Consonant blends, also known as consonant clusters, can be found at the beginning of a word (initial blends) or the end a word (final blends). The following table features other consonant and vowel digraphs:Ĭonsonant blends are a set of two or three consonant letters that when pronounced retain their sound. Digraphs are a foundational element to master via phonics practice online with our grade level appropriate word lists and games for kids. Vowel digraphs can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. A vowel digraph is when two vowels generate one sound, such as “ay” in aw ay. Consonant digraphs can appear at the beginning of a word (initial consonant digraphs) or the end of a word (final consonant digraphs). In a consonant digraph, a joint set of consonants form one sound, like “sh” in shark. Digraphs can be categorized as consonant digraphs or vowel digraphs. The most common diphthong spelling patterns in the English language are:ĭigraphs are two letters that form a single phoneme (sound). The sound begins as one vowel sound and moves towards another.
For example the “a” in “t al e” sounds like its letter name because of the silent “e” in the word.īelow are other short and long vowel patterns and phonics word lists.Ī diphthong, also known as a gliding vowel, is when one phoneme forms by combining two vowels in a single syllable. A vowel pattern that produces a long vowel is the silent “e” at an end of a word. Another set of vowel sounds are long vowels, which are pronounced the same as their letter name. Short vowel sounds do not sound like their corresponding letter names, such as the “a” in “c at”. One set of vowel sounds are short vowels. Although there are five letters that represent vowels, there are 12 pure vowel sound and a total of 20 vowel sounds when factoring in diphthongs. Vowel sounds (phonemes) are produced when there is no closing of any part of the mouth or throat. Vowels are letters (graphemes) that are not consonants. Online phonics practice games for kids can help increase retention of these skills in a fun, engaging way.
Students learn how to read and spell words through repeated instruction in phonics and spelling patterns. Our phonics word lists and phonics games for kids are here to help teachers improve students skills while making learning fun! Students with strong phonological awareness are better able to understand words and their patterns, and how to apply this knowledge of letters and sounds to decode and encode increasingly complicated words. We have designed our phonics words lists and games for kids to be grade level appropriate.Īre letters (graphemes) that are not consonantsĪre sounds formed by combining two vowels in a single syllableĪre formed when two letters come together to create one soundĪre a set of two or three consonant letters that when pronounced, retain their soundĪre phonological building blocks of wordsĪlthough phonics plays a major role in the primary grades, increasingly complex phonetic patterns keep in-class and online activities for phonics practice relevant throughout elementary school and even into middle school.
Phonics instruction ranges from teaching letter identification, letter-sound relationships, spelling patterns, and high frequency words to complicated vowel patterns, and multisyllabic words.
Fundamental reading skills, like PHONICS, PHONEMIC AWARENESS and FLUENCY, are typically taught in grades K-2.