Letter Sounds & Phonics
Welcome to the magical world of sounds! In this chapter, you'll learn how each letter makes its own special sound. Vowel sounds (short/long), consonant sounds, blending, rhyming, and 50 CVC words to build your reading skills.
๐ต What Are Letter Sounds?
Every letter has a sound - like a musical note! When we put these sounds together, we make WORDS!
๐ธ Think of it like music:
Just like musical notes (Do, Re, Mi) come together to make a song, letter sounds come together to make words!
- Letters = Musical notes ๐ต
- Sounds = The notes playing ๐ถ
- Words = The beautiful song ๐ผ
๐ What is Phonics?
Phonics is the way we learn the sounds that letters make. It helps us:
- Read new words we've never seen before
- Spell words correctly
- Understand how words are built
๐ Vowel Sounds: The Heart of Every Word
Remember our 5 vowels? A, E, I, O, U - They're SUPER special because each one can make TWO different sounds:
Short Vowel Sound (Quick and Fast! โก)
Like a quick tap on a drum
Long Vowel Sound (Says its own name! ๐ฃ๏ธ)
Like holding a note in a song
โก Short Vowel Sounds
Short vowels are quick and snappy! Let's learn each one:
๐ง Memory Sentence:
"Ants Eat Inside Orange Umbrellas"
Say: /รฆ/ /ษ/ /ษช/ /ษ/ /ส/
๐ฃ๏ธ Long Vowel Sounds
Long vowels say their own names! They sound like when you're calling out the letter:
๐ When do vowels say their name?
Magic E Rule: When a word ends with 'e', the vowel before it usually says its name!
- cap โ cape (short 'a' becomes long 'a')
- kit โ kite (short 'i' becomes long 'i')
- hop โ hope (short 'o' becomes long 'o')
๐ฏ Consonant Sounds
Consonants are easier - most of them make just ONE sound! Let's explore the most important ones:
๐ Blending Sounds Together
Now for the magic! When we put sounds together, they make WORDS! This is called blending.
๐งฉ Blending is like building with blocks:
Each sound is a block. When you stack them together, you build a word!
The word: CAT
/k/ + /รฆ/ + /t/ = CAT!
The word: DOG
/d/ + /ษ/ + /g/ = DOG!
The word: SUN
/s/ + /ส/ + /n/ = SUN!
The word: PIG
/p/ + /ษช/ + /g/ = PIG!
๐ 50 CVC Words to Practice
CVC means Consonant - Vowel - Consonant. These are the easiest words to read!
Words with 'A' (short /รฆ/)
Words with 'E' (short /ษ/)
Words with 'I' (short /ษช/)
Words with 'O' (short /ษ/)
Words with 'U' (short /ส/)
๐ค Rhyming Words
Rhyming words end with the same sound! They're fun to say and help us remember words better.
Cat Family (-at)
cat, bat, hat, mat, rat, sat, fat, pat
Dog Family (-og)
dog, log, fog, jog, hog, bog
Sun Family (-un)
sun, fun, run, bun, gun, pun
Big Family (-ig)
big, dig, pig, wig, fig, jig
Bed Family (-ed)
bed, red, fed, wed, led, shed
โ๏ธ Practice Activities
Activity 1: Sound Sorting
Say each word out loud. Does it have a SHORT vowel or LONG vowel?
Activity 2: Blend It!
Practice blending these sounds into words:
Activity 3: Rhyme Time
Can you think of 3 words that rhyme with each of these?
Activity 4: Read Aloud
Read these 10 CVC words out loud to someone:
Activity 5: Magic E Challenge
Add an 'e' to the end and see how the vowel sound changes:
๐ฎ Fun Sound Games!
Let's play games with letter sounds! These games will help you remember what sounds letters make. Ready? Let's go! ๐ต
๐ฏ Game 1: Match the Sound!
How to play: Match each letter with the sound it makes! Click to check your answer. ๐
Which sound does the letter "B" make?
Answer: B makes the "buh" sound! Like in Ball, Baby, Book! ๐
๐ Game 2: Beginning Sound Hunt
How to play: Find all the words that start with the same sound! ๐ต๏ธ
Which words start with the "S" sound?
Great job! SUN, SNAKE, and STAR all start with the "sss" sound! ๐
๐ต Game 3: Rhyme Time!
How to play: Find words that rhyme! Rhyming words end with the same sound. ๐ถ
Which words rhyme with CAT?
CAT, BAT, HAT, and MAT all end with "-AT"! That's why they rhyme! They have the same ending sound! ๐ต
๐๏ธ Game 4: Build-a-Word!
