Practical, step-by-step guidance for using Chirp well — in the classroom, alongside specialist support, and at home. No login or student license is needed to read this page.
Stage Teaching Guides
Each stage below follows the same calm rhythm: prepare, demonstrate, practise, check, and extend. Use these as a starting lesson structure, not a rigid script.
Kākano
Seed
Building the foundations: first grapheme–phoneme links, the shapes sounds make in the mouth, and how to form each letter by hand.
Focus areas
Initial single-letter grapheme–phoneme correspondences (e.g. m, s, t, p)
The app's schematic mouth-shape guide for each sound — a simplified visual guide, never filmed video
Tracing and multisensory letter formation to link sound, shape and movement
Prepare
Preview the target phoneme in the Library, including its mouth-shape guide, before the lesson.
Have a tracing surface (whiteboard, sand tray, or the app's own tracing exercise) ready alongside the tablet.
Demonstrate
Play the phoneme's audio once, then immediately point out the mouth-shape guide on screen.
Model tracing the letter slowly while saying the sound aloud at the same pace.
Practise
Ask the learner to tap the phoneme tile and repeat the sound before tracing it themselves.
Use the magnetic drag-blend tiles to build a couple of simple words containing today's letter.
Check
Use the app's 'Check my sounds' prompt as a quick, low-pressure receptive check.
Look for confident, unprompted tracing and sound production before introducing a new letter.
Extend
Spot the same letter together on a book cover or classroom label.
Trace the letter again somewhere novel — in the air, on a partner's back, or in sand.
Tupu
Seedling
Growing beyond single sounds: digraph phonemes, consonant blends, and decoding simple CVC/CCVC words as teacher-facilitated applications of sounds already introduced.
Focus areas
Digraph phonemes ch, sh, th and ng
Consonant blends (e.g. bl, st, tr) practised as a classroom teaching activity — not a separate phoneme inventory module in the app
Decoding CVC and CCVC words by blending known sounds together
Prepare
Choose one digraph or blend to focus on. For a digraph, preview that phoneme's audio in the Library first; for a consonant blend (which has no single Library phoneme entry of its own), preview each constituent sound individually instead.
Have two or three CVC/CCVC words ready that use sounds the learner already knows.
Demonstrate
Play the digraph's audio and model blending it into a whole word, sound by sound.
Show how a consonant blend keeps both sounds — write or point to the letters as you say each one.
Practise
Use the magnetic tile board's 'build the word' flow so the learner blends the target word themselves.
Repeat with two or three related words sharing the same digraph or blend.
Check
Listen for the learner blending smoothly rather than sounding out each letter in isolation.
Use a receptive tap or odd-one-out word exercise as a calm, no-pressure check.
Extend
Hunt for the same digraph in a shared reading book.
Invite the learner to think of one more word with the same blend.
Māhuri
Sapling
Extending decoding skill: split vowel graphemes, r-related spelling patterns, diphthongs and vowel teams, alongside a first, teacher-led look at simple morphology.
Focus areas
Split vowel (vowel-consonant-e) graphemes, e.g. cake, bike, home
R-related spelling patterns (ar, or, er/ir/ur)
Diphthongs and vowel teams (ow, oi, oo)
A teacher-led introduction to simple morphology (e.g. adding -s or -ing) — a classroom teaching point, not an app-tracked module
Prepare
Preview the target vowel pattern's phoneme audio and example word in the Library.
Prepare two or three familiar words that share the same vowel pattern.
Demonstrate
Contrast the short vowel word with its split-vowel or vowel-team partner (e.g. cap vs. cape).
Model reading the word aloud, pointing to the vowel pattern as you say it.
Practise
Use drag-blend or tracing exercises with words containing today's pattern.
As a classroom-led extension, try adding a simple ending (e.g. -ing) to a familiar decodable word.
Check
Ask the learner to read the word independently using the 'I read it' expressive check.
Watch for the vowel pattern being read as one unit rather than sound-by-sound guessing.
Extend
Sort a small group of words by vowel pattern together.
Look for the same pattern in a shared class text.
Rākau
Tree
Consolidating advanced patterns and moving toward independent reading: multisyllabic decoding, fluency and comprehension, guided by the teacher rather than measured directly inside the app.
Focus areas
Advanced and less common spelling patterns
Teacher-led strategies for decoding multisyllabic words
Fluency-building through repeated, supported reading
Comprehension conversation and questioning — a teaching practice the app supports but does not itself assess
Prepare
Preview the target advanced pattern's phoneme audio in the Library.
Choose a short, familiar passage or phrase set for repeated reading practice.
Demonstrate
Model breaking a longer word into syllables before blending it back together.
Read a short passage aloud at a natural pace to model fluency.
Practise
Use the app's decodable word exercises for the target pattern, then apply it in a real sentence together.
Reread the same short passage two or three times, focusing on smoothness rather than speed.
Check
Ask one or two simple comprehension questions about what was just read.
Notice whether multisyllabic words are attempted confidently rather than avoided.
Extend
Ask the learner to retell the passage in their own words.
Invite them to find one more example of today's spelling pattern in independent reading.
Te Whare Tapa Whā & Low-Arousal Wellbeing
Te Whare Tapa Whā names four wellbeing pou that sit around every stage of reading practice — they describe a learner's wellbeing, not a fifth phonics level, and are never mapped onto Kākano, Tupu, Māhuri or Rākau.
Taha Hinengaro · Mind and emotions
Supporting a calm, in-control mind alongside the reading task itself — this is a wellbeing pou that sits around every stage, never a phonics level of its own.
Offer a genuine choice, e.g. “Would you like to start with a story or a sound today?”
Build in a short sensory break between activities before frustration builds, not after.
Taha Tinana · Physical wellbeing
Comfortable articulation and motor demands, so the body isn't working against the learning.
Watch mouth-shape practice for tension and pause if it becomes effortful.
Let the learner choose their preferred input — touch, mouse and click, or keyboard — for tile activities.
Taha Whānau · Family and belonging
Reading practice that stays connected to people and shared meaning, not just correct answers.
Read a saved, learner-chosen custom sentence story together as a family activity.
Let a sibling or classmate join in listening to a favourite gestalt phrase.
Taha Wairua · Spirit and identity
A sense of identity, meaning and belonging in practice sessions, held with cultural respect.
Choose a character pack or theme that reflects what the learner actually loves.
Use te reo Māori stage names respectfully and let the learner hear them said with care.
