Phonics for Parents

Phonics for Parents

Three systems work together as we read.

/ Miscues tell us which systems the reader is missing.
horse
The house had two doors. (meaning, phonics)
have
The house had two doors. (grammar, phonics)
thorn
We live on Third Street. (phonics)

The vowels are a, e, i, o, and u*. Vowels have more than one sound. Most vowels have a “long” sound and a “short” sound. Short vowels can be remembered with simple pictures.
a e
i o
u
*Sometimes y and w act as vowels. /
Long vowels say their names. When do vowels usually make their long sounds?
1.  There is a silent e at the end of the word.
examples: made, strike, cone, bathe
“Silent e works its magic on the vowel
and makes it say its name.”
2.  The vowel is followed by another vowel.
examples: rain, meal, boat, hay, monkey
“When two vowels go walking,
the first one does the talking.”
(ai, ay, ea, ee, ey, ie, oa, ow, ue, ui)
3.  The vowel is the end of the word or syllable.
examples: be, flu, ho/tel, na/tion, jello

Some vowels work together in a team to oi & oy
make a new sound. Readers need to
memorize these vowel teams.
au & aw ew oo oo ou & ow

Here is another tricky combination for students to learn:
igh
examples: light, flight, mighty, brightness, night/light, sight /
Consonants are all of the letters that are not vowels. Blends are two or three consonants that blend their sounds. The blends are:
bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, kl, kr, pl, pr, sc, scr, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, spl, spr, squ, st, str, sw, tr, tw

Consonant digraphs make just one sound. The digraphs and their blends are:
ch, ph, sh, shr, tch, th, thr, wh, wr
Some consonant digraphs and blends come at the end of words or syllables:
ck, mp, nd, ng, nk /
When the vowel is followed by “r,” the sound is changed. There are three r-controlled sounds readers need to memorize:
ar er, ir, ur or
*Note: Some long vowels with ‘r’ simply blend sounds. examples: air, fear, sheer, tire
A syllable is one unit of spoken language. All syllables have at least one vowel. There are six common types of syllables.
Closed Syllable
VC
ends with a consonant sound and has one short vowel
examples:
pal, brick, trim, rab/bit,
bas/ket/ball / Open Syllable
V
ends in a long vowel
examples:
so, a/pron, du/ty, spo/ken, vi/rus, ti/ger, pi/rate, hy/drate / Silent e Syllable
VCe
ends with a silent e, which makes the vowel say its name
examples:
bite, frame, stripe, shape,
state/side / Vowel Team Syllable
VVC
has two vowels together that make a new sound
examples:
south, join, leaf/let, boat/house,
book/room / Consonant-le Syllable
Cle
ends with a consonant followed by le
examples:
puzzle, handle, circle, struggle, hustle / r-Controlled Vowels
vr
has a vowel followed by the letter r
examples:
fern, bird, tur/tle, far/mer, car/pen/ter,
fur/ther

There are also syllables made by two speaking vowels.
examples: bo/a, di/et, flu/id, go/ing / Remember, all rules have exceptions. Here are some rule-breakers:
love, give, have
eight, neighbor, weigh
bear, been, said, head, tough

The letters “c” and “g” can make two different sounds.
Hard “c” and hard “g” are usually followed by a, o, and u.
examples: candy, cost, customer, gallon, garden, go, gobble, gust, gum
Soft “c” and soft “g” are usually followed by e, i, and y.
examples: cereal, circle, cigar, cycle, cygnet, gentlemen, giant, gymnasium
exceptions – get, give, girl, soccer, façade, together, gift, gecko, gear /
Prefixes are word parts added to the beginning of the word. Prefixes can change the meaning of words.
The most common prefixes are:
dis (not) disagree, dislike, disappoint
in, im, il, ir (not) impossible, injustice, illogical
pre (before) preview, prefix, preread
re (again) return, reread, recall, react
un (not) unfriendly, undecided, unhappy


