There are 44 phonemes in English. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. “Shop” for example contains 3 phonemes: sh-o-p. If you are new to the subject of phonics, you can pretty much substitute the word “sound” for “phoneme” and still get the gist of this blog. In the following content, I will provide a list of phonics sounds.
For a FREE printable list of phonics sounds, click on the pdf:
Kids can benefit from learning phonemes systematically, meaning one at a time. In systematic phonics instruction, kids learn these 44 phonemes explicitly and the teacher writes the phonics sound on a sound card to be reviewed daily. For example, a teacher might say “oa” says /oa/ as in boat. Next, the kids will practice the /oa/ digraph in phonics lessons (while they review old phonics sounds as well). In future lessons, the child will see the “oa” letters and say the /oa/ sound. Systematic phonics instruction is an evidence-based method that ensures all kids learn to read, even kids with dyslexia and other language disorders.
Different curricula introduce these 44 phonemes in different orders. However, many children learn the phonemes in roughly the following order: letter sounds, short vowels, consonant digraphs, consonant blends, silent e, long vowels, r-controlled, inflectional endings, other vowel digraphs.
Reading Elephant offers systematic printable phonics books in our shop. Our series can help kids practice the most common English phonemes.
Letter Sounds (Consonants)
Typically, kids learn letter sounds first. Introduce 2-4 new letters at a time. Be sure to introduce them explicitly. For example, say “bee says /b/ as in bat.” Going forward, only say the sound when referring to “b.” In short, never say “bee” after you introduce the sound. This will help the child say the /b/ sound, as the sound unlocks the words bat, bug, bag… etc. The letter name “bee” unlocks nothing (ex. bat does not say beeat). Thus, be sure to emphasize the sound not the name.
Although letters can make various sounds, only introduce the following sounds for now. Don’t pile on content and tell the child “Well h says /h/ as in hat, but sometimes it says /f/ as in Phil, and sometimes its silent as in /igh/ and then there’s /sh/… etc.” This piling on of content causes reading failure. Teach one sound at a time. Let the child master that sound. Then, teach him one more. Continue in this systematic, patient manner. Over k-2, if done right, the child will have the time to master all 44 phonemes.
b as in bat
c as in cat
d as in dog
f as in frog
g as in goat
h as in hat
j as in jaguar
k as in kangaroo
l as in lion
m as in monkey
n as in nest
p as in panda
q as in queen
r as in rhinoceros
s as in snow
t as in turtle
v as in violin
w as in wing
x as in fox
y as in yak
z as in zebra
Short Vowels
Reading Elephant printable Sets 1-5 help kids practice short vowel sounds.
a_ as in apple (ex. hat, sat)
e_ as in elephant (ex. hen, pet)
i_ as in igloo (ex. sit, pig)
o_ as in octopus (ex. dog, pop)
u_ as in up (ex. cup, bug)
Consonant Digraphs
Reading Elephant printable Set 6 allows kids to practice consonant digraphs.
sh as in ship
th as in math
th as in then
ch as in chop
_tch as in match
_ck as in back
_ng as in long
_ing as in king
_ang as in sang
wh_ as in when
_ink as in pink
_ank as in tank
qu as in quick
Consonant Blends
Reading Elephant printable set 7 allows kids to practice consonant blends.
Consonant blends are 2 or more letter sounds in a row. Do not teach students to memorize blends. Teach them to decode blends sound-by-sound. Some samples include: fl as in flop, br as in brim and cl as in click. There are two exceptions. Teach kids to memorize tr as in truck and dr as in drop, as these two have a sound change. Otherwise, consonant blends, though on this list of phonics sounds, do not require memorization, only sound-by-sound decoding.
Silent e
Reading Elephant printable phonics books set 8 focuses on the e at the end pattern.
a_e as in make
e_e as in Pete
i_e as in kite
o_e as in hope
u_e as in use
u_e as in duke
Long Vowels
Reading Elephant printable books Sets 9-13 help kids practice long vowel sounds.
ee as in tree
ea as in seal
ai as in rain
_ay as in bay
oa as in boat
ow as in glow
igh as in light
_____y as in funny
_y as in my
oo/ew
Reading Elephant printable Set 14 helps kids practice oo/ew.
oo as in moon
oo as in look
ew as in new
R-Controlled
Reading Elephant printable Set 15 helps kids practice r-controlled sounds.
ar as in dark
er as in clerk
ir as in bird
ur as in turn
or as in fork
Inflectional Endings
Reading Elephant printable phonics books sets 16-18 (not currently available, in progress)
ing as in tipping (first vowel is short)
ing as in timing (first vowel is long)
ing with vowel patterns
ed as in missed (takes on t sound)
ed as in saved (takes on d sound)
ed as in rested (takes on id sound)
es as in saves
es as in matches
est as in fastest
Other vowel digraphs
ow as in town
ou as in pouch
au as in launch
aw as in lawn
oi as in soil
_oy as in joy
When c and g are followed by e, i or y…
Lastly, on our list of phonics sounds is the c and g exception. Usually c makes the hard /c/ sound as in cat. However, when c is followed by e, i or y, it changes to the /s/ sound. Usually g makes the hard /g/ sound as in goat. But when g is followed by e, i, or y, it changes to the /j/ sound.
c (e, i, y) as in face, city and cycle (the c changes to the s sound)
g (e, i, y) as in gem, gist and gym (the g changes to the j sound)
Reading Elephant printable phonics books can help kids practice the most common phonics sounds.
Phonics books (also known as decodable books) can help kids practice the above list of phonics sounds. These are books that help kids gradually learn phonics sounds. While reading these stories, kids can decode words sound-by-sound. Phonics stories can help kids build a strong decoding foundation.
The phonics sounds in this post are among the most common and most important units for kids to learn. Check out our shop to help your student master these sounds.
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