What is Phonics? 🎵

🔡 What are Vowels?

Vowels are very important because they help us know how to say words. We use phonics to sound out and read the word.

👂 Hear how the vowel changes the word:

cat

→ says /a/ like "apple"

cot

→ says /o/ like "octopus" 🐙

cut

→ says /u/ like "umbrella"

👉 The vowel changed → the sound changed!

🍎 Short Vowel Sounds American English

Short vowels say a quick, clipped sound — not the letter name. Click any vowel to hear it!

A /ă/ 🍎 short a

E /ĕ/ 🥚 short e

I /ĭ/ 🧊 short i

O /ŏ/ 🐙 short o

U /ŭ/ ☂️ short u

👂 What they sound like

A→ "ăăă" (apple)

E→ "ĕĕĕ" (egg)

I→ "ĭĭĭ" (igloo)

O→ "ŏŏŏ" (octopus)

U→ "ŭŭŭ" (umbrella)

🌈 Long Vowel Sounds

✨ Long vowels say their letter names — A says "A", E says "E", and so on!

Vowel	Sound	Examples
A	/ā/	🔊 long a
E	/ē/	🔊 long e
I	/ī/	🔊 long i
O	/ō/	🔊 long o
U	/yoo/ or /oo/	🔊 long u

👂 What they sound like

A→ "A" (like the letter name)

E→ "E"

I→ "I"

O→ "O"

U→ "You" (cube) or "Oo" (flute)

🔤 Consonant Sounds

Click any tile to hear the sound!

B/b/

C/k/

D/d/

F/f/

G/g/

H/h/

J/j/

K/k/

L/l/

M/m/

N/n/

P/p/

Q/kw/

R/r/

S/s/

T/t/

V/v/

W/w/

X/ks/

Y/y/

Z/z/

📚 Digraphs Two Letters, One Sound

/sh/

ship 🚢

/ch/

chair 🪑

/th/ voiceless

thumb 👍

/th/ voiced

this 👉

/w/

whale 🐋

/f/

phone 📱

/ng/

sing 🎵

/k/

duck 🦆

🌟 Common Beginning Blends

Two consonants together — each keeps its own sound!

blue 🔵

clap 👏

flag 🚩

glass 🥛

plane ✈️

slide 🛝

brown 🟤

crab 🦀

drum 🥁

frog 🐸

green 🟢

prize 🏆

tree 🌳

scarf 🧣

skate ⛸️

smile 😊

snake 🐍

spoon 🥄

star ⭐

swing 🎢

🎯 Phonics Challenge Interactive!

⭐ Score: 0 / 0

Is the vowel sound SHORT or LONG? 👂 Tap the word to hear it!

🐱

cat

Listen for the vowel inside the word

⭐ Score: 0 / 0

Which digraph do you hear? 👂 Tap the word to hear it!

🚢

ship

⭐ Score: 0 / 0

What beginning blend does this word start with? 👂 Tap the word!

🐸

frog