A E I O U

Long Sound
Short Sound

Syllable::

CC After Vowel CCC

Sentimental= sen-ti-men-tal Student= Stu-dent Constant= cons-tant
Cosmos= Cos-mos Apology= A-po-lo-gy Understand= Un-der-stand
Subway= Sub-way Behavior= Be-ha-vi-or Subscribe=Subs-cribe
Furious= Fu-ri-ous (‘th’, ‘st’, ‘nt’, ‘sn’, ‘sm’, ‘ct’)

Short Sound Long Sound

Vowel CVC VC VCC VCV VV
A Cat, Bat At Ball Face, Care, Cave,
Fame, Date
E Bet Set Shelter Ego, Dear, Near,Year,
Read, Mean,
Cream, Team,
Receive
I Hit it, Six Ring Like,Kite, Pirate Bias,
O Hot , Not Common Open, Omega Goat, Goal,Boat,
Soal,
U But Cut Push Cute, Huge, Mute,
Fume, Fabulous

C I, E, Y Cent, Cycle, Circle, Cite C= K Cat, Cool, Cut

=> C= m
G I, E,Y Gem, Gentle, Giant, G= M Garden, Garlic, Game
=> G= R Garage, Gym
ght= Night, Fight, Height tch= Catch, Match, Patch, Batch
ign= Malign, Benign

-tion (pronounced as "shun")  -sion (pronounced as "zhun"  -ible (pronounced as "uh-bul"

or "shun") or "ih-bul")
Example: Action, nation,
education Example: Decision, mission, Example: Possible, edible, visible
vision
 -ment (pronounced as  -able (pronounced as "uh-bul"  -ous (pronounced as "us")
"ment") or "ay-bul")
Example: Nervous, curious,
Example: Development, Example: Available, gracious, famous
statement, achievement comfortable, manageable
 -ness (pronounced as "ness")  -ist (pronounced as "ist")  -ive (pronounced as "iv")

Example: Happiness, kindness, Example: Artist, scientist, Example: Active, creative,

awareness biologist attractive

 -ure (pronounced as "yur" or  -ance (pronounced as "ance")  -ity (pronounced as "i-tee")

"shur") Example: Activity, sensitivity,
Example: Performance, reality
Example: Measure, closure, importance, resistance
future

 -ly (pronounced as "lee")  -ize (pronounced as "ize")  -ant (pronounced as "ant")

Example: Quickly, happily, Example: Realize, organize, Example: Important, distant,

wisely specialize relevant

 -ent (pronounced as "ent")  -cian (pronounced as "shun")  -al (pronounced as "ul")

Example: Present, independent, Example: Musician, technician, Example: Personal, natural,

different politician formal

 -less (pronounced as "less")  -ful (pronounced as "ful")  -ence (pronounced as "ence")

Example: Careless, fearless, Example: Beautiful, helpful, Example: Difference, confidence,

helpless powerful experience

 -ery (pronounced as "ery")  -ary (pronounced as "airy")

Example: Scenery, bakery, Example: Library, ordinary,

mystery dictionar

Cat Bed Big Need Care

Bat Get Bit Feed Fare
Mad Net Fill Keen Share
Fat Pet Sit Been
Chat Cent Shit

Pot Book Stool = Goal = Home =

Got Moon Start = Goat = Note =
Not Foot Sky = Rope =
Lot Roof Smell= Hope=

Near = Fly Though Thick Chick

Fear = Fry Then Thought Nick
Dear = Cly They Cloth
Bear = Cry
King Anger
Thing Finger
Hunger

Vowel Vowel Keep Vowel short before double consonant

(Long Sound) Diner = WvBbvi
Meat, Plain, Goat, Dear, Fear Dinner = wWbvi

Short words have short vowels (One syllable)

Cat, Tin, Bend G and K are always silent before N
Knee =
Y Y Knock =
E Knight=
Young, You, Youth, Yes Gnarl =

Pronounce s like z between vowels

Y sounds like ai in one-syllable words such Phase=
Fly, Cry Music =
Please =
When combined with a, the ay combination
is pronounced like a long a sound
Play, Day King
If the combination is ough, there is a variety Thing
of pronunciations, depending on the word.
It can sound like there’s an f at the end such Anger
as these words: Finger
Hunger
Cough
Rough OU has many pronounciation:

It could also just sound like a long o such as With ould, a schwa sound is created and it
Through sounds more like ood with not much of
Thought an l sound:
Would
You would expect ou to be pronounced almost Could
like “ow” in most cases such as with words
like
Shout
About

If the combination is oup, a long o sound is

formed:
Soup
Group

1. Digraphs (Two Letters, One Sound)

These combinations produce a unique sound different from their individual letters.