Suffixes are word parts added to the end of the word. Suffixes often change the word’s part of speech.
The most common suffixes are:
able (can be done) lovable, drinkable
ed (past-tense) hopped, started, carried
ful (full of) joyful, careful, graceful
ing (present participle) running, caring
less (without) hopeless, fearless, careless
ly (in a __ way) quickly, slowly, randomly
s or es (plural) books, boxes, flies, clouds
tion (act or process) education, addition /
There are rules for adding the suffixes “ed” or ‘ing”.
1.  If the base word ends with a consonant followed by silent e,
“drop the “e” and add ed or ing”
examples: bake – baked, like – liking
2.  If the base word ends with one vowel followed by one consonant,
“double the consonant
and then add “ed” or ing”
examples: shop – shopping, plan – planned
3.  If the base word ends with two consonants or two vowels followed by one consonant,
“just add ed or ing”
examples: find – finding, seal - sealed

1.  Make most words plural by adding “s.”
examples: farm – farms, whale – whales
2.  If the word ends with ch, x, s, or z,
add “es”
examples: boxes, churches, masses, buzzes
3.  If the word ends with a consonant followed by the letter “y,”
“change the y to i and add es”
examples: fly-flies, try-tries, country-countries
4.  If the word ends with “f” or “fe,”
“change the f to v and add es”
examples: thief-thieves, half-halves, elf-elves
/
Some words have special plural forms. These include:
child – children
ox – oxen
goose – geese
man – men
woman - women
mouse – mice
tooth – teeth
person – people
foot – feet
deer – deer
fish – fish
sheep – sheep
species – species
news - news

Words are easier to read when split into syllables.
1.  The first rule is to split the word between two consonants (but not between digraphs ch, sh, th, etc.)
examples: her/mit, mon/ster, chap/ter, ful/crum, cul/prit, mus/tang, ter/mite car/pen/ter, per/man/ent, Wash/ing/ton
2.  When there is only one middle consonant, readers must decide whether to split before the consonant for an open syllable, or after the consonant to make a closed syllable. Readers need to try both ways to see what makes sense.
examples: cabin (cab/in), bacon (ba/con), super (su/per), sonic (son/ic), cupid (cu/pid)
3.  Split words before the Consonant – le.
examples: hum/ble, ta/ble, whis/tle, hud/dle, no/ble, wrin/kle, bri/dle, gar/gle
4.  Divide between the two parts of compound words and keep prefixes and suffixes together when possible.
examples: base/ball, home/made, pre/view, re/peat, un/at/tain/able, dis/in/ter/es/ted, syl/lab/ic/a/tion, im/poss/ible

All words have at least one syllable that has stress. Syllable stress or accent occurs when one syllable is said louder than other syllables. Most nouns and adjectives have stress on the first syllable.
examples: TA/ble, AU/to/mo/bile, POR/trait, CAR/pen/ter, CAL/en/dar, PER/man/ent, HAND/some, EX/cel/lent, PRES/ent
Many verbs have stress on the second syllable.
examples: re/QUIRE, in/VEST, pro/VIDE, re/TURN, a/GREE, pro/DUCE, at/TACK, sug/GEST, be/LIEVE, re/SPOND, pre/SENT /
In the English language, vowels often make what is called the “schwa sound.” This sounds like /uh/. The symbol for the schwa sounds looks like an upside down letter e, as shown above. Usually, vowels in the unaccented syllable make the schwa sound. Say these words slowly to listen for the syllable stress and the schwa sound.
along ( LONG)
amazing ( MA zing)
away ( WAY)
elephant (EL e phnt)
enemy (EN me)
gallop (GAL lp)
message (MESS je)
parrot (PAIR rt)
pencil (PEN cl)
problem (PROB lm)
riot (RI- t)
sofa (SO f)
syringe (s RiNJE)
What can I do with these Phonics Rules?
If the context does not help your child figure out a word, provide the phonics rule(s) to help your child.
examples:
Stuck on: horse Refer to the Vowel Pairs chart for r-controlled vowels.
Stuck on: smoke Refer to the silent e at the end of the word.
Stuck on: calm Remind your child to make the sounds in order. Refer to “al” sound on Vowel Pairs Chart.
Stuck on: gigantic Refer to the hard and soft g rules.
Stuck on: invincible Remind your child to break between consonants (in/vin/cible), refer to the soft /c/ sound, and point out the suffix “ible.”
Stuck on: permanent Remind your child to split between consonants, and try open and closed syllables for the second syllable. Experiment with different syllable stress.
Stuck on: sewage Refer to the “ew” sound on Vowel Pairs Chart and remind your child about the soft sound of “g.”
Stuck on: squirrel Refer to the “ir” sound on the Vowel Pairs Chart and accent the first syllable.