Single Letter Graphemes (continued)
After teaching the single letter graphemes s, a, t, p, i, n, e as well as c, h, o, r, d, l, u, students learn the most common letter-sound relationships for b, m, w, f, g, k:
b like in bed
Also found in words such as bug, tub and big. Represents the consonant phoneme /b/.
m like in mouth
Also found in words such as mug, him and mop. Represents the consonant phoneme /m/.
w like in worm
Also found in words such as web, win and wag. Represents the consonant phoneme /w/. Be careful not to say an “uh” (schwa) sound when you pronounce this one! Practice by imitating the sound you hear when you click the letter “w”, above.
f like in fan
Also found in words such as fin, fun and fan. Represents the consonant phoneme /f/.
g like in girl
Also found in words such as gum, gap and get. Represents the consonant phoneme /g/.
k like in king
Also found in words such as kid ,keg and kiss. Represents the consonant phoneme /k/. Be careful not to say an “uh” (schwa) sound when you pronounce this one! It’s an unvoiced phoneme, meaning it’s a whispered speech sound. Practice by imitating the sound you hear when you click the letter “k”, above.
After learning all of the above graphemes, students learn to decode short words, like:
bad, bag, bat, bed, beg, bib, big, bin, bit, bug, bum, bun, bus, cub, dig, dog, fan, fat, fed, fin, fog, fun, gap, get, god, gum, gun, ham, hug, leg, log, mad, man, map, mat, men, mop, mud, mug, mum, peg, pig, rag, rib, rob, rub, rug, tub, web, wig, kid
bad, bag, bat, bed, beg, bib, big, bin, bit, bug, bum, bun, bus, cub, dig, dog, fan, fat, fed, fin, fog, fun, gap, get, god, gum, gun, ham, hug, leg, log, mad, man, map, mat, men, mop, mud, mug, mum, peg, pig, rag, rib, rob, rub, rug, tub, web, wig, kid
…then, we teach the most common letter-sound relationships for x, y, z, v, j:
x like in box
Also found in words such as fox, six and wax. Please note that ‘x’ typically represents the two phonemes /ks/, so it is not a grapheme (because graphemes, by definition, represent a single phoneme). We teach it with these graphemes for convenience!
y like in yo-yo
Also found in words such as yes , yak and yet. Represents the consonant phoneme /j/. Be careful not to say an “uh” (schwa) sound when you pronounce this one! Practice by imitating the sound you hear when you click the letter “y”, above.
z like in zip
Also found in words such as zap , zed and zen. Represents the consonant phoneme /z/.
j like in jug
Also found in words such as jet , job and jug. Represents the consonant phoneme /dʒ/.
After learning all of the above graphemes, students learn to decode short words, like:
box, fix, fox, jet, job, jug, kid, sax, six, van, vet, wax, yak, yes, zap, zed, zip
box, fix, fox, jet, job, jug, kid, sax, six, van, vet, wax, yak, yes, zap, zed, zip
…as well as longer words containing the most common single-letter graphemes, like: