Category: Consonants

A Ghost with a Slight Cough Gave a Great Fright: Sounds of GH

The letters GH are enough /f/ to make you sigh (silent), aren’t they just ghastly /g/?

  1. GH sounds like /f/ when you laugh, but you must be brave…
  2. because GH sounds like /g/ in a ghoul from the grave.
  3. One more to see, and then you have three: GH might be silent in these:

When bats are in silent flight in the dark of the night, the sight can give you quite a slight fright.

These letters make no sound at all when it is bright, like a vampire that caught sight of the light.

a ghost /g/ with a slight (silent) cough /f/ gave a great fright (silent)

WATCH the Kids vs Phonics Video (1:23)

A word list and worksheet for GH variations is available at the Super Tutor Tools store at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Learn more about the Phonics Pow Toolkit, how to get free word sort games and more free resources.

The /k/ Sound at the end of words

The /k/ sound at the end of a one syllable word with a short vowel is often spelled CK. This is one of the consonants that vary. (IV.c)

When the K sound is heard at the end of a word:

CKending

A CK is often needed after a vowel that is short. The K needs help to make it work. This is a short vowel variation that can be covered at the end of the SOUND OUT WORDS section (II.c) of the Phonics Pow Toolkit. CK is a consonant digraph (two letters that make one sound), in this case the familiar sound of /k/. Other consonant digraphs make new sounds.

CKDuck

The duck said “quack” on the deck near the slick dock.

CKspot&dot

PLAY a wordsearch puzzle with words that end in ck.

The rest of the time, a k often is fine.

milk_carton

With a consonant between it is a new task, it takes just a k so remember to ask. Drink milk, dunk a basket, or honk at an elk: the consonant means there is only a k. Artwork copyrighted by Mark A. Hicks, illustrator, www.MARKiX.net. Used with permission.

In words with bossy r, and vowel teams that are long or diphthongs, a k by itself will park. (The beak of a hawk, a look at a book, a weak croak from a throat, a stork with a fork, a dog that will bark.)

Don’t panic, but there’s one more thing to see. Some two syllable words with a short i only need c. (like a picnic in the attic, it’s a little like magic.)

WATCH videos and play a game at the -ck ending Wakelet tutorial.

Learn how to get a free set of word sort games that includes words that end with the sound of /k/. A set of anchor charts, a worksheet, and a game for the /k/ sound at the beginning and end of words is available at Teachers Pay Teachers. The Consonant Variations soccer sort game includes the ending sound of /k/, plus hard or soft c and g. Learn more about spelling the K sound from thisreadingmama.

Sounds of S

The letter S the sound of /s/ makes when you see snakes. Hear the sound of /z/ when your nose smells a rose. Letter s is one of the consonants that vary.

s = /s/ at the beginning of words: sand, sell, sip, soft, sun. It is also the sound of /s/ in beginning s blends: scuff, smell, sniff, spill, stop, swim.

s at the end of words can be either /s/ or /z/: cats /s/ and dogs /z/ need baths /s/ with suds /z/. Understanding voiced or unvoiced consonants can help when s comes after a consonant. Consonants that are voiced make a vibration in the throat which can be felt. Consonants that are unvoiced are quieter and no vibration is felt.

After letters made with a hiss or puff of air, the soft sound of /s/ is often there. In these examples s follows unvoiced consonants f, t, k, p, and th: puffs, cups, cats, sacks, paths.

After letters that make the throat buzz, the sound of /z/ is often what s does. In these examples s follows voiced consonants b, d, g, v, l, m, n, r: jobs, nods, dogs, stoves, files, rooms, pens, stars.

After vowels, sometimes s = /s/

The -ss ending flossy words above have the sound of /s/.

More words with the /s/ sound after a vowel: Fill this bus with gas.

After vowels, sometimes s = /z/

Here are some words where s = /z/ after a vowel: It is easy for boys to choose toys. s = /z/ in some words with a Silent e: rose, nose, hose, rise, wise, use, fuse, chose, those.

When a plural -es is added to words that end with  -sh, -ch, /s/, -x, /z/, and /j/, the sound is /iz/ like in dishes, matches, classes, faces, horses, boxes, buzzes and judges.

When you sure like sugar and tissue, you hear that s can also = /sh/.

WATCH the Phonics Focus video on the sounds of s at Youtube. (5:04)

WATCH videos and PLAY online games at the Consonants That Vary tutorial at Wakelet. Some online games require flash, which is no longer supported after 12/31/2020. Learn more at The End of Flash.

Letter S is covered in Consonants that vary (IV.c) in the Phonics Pow Toolkit with a worksheet and gameboard. The letter C sometimes makes the sound of /s/: see c before e will often soft /s/ be. There is an online word sort with Silent e words with soft c, s=/s/ or /z/ & z=/z/. Learn how to get a free set of word sort games that includes the two sounds of s. A free word sort game for the letter S is available at the Super Tutor Tools store at Teachers Pay Teachers.