 "th" (soft and hard sounds):

o Soft: thin, think, thief, thank.
o Hard: this, that, then, there.
 "sh" (pronounced "sh"):
o Example: ship, shell, wish, fish, brush.
 "ch" (can be pronounced in three ways: "ch" as in "chip", "sh" as in "chef", or "k" as in
"chorus"):
o Ch sound: chip, chair, children, chocolate.
o Sh sound: chef, machine.
o K sound: chorus, school.
 "ph" (pronounced "f"):
o Example: phone, elephant, photo, graph, alphabet.
 "wh" (often pronounced "hw" but sometimes just "w"):
o Example: what, where, when, white, whale.
 "ck" (pronounced as a hard "k"):
o Example: back, clock, kick, duck, thick.
 "ng" (creates a nasal "ng" sound):
o Example: sing, long, song, king, ring.
 "kn" (the "k" is silent):
o Example: knife, knight, know, knee, knock.
 "wr" (the "w" is silent):
o Example: write, wrist, wrong, wrap.

2. Trigraphs (Three Letters, One Sound)

These are combinations of three letters that produce a single sound.

 "tch" (pronounced as "ch"):

o Example: watch, catch, match, pitch, scratch.
 "igh" (pronounced as long "i"):
o Example: high, sigh, light, night, flight.
 "dge" (pronounced as "j"):
o Example: bridge, edge, judge, badge, fudge.

3. Common Vowel Combinations

These vowel pairs often have specific sounds when combined.

  "ai" (long "a"):
o Example: rain, wait, train, mail, paint.
 "ea" (can be long "e," short "e," or long "a"):
o Long "e": eat, seat, dream, read, speak.
o Short "e": head, bread, dead, ready.
o Long "a": great, break, steak.
 "ee" (long "e"):
o Example: see, tree, feel, need, green.
 "oo" (can be long "oo" or short "oo"):
o Long "oo" sound: food, moon, soon, boot, pool.
o Short "oo" sound: book, cook, foot, good, wood.
 "ou" (can be pronounced as "ow" or "uh"):
o "Ow" sound: out, about, shout, found.
o "Uh" sound: touch, trouble, cousin.
 "oi" (pronounced as "oy"):
o Example: coin, oil, boil, soil, join.
 "oy" (pronounced as "oy"):
o Example: toy, boy, enjoy, loyal, destroy.
 "au" (pronounced as "aw"):
o Example: autumn, pause, cause, fault.
 "aw" (pronounced as "aw"):
o Example: saw, law, draw, yawn, claw.
 "ow" (can be pronounced as "ow" or "oh"):
o "Ow" sound: cow, now, how, brown.
o "Oh" sound: snow, grow, window, show.

4. Silent Letter Combinations

Silent letters often appear in certain letter combinations.

 "mb" (the "b" is silent):

o Example: comb, thumb, lamb, climb.
 "gn" (the "g" is silent):
o Example: gnat, gnome, sign, design, foreign.
 "sc" (the "c" is silent in some words, creating an "s" sound):
o Example: science, scene, scissors.
 "bt" (the "b" is silent):
o Example: doubt, debt, subtle.

5. R-controlled Vowels

When vowels are followed by the letter "r," they produce a unique sound.

 "ar": car, star, far, farm, part.

 "er": her, teacher, butter, water.
 "ir": bird, girl, shirt, first.
  "or": for, door, short, fork.
 "ur": turn, burn, hurt, purple.

6. Other Common Consonant Combinations

 "qu" (always pronounced as "kw"):

o Example: queen, quick, quiet, question.
 "tch" (pronounced as "ch"):
o Example: watch, batch, stitch, fetch.

7. Consonant Blends

These are groups of two or more consonants that are pronounced together, but each sound can
still be heard.

 "bl": black, blue, blanket.

