Phonics

Teaching the 44 English phonemes can be a fun and engaging experience for a kid. Here’s a breakdown of these sounds, organized by type, along with examples to help:

Vowels (20 sounds)

Short Vowels (7 sounds)

  1. /a/ - cat
  2. /e/ - bed
  3. /i/ - sit
  4. /o/ - pot
  5. /u/ - cup
  6. /oo/ - book
  7. /uh/ - sofa

Long Vowels (5 sounds)

  1. /ay/ - cake
  2. /ee/ - tree
  3. /igh/ - kite
  4. /ow/ - bone
  5. /oo/ - moon

Diphthongs (8 sounds)

  1. /ai/ - rain
  2. /oi/ - coin
  3. /ou/ - cloud
  4. /ear/ - dear
  5. /air/ - fair
  6. /ure/ - pure
  7. /ar/ - car
  8. /or/ - fork

Consonants (24 sounds)

Voiced Consonants (15 sounds)

  1. /b/ - bat
  2. /d/ - dog
  3. /g/ - goat
  4. /v/ - van
  5. /z/ - zoo
  6. /zh/ - measure
  7. /j/ - jug
  8. /l/ - leg
  9. /m/ - man
  10. /n/ - net
  11. /ng/ - ring
  12. /r/ - red
  13. /w/ - wet
  14. /y/ - yes
  15. /th/ - this

Unvoiced Consonants (9 sounds)

  1. /p/ - pen
  2. /t/ - tap
  3. /k/ - cat
  4. /f/ - fish
  5. /s/ - snake
  6. /sh/ - ship
  7. /ch/ - chip
  8. /th/ - thin
  9. /h/ - hat