- Define and explain Single Letter Sounds in your own words
- Use key terms such as grapheme accurately
- Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
- Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic
Phonics is the code that unlocks reading. Every word is made of sounds, and every sound can be written with letters. Once you crack the code, you can read almost any word you meet.
This lesson focuses on Single Letter Sounds: learn the sound each letter of the alphabet makes, from a to z.
Learn the sound each letter of the alphabet makes, from a to z.
Key ideas
Sounds before letter names
Always learn the sound a letter makes, not its name. The letter s says sss, not ess. Sounds can be pushed together into words; letter names get in the way of blending.
Blend from left to right
Point under each letter and say the sounds in order, then say them faster until they join into the word. Stretching sss-aaa-t until it becomes sat is the skill that turns decoding into real reading.
Key term — grapheme: The letter or letters that spell a sound. In ship, the letters sh are a single grapheme.
How many sounds are in the word fish?
3 — the letters sh make one sound.
Answer: 3 — the letters sh make one sound.
- Saying letter names instead of sounds Say sss, a, t — not ess, ay, tee. Letter names cannot be blended into words.
- Guessing from the first letter Always read every sound in the word. Guessing from the first letter causes mistakes like reading horse as house.
Practice
Two letters that make one sound.
p-i-n.
sun.
Yes — the does not follow the normal rules, so it must be learned by sight.
Quick check
Which of these best defines "grapheme"?
- Single Letter Sounds: learn the sound each letter of the alphabet makes, from a to z.
- Sounds before letter names: Always learn the sound a letter makes, not its name.
- blending: Pushing individual sounds together to read a word: s-a-t becomes sat.
- Watch out for: saying letter names instead of sounds