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.
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 at the Consonants That Vary tutorial at Wakelet. Note that many online games require flash and may not work well on mobile devices. Downloading the Mozilla Firefox browser can be helpful.
A CK is often needed after a vowel that is short. The K needs help to make it work.
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.
Two 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. 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.)
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.
Please note that many online games require Flash and may not work well on some tablets and smartphones. It can be helpful to download the Mozilla Firefox browser.
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 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”
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 consonant digraphs. 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.
Two (or more) consonants may blend together with each sound heard in the blend.
Blends are often introduced after learning about short vowels, so it’s a good idea to begin practicing with blends that have short vowels. Blends with other vowel patterns can be included after they have been learned. Blending the sounds of letters from left to right is an important skill for beginning readers. As other vowel patterns are introduced, scan for phonics patterns in words to decode them.
