Letter Sounds

What does my child need to know?

As your child starts to read and write, they will need to learn about different rules for letter sounds and spelling. This can be tricky. Because English is made of words from many different languages, the spelling rules are not consistent. Encourage your child to memorize tricky words that they commonly use. Other words can be sounded out by saying the word slowly and identifying each sound.

These skills are important to advanced students as well. They will have to sound out words they may never have heard before. Also, they will have to spell increasingly difficult words. If they know the rules of English, it will help.

Diagraphs

In English, there are consonant pairs that make one new sound together. These are called diagraphs. Beginners must learn the first 3.

th sh ch ph nk ng gh

th sound

soft th

hard th

sh sound

ph sound

ng & nk

igh

There are also consonant pairs that make one sound and the other is silent.

qu (queen) wh (where) ck (click) mb (comb) kn (know) gn (gnat)

In English, double consonants are pronounced the same as single consonants.

ff (stuff) ll (fill) mm (swimming) pp (stopped) ss (loss) tt (fitting)

Vowel Sounds

Vowel Studies

Reading -ed and -es

When we read, we must make sure we say the ends of words. This can be tricky. First, we need to know the difference between voiceless sounds and voiced sounds.

Put your hand on your neck.

A voiced sound will make your neck vibrate. ~~~~~~~

A voiceless sound is just air. Nothing happens...

-ed

This can be pronounced 3 ways. You have to look at the letter that comes at the end of the word before the -ed.

-es / -s

This can be pronounced 3 ways. You have to look at the letter that comes at the end of the word before the -es or -s.

Soft and Hard c / g

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