Phonics rules

Listed below are some of the phonics rules that we will learn this year to help us to decode words and apply in the reading and writing process. We will learn these skills through whole group, small group, individual practice time, and games to reinforce each rule and make it fun to learn and recall.

Phonics Rule #1 Short Vowels

When a vowel is followed by a consonant, the vowel is short.                                                                   The vowel is usually short when there is one vowel. (cat, dog, hot)

Phonics Rule #2 Long Vowels

When there is a word with a consonant/vowel/consonant/e . The e is silent at the end, and we tell the students that it is “sneaky e” or silent e. (ride, make, name) When there are two vowels in a word the first one is long and the second one is silent. “The first one talks and the second one is walks along silently.” (coat, seat, read)

Phonics Rule #3 Double Consonants

Double consonants make one sound. (cross, bless, class)

Phonics Rule #4 c or k rule

C comes before a,o and u. (cat, cot, cut).                                                                                                   K comes before the other two-i and e. (kite, key)

Phonics Rule #5 ow/ou

The ow and ou make the sound as if you were being pinched and said “ow”. Ow and ou can also say just “o” when it is on the end of a word. These vowel combinations can have both of these two sounds. (count, wow, mow)

Phonics Rule #6 er, ir and ur sounds

These three combinations make the same sound of “er”. They are marked with a little roof called a circumflex. It is the sound a rooster makes in the morning. (bird, nurse, fern)

Phonics Rule #7 or sound

Or makes the “or” sound. (horn, born)

Phonics Rule #8 w before or

When w is before “or”, the “or” says “er”. (work, word)

Phonics Rule #9 oo sound

There is a long and short sound to “oo”. (booth, took)

Phonics Rule #10 oi and oy sound

Oi and oy make the sound of a pig that says, “Oink”. “Oi” comes in the front and middle of a word and “oy” comes on the end of a word. (oil, boil, boy, toy)

Phonics Rule #11 qu sound

Qu are always together and we say they are married. (queen)

Phonics Rule #12 4-H club

Sh makes the sound of asking someone to be quiet and putting your finger by your mouth and saying, “Sh.” Ch is the sound of a train trying to make it up the hill and chugging away. Th makes the sound of putting your tongue between your front teeth and blowing. Wh has a hard sound and a soft sound. The hard sound is said louder as in whale and the soft sound is like blowing out a candle as in who. (show, church, wheel, why, think)

Phonics Rule #13 all and alk

There was a teacher who loved the boys and girls in her room so much, she felt like they were her own children. She said each day, “I love to talk about all my children in first grade.” (ball, chalk)

Phonics Rule #14 prefix and suffix

A prefix comes on the front of a word and is pre, which means before. A suffix comes on the end of a word and suffers such as ed, ing, en, s, es, and ly. (going, looked, churches)

Phonics Rule #15 compound words

A compound word is made up of two words that come together to make a whole word. (doghouse, butterfly)

Phonics Rule #16 syllables

Syllables are word parts. We can identify how many syllables are in a word by clapping it while saying it. (com-put-er)

Phonics Rule #17 contractions

Two words can be put together to make the word shorter by leaving out certain letters. Children have to learn which letters to leave out. (wasn’t, I’m, isn’t)

Phonics Rule #18 abbreviations

Words can be made shorter by leaving off some of the letters. Children need to learn which words can be abbreviated. (Sept., Mrs.)

Phonics Rule #19 quotation marks

Quotation marks are place around what someone said. (Mother said, “Please come in.”)

Phonics Rule #20 Soft/Hard C and G

If after a “C” you see an “i, e or y” c makes the “s” as in city.                                                                      If after a “G” you see an “i, e or y” g makes the “j” as in giant