The first two levels in Planet 5 focus on -ar, -er, -ir, -or, and -ur patterns. The -ar and -or patterns in level 5-1 are fairly friendly, as they make a predictable, easily distinguishable sound (car, part, for, born) that can be taught in a straightforward manner. The -er, -ir, and -ur patterns in level 5-2 are much more challenging, as they all make the same sound. Students must rely on visual cues to determine what "looks right" instead of using strictly phonetic strategies to help them here. (For more on the importance of helping your students to be able to switch between visual and phonics-based strategies, check out this post.

A sign that your students have gone too far down the path of using only visual strategies, however, is if you start seeing them write down spellings like "brid" (instead of bird) or "gril" (instead of girl). These are surprisingly common errors for students who forget to use the -ir pattern and just try to picture what letters they can visualize in those high-frequency words.