Teaching Reading, Phonics, Short vowels, Consonants

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TEACHING READING

Phonics

Vowels and Consonants

Short Vowel sounds

a– apple e—bed i—bit o—lock u—luck

Y is a consonant at the beginning of a word and a vowel when it is found

anywhere else in a word.

You can drill short vowels with flashcards and with pictures of objects with short

vowel sounds.

Write two and three letter words on the board and have children circle the vowel.

Consonant Sounds

b    band

k     kite

s    sun

c    cat

l     lamp

t    toe

d    duck

m     man

v    van

f    fan

n     nap

w    wind

g    gate

p     pig

x   box

h      hat

q     *queen

y     yes

j      jam

r      run

z     zoo

*qu almost always has a kw sound except in words such a bouquet.

Consonants with more than one sound are:

c = cat or city

When c is followed by e, i or y it makes a soft sound like an s.

g = goat or gem

When g is followed by e, i or y it makes a soft sound like a j.

(Teach these consonant variations after consonant blending.)

Consonants should be taught first, followed by short vowels. Difficult sounds

such as x and y should be taught last.

Consonants and vowels can be taught by putting the letters on flash cards an

having the student call them and give the sounds. You should ensure that

students are making a connection between the letter and sound. You can have

beginning readers trace the letter each time they have made the sound.

Teach vowel sounds everyday along with one consonant a day.

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