 "cl": clock, clean, clap.
 "fl": flag, flower, fly.
 "gl": glad, globe, glue.
 "pl": plan, play, please.
 "sl": slow, sleep, slide.
 "br": bread, break, bring.
 "dr": drive, dream, drink.
 "fr": frog, friend, frame.
 "gr": green, grow, great.
 "tr": train, tree, track.
 "sp": spot, spin, spoon.
 "st": stop, star, stone.
 "sw": swing, sweet, swim.

8. Vowel-Consonant Combinations

 "all" (often pronounced as "awl"):

o Example: ball, call, small, fall.
 "old" (often pronounced as long "o" + "d"):
o Example: cold, gold, hold, sold.

1. Vowel Sounds: Long vs. Short Vowels

  Short Vowels: When a vowel is followed by a consonant, it’s usually short.
o Example: cat (short "a"), bed (short "e"), sit (short "i"), pot (short "o"), sun (short
"u").
 Long Vowels: When a vowel is followed by a silent "e" or stands alone, it’s usually long.
o Example: cake (long "a"), hope (long "o"), bike (long "i"), use (long "u").

2. Silent 'e' Rule

 The silent 'e' at the end of words makes the preceding vowel long.
o Example: hat (short "a") becomes hate (long "a"), rid (short "i") becomes ride
(long "i").

3. C and G Sounds

 Soft C: When "c" is followed by "e," "i," or "y," it makes an "s" sound.
o Example: city, center, cycle.
 Hard C: When "c" is followed by "a," "o," or "u," it makes a "k" sound.
o Example: cat, cup, coat.
 Soft G: When "g" is followed by "e," "i," or "y," it makes a "j" sound.
o Example: giraffe, giant, gem.
 Hard G: When "g" is followed by "a," "o," or "u," it makes a hard "g" sound.
o Example: goat, gate, gum.

4. Two Vowels Together

 When two vowels are together, the first vowel is usually long, and the second is silent
(often called the "When two vowels go walking, the first does the talking" rule).
o Example: boat (long "o"), read (long "e"), rain (long "a").

5. The 'R' Effect on Vowels

 When a vowel is followed by an "r," it changes the vowel sound.

o Example: car, her, bird, for, fur (Notice how the vowels change sound when
followed by "r").

6. Consonant Blends

 Certain consonant pairs create unique sounds when pronounced together. Teach students
to recognize and pronounce these as a single unit:
o bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl: black, clock, flat, glass, place, slow.
o br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr: bread, crop, dry, frog, green, price, train.
o ch, sh, th, ph, wh: chair, shoe, thin, phone, where.

7. Digraphs

 Digraphs are two letters that make a single sound:

 o "th" as in think (soft "th") and this (hard "th").
o "sh" as in ship.
o "ch" as in chip.
o "wh" as in when.

8. Silent Letters

 Teach students common silent letters:

o Silent b: comb, lamb, debt.
o Silent k: knife, knee, know.
o Silent w: write, wrong, wrist.
o Silent gh: light, high, though.

9. Syllable Stress

 In multisyllabic words, one syllable is often stressed more than the others. Stress can
change the meaning or pronunciation:
o Example: PRE-sent (noun) vs. pre-SENT (verb).
 Teach students to break words into syllables and look for the stressed part.

10. Common Endings

 Certain word endings follow predictable patterns:

o -ed: Makes a "t" sound (jumped), "d" sound (played), or "id" sound (wanted).
o -ing: Always pronounced like "ing" (going, singing).
o -tion: Pronounced as "shun" (action, nation).

11. 'Y' as a Vowel

 When "y" is at the end of a word, it often acts as a vowel:

o Example: happy (long "e" sound), try (long "i" sound).

12. Double Consonants

 Double consonants like tt, ss, pp usually make the preceding vowel short.
o Example: hitting, crossing, tapping.

13. Practice with Phonics

 Use phonics-based reading to help students connect letter sounds with words:
o For example: cat = /k/ /a/ /t/, dog = /d/ /o/ /g/.

