Parent Resources

Really Great Reading Phonics Resources - as you know, our spelling words are based on the phonics program we are using in class to help us all to be more confident and  accurate readers. Ideally, students should be able to hear all the sounds in the words and apply the rules we are learning to spell the words. Here are some resources to help if you get questions at home.

Short vowel sounds Long vowel sounds

/a/ - short because it is the first phoneme in apple /a/ - long because it is the name of the letter a

/e/ - short because it is the first phoneme in edge /e/ - long because it is the name of the letter e

/i/ - short because it is the first phoneme in itch /i/ - long because it is the name of the letter i

/o/ - short because it is the first phoneme in octopus /o/ - long because it is the name of the letter o

/u/ - short because it is the first phoneme in up /u/ - long because it is the name of the letter u

Consonant Digraphs and Trigraphs

• digraphs - two letters that work together to spell one sound. There are 6 common consonant digraphs: ch, ck, sh, th, wh, ph

• trigraphs - three letters that work together to spell one sound. There are 2 common trigraphs: tch, dge

Syllable Types

• closed: only one vowel followed by one or more consonants. The vowel sound in the a closed syllable is usually short.

• open: syllables that end with only one vowel letter. The vowel sound is usually long or schwa.