Prepared by Lisa BarrettUniversity of Phoenix

April 5, 2008

What is Phonics?• “Phonics refers to

associating letters or letter groups with the sounds they represent” (“Phonics Rules,” 2008, para. 1).

• Mastery of phonics is an essential instrument for reading and pronouncing words. (Photobucket, 2008)

• There are many phonics rules in English.• Knowing the phonics rules can help you:

- identify words- improve reading comprehension- strengthen conversation skills

• Keep in mind there are some words that don’t follow the rules.

• Watch out for the exceptions.

The C Rule

followed by e, i, or y usually has the

soft sound of “s.”Examples: Central, Celestial, Cedar, Cemetery City, Circa, Cigar, Cinema, Circle

Cycle, Cylinder, Cynic, Cyst

(Photobucket, 2008).

Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides. - Rita Mae Brown (Quoteland, 2008, para. 1).

followed by e, i, or y usually has the soft sound of “j.”

Examples: Gem, Gentleman, Genuine Gist, Gigolo, GinsengGym, Gypsy

It's a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot

water. – Franklin P. Jones (Quoteland, 2008).

(Photobucket, 2008)

The G Rule

Consonant Digraphs• A Consonant Digraph

represents two consonants joined together to form one sound (Doyle, 2008).

• They count as one letter and are never separated (Doyle, 2008).

• Examples: (ch) cheat, hatchet, (sh) sheet, (th) think, without (ph) phone, graph (wh) what

(Photobucket, 2008)

Short Vowels

• When a syllable ends in a consonant and only has one vowel, that vowel is short.

• Examples: fat, bed, fish, spot, luck

Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard

of the imagination. - Ludwig Wittgenstein (Quoteland, 2008).

(Photobucket, 2008)

Silent Vowel Rule

• When a syllable has 2 vowels together, the first vowel is usually long (Doyle, 2008).

• The second is silent (Doyle, 2008). • Examples: pain, boat, rescue, say, grow

• To help you remember, click on the rapper for an entertaining video - - - - > (Click your browser’s back button to return to the presentation).

-Controlled Vowels

• When a vowel is followed by an “R,” that vowel is “R-Controlled” (Doyle, 2008).

• R-controlled vowels are not long, nor short.

• They usually sound the same, like “er.”

• Examples: term, fir, sir, sugar, order

What is a Diphthong

• “A Diphthong is a phonetic sequence, consisting of a vowel and a glide” (SIL, 2008).

• In a Diphthong, vowels blend together to form a single sound (Doyle, 2008).

Diphthong

Examples

Oi Oil

Oy Boy

Ou Mouse

Ow Bow

Au Clause

Aw Paw

Oo Moon

13 Silent Letter Rules1. E final is usually silent; as in brave, crime, abide,

become.

2. E is often silent before d; as in bribed, changed, hedged; cradled, handled, struggled.

3. E is often silent before l; as in drivel, grovel, hazel,

shovel.

4. E is often silent before n; as in garden, hidden, kitten, lighten, spoken, taken.

5. I is sometimes silent before l; as in evil, weevil.

6. I is sometimes silent before n; as in basin, cousin.

7. O is sometimes silent before n;as in bacon, deacon, mason, pardon, reason, weapon.

8. B is silent after m and before t; as in comb, climb, dumb, jamb, lamb, tomb; debt, doubt; subtle.

9. C is silent in czar, and muscle, and before k and t and s; as in back, crack, lock; indict, victuals, scene, scythe, scepter.

10. D is silent in Wednesday, and before g in the same syllable; as in badge, dodge.

11. G is silent before m and n, and sometimes before l; as in phlegm, diaphragm; gnat, feign, consign; intaglio, seraglio.

12. H is silent in heir, herb, honest; and after g or r; at the end of a word and preceded by a vocal; and sometimes after t; as in ghastly, gherkin, ghostly; rheum, rhyme, myrrh; ah, oh, halleluiah; isthmus.

13. K is always silent before n; as in knee, knee, knife, knob, known (Sanders, 2005)

Click on the Icon below for a quiz over the material covered in this presentation.

Remember, just click your browser “back” arrow to return to the presentation!

You did it!You made it through the Phonics

Lesson!

If you have comments or questions, email Lisa by clicking here ->

References

Doyle, D. (2008). Phonics, syllable, and accent rules. Glendale Community College. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/phonics.rules.html

“Phonics Rules.” (2008). Howtostudy.com. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from http://www.how-to-study.com/phonics-rules.htm

Photobucket.com (2008). Clipart/photos. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from http://www.photobucket.com

Quoteland.com. (2008). Retrieved April 4, 2008, from http://quoteland.com/topic.asp?CATEGORY_ID=301

Sanders, E. (2005). Phonics. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from http://www.edsanders.com/phonics/

SIL International. (2008). What is a diphthong. Retrieved April 5, 2008, from http://www.sil.org/linguistics/glossaryoflinguisticterms/whatisadiphthong.htm