1. Words ending in "-ing"

Playing → /ˈpleɪɪŋ/
Singing → /ˈsɪŋɪŋ/

Reading → /ˈriːdɪŋ/

Cooking → /ˈkʊkɪŋ/

Swimming → /ˈswɪmɪŋ/

Walking → /ˈwɔːkɪŋ/

Talking → /ˈtɔːkɪŋ/

Dancing → /ˈdɑːnsɪŋ/

Writing → /ˈraɪtɪŋ/

Thinking → /ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/

2. Words with "-ck"

Luck → /lʌk/

Stick → /stɪk/

Truck → /trʌk/

Quick → /kwɪk/

Neck → /nɛk/

Check → /tʃɛk/

Kick → /kɪk/

Snack → /snæk/

Track → /træk/

Clock → /klɒk/

Pack → /pæk/

Back → /bæk/

3. Words ending in "-ght"

Caught → /kɔːt/

Brought → /brɔːt/
Thought → /θɔːt/

Taught → /tɔːt/

Bought → /bɔːt/

Fright → /fraɪt/

Sought → /sɔːt/

Height → /haɪt/

Drought → /draʊt/

Sleight → /slaɪt/

Might → /maɪt/

Bright → /braɪt/

4. Words with "-ign"

Assign → /əˈsaɪn/

Align → /əˈlaɪn/

Campaign → /kæmˈpeɪn/

Malign → /məˈlaɪn/

Consign → /kənˈsaɪn/

Reassign → /ˌriːəˈsaɪn/

Resign → /rɪˈzaɪn/

Design → /dɪˈzaɪn/

Benign → /bɪˈnaɪn/

Signature → /ˈsɪɡnətʃər/

Signify → /ˈsɪɡnɪfaɪ/

Signal → /ˈsɪɡnəl/
5. Words with "-tion" or "-sion"

Rule: The "tion" sounds like /ʃən/ (shun), and "sion" sounds like /ʒən/ or /ʃən/.
Examples:

Station → /ˈsteɪʃən/

Action → /ˈækʃən/

Attention → /əˈtɛnʃən/

Mention → /ˈmɛnʃən/

Mission → /ˈmɪʃən/

Decision → /dɪˈsɪʒən/

Division → /dɪˈvɪʒən/

6. Words with "-le" at the end

Rule: In words that end with "le," the final syllable is often pronounced as /əl/.

Examples:

Apple → /ˈæpəl/

Table → /ˈteɪbəl/

Little → /ˈlɪtəl/

People → /ˈpiːpəl/

Puzzle → /ˈpʌzəl/

Bottle → /ˈbɒtəl/

Jungle → /ˈdʒʌŋɡəl/

7. Words with "-ould", "-ouldn't"

Rule: The "ould" combination sounds like /ʊd/, and in contractions like "couldn't," it sounds like /kʊdnt/.

Examples:

Would → /wʊd/

Could → /kʊd/

Should → /ʃʊd/
Wouldn't → /ˈwʊdnt/

Couldn't → /ˈkʊdnt/

Shouldn't → /ˈʃʊdnt/

8. Words with "-mb"

Rule: The "b" in "mb" combinations is silent.

Examples:

Comb → /koʊm/

Lamb → /læm/

Thumb → /θʌm/

Climb → /klaɪm/

Bomb → /bɒm/

Tomb → /tuːm/

Womb → /wuːm/

9. Words with "-kn"

Rule: The "k" in "kn" combinations is silent.

Examples:

Know → /noʊ/

Knee → /niː/

Knife → /naɪf/

Knock → /nɒk/

Knit → /nɪt/

Knight → /naɪt/

Knowledge → /ˈnɒlɪdʒ/
10. Words with "-wr"

Rule: The "w" in "wr" combinations is silent.

Examples:

Write → /raɪt/

Wrong → /rɒŋ/

Wrist → /rɪst/

Wreck → /rɛk/

Wring → /rɪŋ/

Wrinkle → /ˈrɪŋkəl/

11. Words with "-ph"

Rule: The "ph" combination is pronounced as /f/.

Examples:

Phone → /foʊn/

Photo → /ˈfoʊtoʊ/

Elephant → /ˈɛlɪfənt/

Phantom → /ˈfæntəm/

Graph → /ɡræf/

Phrase → /freɪz/

Trophy → /ˈtroʊfi/

12. Words with "-tch"

Rule: The "tch" combination sounds like /tʃ/, a hard "ch" sound.

Examples:

Watch → /wɒtʃ/
Catch → /kætʃ/

Match → /mætʃ/

Fetch → /fɛtʃ/

Hatch → /hætʃ/

Pitch → /pɪtʃ/

Scratch → /skrætʃ/
13. Words with "-dge"

Rule: The "dge" combination sounds like /dʒ/ (a hard "j" sound).

