To improve your understanding of phonics, here are 14 phonics rules for reading and spelling!
1. Vowels in Syllables
Every syllable in a word must have a vowel sound. A vowel can be a unit sound or it can be surrounded by consonants.
2. Long and Short Vowels
When there is a single vowel followed by a single consonant, the sound will be a short vowel sound.
- Cot
When there is a single vowel at the end of the syllable, the sound will be a long vowel sound.
- Bongo
3. The Silent e
The e sound will be silent when it is at the end of the word and there is only one other vowel in the word.
- Mate
4. Digraphs and Consonant Blends
In consonant digraphs, two consonants work together, forming a new sound.
- Chip
Consonant blends are a group of two or more consonants working together.
- Grasp
5. Vowel Digraphs
Two vowels are side by side in a vowel digraph.
- Bait
Sometimes, two vowels work together to form a new sound, and they are called diphthongs.
- Cloud
6. Vowels controlled by R
In a syllable, when there is an r after a vowel, it controls the vowel and makes a new sound.
- Car
7. Schwa
Any vowel can make the schwa sound.
- Alone pronounced as Ulone
8. Soft and Hard C and G
C and G have a soft sound when followed by e, i, or y.
- Cell, Gel
It has a hard sound with other vowels.
- Car, Goal
9. Fszl (Fizzle)
F, s, z, and l are used twice at the end of a monosyllabic word following a short vowel.
- Brass
10. K, Ck
Monosyllabic words ending with the K sound after a short vowel are spelled with ck.
- Buck
11. J, Ch
Monosyllabic words ending with a j sound following a short vowel are spelled as dge.
- Badge
12. Dropping e with -ing
With words ending with e, the e has to be dropped when writing the word in the -ing form.
- Cycle – Cycling
13. Doubling
In monosyllabic words where a short vowel follows a short consonant, the consonant is doubled before adding a suffix starting with a vowel.
- Sinner
14. Plurals
Adding s to most words makes it a plural form.
- Dog – Dogs
For single words ending with s, ch, sh, x, or z, then es is used to convert it into plural form.
- Match – Matches
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