aged 7+ with a reading age of 4 to 6. These expertly levelled consolidation readers are perfect for sending home to support classroom teaching, and follow one of the most commonly used validated SSPs in primary schools, with focus sounds following the same progression, and each set of books revising the sounds found in previous sets.

Scholastic considers these books suitable for children learning using the Wandle Learning Trust's Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised phonics programme. Scholastic is not part of Wandle Learning Trust, nor are our products approved for use with the Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Revised phonics programme by the Wandle Learning Trust.

Focus sounds found in each Scholastic Set:

• Phase 2 Set 1: s a t p i n m d (used as revision sounds only)
• Phase 2 Set 2: g o c k ck e u r h b f l
• Phase 2 Set 3: ff ll ss j v w x y z zz
• Phase 2 Set 4: qu ch sh th ng nk
• Phase 3 Set 5: ai ee igh oa oo
• Phase 3 Set 6: ar or ur ow oi ear air er
• Phase 4 Set 7: Adjacent consonants with short vowels
• Phase 4 Set 8: Adjacent consonants with Phase 3 long vowels
• Phase 5 Set 9: ay (play), ou (cloud), oy (boy), ea (each), ir (bird), ie (pie), ue (blue), u (unicorn)
• Phase 5 Set 10: o (go), i (tiger), a (paper), e (he), a-e (snake), i-e (time), o-e (home), u-e (cute), e-e (these), ew (new), ie (shield), aw (claw)
• Phase 5 Set 11: y (funny), ea (head), wh (wheel), oe (toe), ou (shoulder), y (fly), ow (snow), g (giant), ph (phone), le (apple), al (metal), c (ice), ve (give), o-e (some), o (mother), ou (young), se (cheese), se (mouse), ce (fence), ey (donkey), ui (fruit), ou (soup)
• Phase 5 Set 12: or (word), u (full), oul (could), are (share), ear (bear), ere (there), au (author), aur (dinosaur), oor (floor), al (walk), tch (match), ture (adventure), al (half), a (father), a (water), a (want), ear (learn), wr (wrist), st (whistle), sc (science), ch (school), ch (chef), ze (freeze), schwa at the end of words (actor)
• Phase 5 Set 13: eigh (eight), aigh (straight), ey (grey), ea (break), gn (gnaw), kn (knee), mb (thumb), ere (here), eer (deer), su (treasure), si (vision), dge (bridge), ge (large), y (crystal), ti (potion), ssi (mission), si (mansion), ci (delicious), augh (daughter), our (pour), oar (oar), ore (more)

Striders Phonics Readers, have you found them all?

For younger readers aged 4-6 check out Scholastic's Book Bag Readers and Book Bag Readers Non-fiction range. Help inspire a lifelong love of reading with carefully structured, phonically decodable stories that builds early confidence while making every step of the reading journey fun and rewarding.