Examples:

Edge → /ɛdʒ/

Judge → /dʒʌdʒ/

Bridge → /brɪdʒ/

Badge → /bædʒ/

Lodge → /lɒdʒ/

Fudge → /fʌdʒ/

Hedge → /hɛdʒ/

14. Words with "-wh"

Rule: In some words, the "wh" combination is pronounced like /w/, and in others, the "h" is pronounced.
It depends on the word.

Examples:

What → /wɒt/ (silent "h")

Where → /wɛr/ (silent "h")

When → /wɛn/ (silent "h")

Why → /waɪ/ (silent "h")

Whale → /weɪl/ (silent "h")

Who → /huː/ (silent "wh")

Whistle → /ˈwɪsəl/ (silent "h")

15. Words with "-eer"

Rule: The "eer" combination sounds like /ɪər/ (like the word "ear").

Examples:

Engineer → /ˌɛnʤɪˈnɪər/

Career → /kəˈrɪər/

Cheer → /tʃɪər/

Volunteer → /ˌvɒlənˈtɪər/

Peer → /pɪər/

Deer → /dɪər/

Pioneer → /ˌpaɪəˈnɪər/

16. Words with "-ew"

Rule: The "ew" combination is pronounced either as /juː/ (like "you") or /uː/ (like "oo").

Examples:

New → /njuː/ or /nuː/

Few → /fjuː/

Dew → /djuː/ or /duː/

View → /vjuː/

Stew → /stjuː/ or /stuː/

Blew → /bluː/

Crew → /kruː/

17. Words with "-ough"

Rule: The "ough" combination has several pronunciations depending on the word. This can be tricky!

Examples:

Though → /ðoʊ/ (like "oh")

Through → /θruː/ (like "oo")

Rough → /rʌf/ (like "uff")

Tough → /tʌf/ (like "uff")

Thought → /θɔːt/ (like "aw")

Bough → /baʊ/ (like "ow")

Cough → /kɒf/ (like "off")

18. Words with "-ch"

Rule: The "ch" combination can be pronounced in three ways: /tʃ/ (as in "church"), /k/ (as in "school"), or
/ʃ/ (as in "chef").

Examples:

Chair → /tʃɛər/ (common "ch" sound)

Church → /tʃɜːrtʃ/ (common "ch" sound)

School → /skuːl/ ("ch" sounds like "k")

Character → /ˈkærɪktər/ ("ch" sounds like "k")

Chef → /ʃɛf/ ("ch" sounds like "sh")

Machine → /məˈʃiːn/ ("ch" sounds like "sh")

Echo → /ˈɛkoʊ/ ("ch" sounds like "k")

19. Words with "-al"

Rule: In words ending in "-al," the "al" is often pronounced as /əl/.

Examples:

Animal → /ˈænɪməl/
Final → /ˈfaɪnəl/

Formal → /ˈfɔːrməl/

Normal → /ˈnɔːrməl/

Hospital → /ˈhɒspɪtəl/

Signal → /ˈsɪɡnəl/

Local → /ˈloʊkəl/

20. Words with "-ure"

Rule: The "ure" combination is usually pronounced /jʊər/ or /ʊr/.

Examples:

Nature → /ˈneɪtʃər/

Future → /ˈfjuːtʃər/

Picture → /ˈpɪktʃər/

Culture → /ˈkʌltʃər/

Capture → /ˈkæptʃər/

Pressure → /ˈprɛʃər/

Mature → /məˈtjʊər/ or /məˈtʊr/

21. Words with "-ie"

Rule: The "ie" combination is pronounced like /iː/ (long "e") or /aɪ/ (long "i").

Examples:

Believe → /bɪˈliːv/ (long "e")

Chief → /tʃiːf/ (long "e")

Field → /fiːld/ (long "e")

Piece → /piːs/ (long "e")

Lie → /laɪ/ (long "i")

Pie → /paɪ/ (long "i")

Die → /daɪ/ (long "i")

22. Words with "-ow"

Rule: The "ow" combination can be pronounced as /aʊ/ (as in "cow") or /oʊ/ (as in "slow").

Examples:

Cow → /kaʊ/ (like "ow")

How → /haʊ/ (like "ow")

Now → /naʊ/ (like "ow")

Show → /ʃoʊ/ (like "oh")

Snow → /snoʊ/ (like "oh")

Grow → /ɡroʊ/ (like "oh")

Bow → /baʊ/ (bend) or /boʊ/ (ribbon)