The /k/ Sound at the beginning of words

The /k/ sound at the beginning of words can be spelled with a c or a k. This is one of the consonants that can vary. This can be introduced with words that have a short vowel, adding more advanced vowel patterns as they are learned.

K takes i and e, and C takes the other three.

KorCBoth

Some words with short vowels can begin with the /k/ sound. The kid kept the kiss. What can the cost of a cup of tea be?

Some words with more advanced vowel patterns can begin with the /k/ sound. Keep the kite. The cook baked a cute cake.

Available at the Super Tutor Tools store at Teachers Pay Teachers: A worksheet for the sound of /k/ at the beginning of words with anchor charts and word lists. Or the free anchor charts and word lists. A worksheet and game board are included in the Phonics Pow Toolkit. (IV.c) Learn how to get the free word sort games that include the /k/ sound.

Hard or Soft C and G

The letters C and G can make hard or soft sounds.

C is often hard /k/ before A, O & U. With the others, a soft C /s/ will do.

The words in the word families of -ace and -ice have the soft C sound.  C before e will often soft be. These are Silent e words.

G is often hard before A, O & U. With the others, a soft G will often do.

(But this is not always true, which you know if you get a gift given to you!)

G before e will often soft be. Words that end in -ge or -dge have the soft G sound of /j/. Defender d can stop the vowel from being long in some Silent e words.

Sight words with:

  • Hard c /k/: can, came, car, cut
  • Soft c /s/: face, place, space, sentence
  • Hard g: go, got, big, give
  • Soft g /j/: large, page, change

Keyword sentence: I got a large change when I came to this place.

There are some words with short vowels that have a hard or soft c and g, but many more have advanced vowel patterns. Because of this, hard or soft c and g (IV.b)  are introduced after learning about Defender d at the end of the Silent e section in the Phonics Pow Toolkit. (III.a) Download worksheets or the free anchor charts with word lists for hard or soft c and g at the Super Tutor Tools store at Teachers Pay Teachers. The Consonant Variations soccer sort game includes hard or soft c and g, plus the ending sound of /k/.

WATCH videos and PLAY games about hard or soft C and G at the Wakelet tutorial on hard or soft C and G.

Learn how to get the free word sort games that include hard or soft c and g. Game boards for hard or soft c and g are part of the Phonics Pow Toolkit.

Tricky Y

The letter y is tricky indeed. It can make many sounds, more than three!

Yes, y is a consonant in yellow and yolk.

Sometimes y makes a short i sound like in system and gym.

A y at the end can a vowel be, with the sound of a long i or e. How do you know which you see? At the end of one syllable words, y often says “i” like in fly. With more syllables, it is often a long e.

There are some exceptions, like the one syllable word “key” with the long e sound. (Hey! No Way! -ey can sound like a long a in some words like grey, and the vowel team -ay a long a will say.) You can’t deny y is long i in two syllable words like: July, supply, reply, rely, and apply. Some two syllable words go in the long i pile like typist and style.

WATCH videos and PLAY online games about Tricky y at the Vowels That Vary Wakelet tutorial.

Download a free handout on Tricky Y, and get a Y flower sort game. Try an online Tricky Y word sort.

Practice Tricky Y with a story and word sort at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

Consonants That Vary

When the same letters make more than one sound, or one sound can be made with more than one letter, you really know that English is Weird.

WATCH videos and PLAY online games for: -ck ending, hard or soft c and g, and  more consonants That Vary tutorials at Wakelet. Some online games require flash, which is no longer supported after 12/31/2020. Learn more at The End of Flash.

CONSONANTS

The letters C and G can make hard or soft sounds.

C is often hard before A, O & U. With the others, a soft C will do.

In some silent e words that you see, that c before e will often soft /s/ be.

G is often hard before A, O & U. With the others, a soft G will often do.

(But this is not always true, which you know if you get a gift given to you!)

In some Silent e words you will see, that g before e will often soft /j/ be.

When the K sound is heard at the beginning of a word:

K takes i & e, C takes the other three.

When the K sound is heard at the end of a word:

A CK is often needed after a vowel that is short. The K needs help to make it work.

KorCK

PLAY PRINTABLES Consonant Variations Soccer Sort Games include Hard and Soft C and G, and K or CK ending, available at the Super Tutor Tools store at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Sounds of S: letter S can also make more than one sound. S can say snake, probably everyone knows. It can also say /z/ when a nose smells a rose. Of course in the faces of horses the sound is /iz/. A free word sort game for the letter S is available at the Super Tutor Tools store at Teachers Pay Teachers.

The sound of /f/ can be spelled many ways indeed, more than three! In the following sentence, how many ways do you see? The dolphin swam fast by in the rough sea by the cliff. (f as in fast, ff as in cliff, ph as in dolphin, and gh as in rough.)

A ghost with a slight cough gave a great fright. GH can also be /g/ when you see a ghost all in white, or no sound at all when you see the light.

These guidelines may help you to figure out the many sounds you will discover all about.

Learn more about word sort games for the Phonics Pow Toolkit.

Consonant Digraphs

digraphs2

Digraphs are a pair of letters representing one sound. The consonant digraphs that make new sounds are CH, SH, TH, WH + NG.

