Research suggests New Zealand has the biggest gap between its highest and lowest achievers, and this is known as the "long tail". The debate over whole language and phonics approaches to reading is unfinished, but must now focus on where the point of difference lies. While reading involves a range of skills, teachers need to model the prompts that relate to word level knowledge as a primary strategy and context cues as a secondary strategy. This involves attention to the rightful place of phonics. I will draw from research and my anecdotal evidence as a Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour (RTLB). I aim to question the prompts typically heard in classrooms and stress the need for sequential teaching, especially for beginning readers. Attention to "context" over the "word" is reflected not only in learning but in ongoing behaviour difficulties.