Phonics

Short a

ă ă ă apple

Blend words and read phonetically.

c ~~~ a ~~~ n = can

h ~~~ a ~~~m = ham

m ~~~ a ~~~ p = map

b ~~~ a ~~~ g = bag

J ~~~ a ~~~ c ~~~ k = Jack


Read orally.

  1. Dad has a can.

  2. Pam ran fast.

  3. Nan has a fat cat.

  4. Dan can pack a snack.

  5. Same and Pat had a nap.


*** The children will be given a clue word to remember each vowel sound. The clue for short a is apple.

Short i

ĭ ĭ ĭ indian

Blend and read the words phonetically.

p ~~~ i ~~~ g = pig

b ~~~ i ~~~ t = bit

s ~~~ i ~~~ c ~~~ k = sick

f ~~~ i ~~~ s ~~~ h = fish

L ~~~ i ~~~ z = Liz


Read orally.

  1. Jill will fill a bag.

  2. Kim can go up the hill.

  3. Did Sid see the big pin?

  4. Tim has a tan wig.

  5. Bill sips the milk.


***The clue word for short i is indian.

Short o

ŏ ŏ ŏ octopus

Blend and read the words phonetically.

t ~~~ o ~~~ p = top

B ~~~ o ~~~ b = Bob

s ~~~ o ~~~ c ~~~ k = sock

l ~~~ o ~~~ g = log

f ~~~ o ~~~ x = fox


Read orally.

  1. Tom got on the rock.

  2. Bob can lock up the box.

  3. The fox is not in the log.

  4. A frog hops on the pot.

  5. Mom has a sock for the doll.


***The clue word for short o is octopus.

Short e

ĕ ĕ ĕ elephant

Blend and read phonetically.

j ~~~ e ~~~ t = jet

h ~~~ e ~~~ n = hen

f ~~~ e ~~~ d = fed

b ~~~ e ~~~ l ~~~l = bell

B ~~~ e ~~~ n = Ben


Read orally.

1. Ed fell in the web.

2. Ten eggs are in the sack.

3. The hen is in the pen.

4. Ken sits at a red desk.

5. The men set up the nets.

Short u

ŭ ŭ ŭ umbrella

Blend and read the words phonetically.

r ~~~ u ~~~ n = run

h ~~~ u ~~~ g = hug

b ~~~ u ~~~ s = bus

c ~~~ u ~~~ t = cut

j ~~~ u ~~~ mp = jump


Read orally.

1. Gus will jump up

2. The pup is in a tub of mud.

3. A bug bit the big duck.

4. Puff can jump and run in the sun.

5. Bud runs fast to the bus.

Long ā

ā ā ā apron

Long vowels say their own name and are usually spelled with two vowels and sometimes y.

Long ā words are spelled a_e ai ay.

Blend phonetically.

bake cake lake take

came game name same


gain main pain rain

mail pail sail tail


bay day may say

clay play stay tray


Read orally.

1. Kay came to the lake to play a game.

2. May I bake a cake?

3. Who will sail the ship on the bay?

4. The mail is on the tray.

5. Dave made a snail out of clay.

Long ī

ī ī ī ice cream

Long ī words are spelled i_e ie y.

Blend phonetically.

dime hide mile

hike kite line

tire dive size


tie pie lie


my fly sky

fry by cry


Read orally.

1. I can ride my bike to the lake.

2. Mike will his white kite.

3. Mom will take a bite of the lime pie.

4. The pine tree is on fire!

5. Nine of us went on a five mile hike.

Long o

Long o words are spelled o_e oa ow oe.

Blend phonetically:

rose bone note robe

coat toad soap Joan

mow row show grow

toe doe hoe Joe

Read orally:

1. I hope I can hop on the road.

2. Did the goat make the hole in Moe's coat?

3. Joe will use soap and the hose on the dog.

4. A dog dug a big hole to hide his bone.

5. Now Joan will mix the cake in a bowl.

Long ū

Long u words are spelled u_e ue ui.

Blend phonetically

cute mule tube rule

tune Luke cube June

Sue due glue clue

suit fruit

Read orally:

1. Dad gave June a cute pup.

2. June made the pup a cute red suit.

3. Sue can hum a tune with Duke.

4. The mule likes the fruit.

5. We will fix the tube with glue.

Long ē

Long e words are spelled: ea, ee, e_e, and ey.

Blend phonetically.

dear near hear fear

meat seat heat neat


beep keep jeep deep

feet meet beet sweet


Read orally.

1. Pete fed the deer near the tree.

2. Lee left the keys in the jeep.

3. The queen eats peas and beans.

4. Geese are in the deep sea.

5. The team will meet next week.

y as a vowel

The letter y has a long i sound when it is found at the end of a one syllable word when it is the only vowel in the word.

by my cry sky dry

fly try shy fry why

The letter y usually has a long e sound if it comes at the end of a word with more than one syllable.

candy lady penny baby pony

puppy story bunny happy Billy


Read the sentences.

1. Henny Penny will try to fly.

2. Billy is acting silly.

3. It is a dry, windy, day.

4. Pry the lid off the empty jar.

5. The fly will try to land on the jelly.

6. She is too small to feed a puppy.

7. Can you ride a pony?

r- Controlled Vowels (Bossy "r")

An r after a vowel makes the vowel sound different from the usual short or long sound.

You can hear the...

ar sound in star or park.

or sound in horn or fork.


The following r words all make the same sound.

er sound in her or fern.

ir sound in bird or girl.

ur sound in burn or hurt.

Vowel Digraphs

A vowel digraph occurs when two vowels come together, but only one of the vowels is heard. Most vowel digraphs follow this rule. When two vowels come together, the first vowel is usually long and the second vowel is silent.

"When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking."

Vowel Digraphs ai-ay

nail rain bait day may

sail pain wait pay way


Vowel Digraph ee-ea

team read meat seed bee

beam lead neat weed see


Vowel Digraph oa-ow

boat foam road toast show

throat roam toad roast glow


Vowel Digraph ie-igh

tie fries high right night

pie lies sigh knight fight

Silent Letters (Ghost Letters)

Vowel Dipthongs

A vowel dipthong occurs when two vowels, or a vowel and a consonant, come together to make a completely new sound.

oy ou ow oo au


Vowel dipthong ou

shout mouse south cloud round

pout house mouth loud pound


Vowel dipthong ow

how cow town flower growl

now wow brown shower howl


Vowel dipthong oo (two sounds)

choose moo food stood book

loose goo mood good look


Vowel dipthongs oi-oy

oil join coil toy loyal

boil coin foil joy royal


Vowel dipthongs au-aw

saw lawn draw pause launch

jaw yawn straw cause faucet