How to play: Put the sounds together to make a word! This is called BLENDING! ๐จ
Put these sounds together:
DOG! ๐ถ
/d/ + /o/ + /g/ = DOG! You blended the sounds together! Amazing! ๐
๐ฏ Game 5: Odd One Out!
How to play: Three words start with the same sound. One is different! Find it! ๐
Which word doesn't belong?
SUN is the odd one out!
MOON, MOP, and MUD all start with "M"!
SUN starts with "S" so it's different! ๐
๐ฃ Step-by-Step Sound Practice
Let's practice making letter sounds together! We'll start easy and get a little harder. You've got this! ๐ช
๐ I'll Help You - Let's Sound Out Together!
Exercise: Let's sound out the word "CAT"
Step 1: Look at the first letter
C
C makes the "/k/" sound (like in "kuh")
Step 2: Look at the middle letter
A
A makes the "/a/" sound (like in "ah" or "apple")
Step 3: Look at the last letter
T
T makes the "/t/" sound (like "tuh")
Step 4: Now blend them together!
/k/ + /a/ + /t/ = CAT! ๐ฑ
๐ You did it! You just sounded out your first word!
๐ก Try With Hints - You Can Do Most of It!
Exercise: Sound out the word "DOG"
The word: D O G
Your turn! What sound does each letter make?
D makes the "/d/" sound like "duh"!
O makes the "/o/" sound like "ah" (short o)!
G makes the "/g/" sound like "guh"!
/d/ + /o/ + /g/ = DOG! ๐ถ
Great job! You're getting so good at this! ๐
๐ You Can Do It! - Try By Yourself!
Exercise: Sound out these words all by yourself!
Word 1: SUN
Word 2: BIG
Word 3: HOT
Try to sound them out! Take your time. โฐ
โ Answers:
- SUN: /s/ + /u/ + /n/ = SUN โ๏ธ
- BIG: /b/ + /i/ + /g/ = BIG ๐
- HOT: /h/ + /o/ + /t/ = HOT ๐ฅ
How did you do? You're becoming a reading superstar! ๐
๐ Sounds in Real Life!
Let's see how you use letter sounds every day! These stories show real kids using phonics. ๐
๐ Scenario 1: Reading a Sign
Lily is walking with her mom. She sees a sign with the word "STOP". She's never seen this word before, but she knows her letter sounds!
Lily sounds it out:
- S makes "/s/"
- T makes "/t/"
- O makes "/o/"
- P makes "/p/"
/s/ + /t/ + /o/ + /p/ = STOP!
How did knowing sounds help Lily?
Lily could read a new word all by herself!
Even though she never saw "STOP" before, she used her phonics skills to sound it out! Now she can read signs! ๐
๐ Scenario 2: Writing "I Love You"
Max wants to write "MOM" on a card for Mother's Day. He knows what sounds to use!
Max thinks about the sounds:
- First sound: "/m/" โ That's the letter M!
- Middle sound: "/o/" โ That's the letter O!
- Last sound: "/m/" โ That's M again!
M-O-M! โค๏ธ
Max can write words now!
By knowing letter sounds, he can hear a word in his head and figure out which letters to write! This is called SPELLING! ๐
๐ Scenario 3: Rhyming Game at School
At school, Teacher says, "Who can think of words that rhyme with BAT?"
Emma knows about rhyming! She thinks about words that end with "-AT":
- CAT ๐ฑ
- HAT ๐ฉ
- MAT
- RAT ๐
- SAT
Emma knows word families!
She knows that words ending with the same sounds rhyme. So she just changed the first letter: CAT, HAT, MAT, RAT, SAT! ๐
Her teacher was so proud! ๐
๐ Scenario 4: Reading a Book Alone!
Noah is reading his first book! He comes to a word he doesn't know: "BUG"
Noah doesn't give up! He uses his sound skills:
/b/ + /u/ + /g/ = ?
BUG! ๐
Noah is reading independently!
Phonics gave him the superpower to figure out new words! Now he can read books all by himself! ๐
That's what phonics is for - to help you become a reader! ๐
Answer these questions to check your understanding of Chapter 2. Get instant feedback on each answer!
What does phonics teach us?
How many sounds can most vowels make?
What is the short 'A' sound?
What is a long vowel sound?
What does CVC stand for?
What is blending in phonics?
What happens when you add 'e' to the end of "cap"?
Which group of words all rhyme?
What sound does the letter 'S' make?
Why is learning phonics important?