Consonant Digraphs may be introduced after learning about Blends, using words with short vowels. Many words with consonant digraphs have more advanced vowel patterns, which can be introduced as the patterns are learned. Download a free Consonant Digraph Word List with Bookmarks at the Super Tutor Tools store at Teachers Pay Teachers. Practice words with short vowels and a consonant digraph with an online wordsearch.

WATCH videos and play online games at the Consonant Digraph tutorial at Wakelet. WATCH  more videos from Kids vs Phonics: CH (1:38) SH (1:28) TH (1:53) TH-Hard (1:42) WH (1:34) & NG (2:02). [archived from Literactive, no longer working as of 10/23:  Whale game,  Crab Catcher game, NG: Hula Pool & Gopher game.]

Some online games require flash, which is no longer supported after 12/31/2020. Learn more at The End of Flash.  

LISTEN and play Digraphs at Quizlet

NG as in Sing

Elvis Presley was known as the King of Rock & Roll. He liked to wear rings when he sang. His longest song was “Suspicious Minds” (7:14) On Nov. 1, 1969, it reached number one on Billboard’s Hot 100.

TH can be voiceless or voiced

In some words, the consonant digraph th makes a vibration or voiced sound. At the beginning of words: this, that, them, than, then. In the middle of words: father, mother, brother. At the end of some verbs: smooth, bathe, breathe.

In other words, the th is a quieter or voiceless sound. At the beginning of words: thin, thick, thud, thumb. Or at the end of words: bath, math, with, cloth. In the middle of some words: ethics, method, lethal.

READ the Pattern – Digraph Sentences from stickyball.net. READ Books: by author Brian Cleary: “Whose Shoes Would You Choose?” “The Thing on the Wing Can Sing” and “Spring in the Kingdom of Ying”

RollReadKeep

PLAY Roll, Read, & Keep -free at Teachers Pay Teachers. Mix BAM & SWIPE cards in with consonant digraph flashcards from bogglesworldesl.com.

More consonant digraph resources:

PLAY a Printable Game from the Measured Mom, a Digraph Picture Sort from Thisreadingmama, a word sort game for NG from Science Is For Kids, an H Brothers Poster from thewisenest.

A Digraph Word Sort and story and Bossy R and Consonant Digraph Soccer Sort Game are also available at the Super Tutor Tools Store at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Consonant Digraphs with familiar sounds

  • CK = /k/ at the end of one syllable words with short vowels like duck.
  • PH = /f/ in some words like phone. Learn more at Fall for Phonics.
  • GH can vary. GH = /f/ as in laugh, or /g/ as in ghost. Sometimes the letters GH are silent as in light. The letters GH are enough /f/ to make you sigh (silent), aren’t they just ghastly /g/? Learn more at a Ghost With a Slight Cough Gave a Great Fright.

-tch ending

The /ch/ sound immediately after a short vowel in a one syllable word is often spelled with -tch. Learn more at Catch the Pitch.

Some words have both a Silent e vowel and a consonant digraph. Practice these with activities at Chase the Sheep. Some words have both a Bossy R vowel and consonant digraphs. Practice these with activities at Shark Chart. Some words have both a vowel combination (diphthong or vowel team) and consonant digraphs. Practice these with activities at Smooth Beach.

Blends

Two (or more) consonants may blend together with each sound heard in the blend. Blends can be found at the beginning or end of words.

Intial Blends with short vowels

Blends are often introduced after learning about short vowels, so it’s a good idea to begin practicing with blends that have short vowels. A slim slug slipped on scum.

Initial Blends with advanced vowel patterns

Blends with other vowel patterns can be included as they are introduced in the logical sequence followed by the Phonics Pow Toolkit.

Final Blends

Blends may be found at the end of some words. (some words have both initial and final blends, like STAMP)

See Find and Lift the Lost Gold – i and o can be long when followed by two consonants…but not always!

Some final blends are sometimes called glued or welded. See The Skunk Drank a Pink Drink.

Some final consonants are two letters that make one sound. See The /k/ sound at the end of words, Consonant Digraphs, and Catch the Pitch.

WATCH videos and PLAY online games at the Consonant Blends tutorial at Wakelet.

Some online games require flash, which is no longer supported after 12/31/2020. Learn more at The End of Flash.

LISTEN & LEARN Blends at Quizlet

Resources:

READ Blend sentences at stickyball.net

PLAY Printable Letter Blends puzzle from Learning 4 Kids (11 pages, some color), Go Fish blends game from Adrian Bruce

Great Green Grapes Blend Board Game at TeachersPayTeachers

Blending

Blending the sounds of letters together from left to right is an important skill for beginning readers. As advanced vowel patterns are introduced, scan for phonics patterns in words to decode them.

PLAY more online games:

Blending: word-machines short vowels at starfall. Short vowels at kizphonics.

[archived from Literactive, no longer working as of 10/24: Blending ladybugs Blends: Warehouse game, Bowling game, Sorting Office, and Final Blends Honey Maze.]