There are times when pronouncing a consonant letter, people will say it like this:

For “m” someone might say, “muh” or “d,” “duh.” Actually, m says, “mmmm” and d says “d” (clipped, no uh on it).

The sounds of letters are the smallest unit of sound in the English language. They are called phonemes.

Start With Phonemes and Phonemic Awareness

Using a drill deck, a typical lesson goes like this:

“Tell me what the letter says.”

I hold up “m” and they say, “That is an m.”

I say, “That is an m, what does the m say?”

“Oh!” They say, “M says, muh.”

“Sort of, but when we say muh it can get confusing when you listen to someone talking and they say something like, milk. Since people don’t say muh-ilk.”

“Ok! M says, “mmmm.”

“Great! What does this letter say, (s)?”…

Where To Start with Students

I always start at the beginning, using my drill cards, no matter the age. It’s a good indicator of what a student knows and where they are in their learning. If they know the letter sounds, we can move on quickly from there. If they stumble, then more review can be done.

Many letters make more than one sound, like c says “k” and “s.” There is also more than one sound for many letters and letter combinations. For example, there are six ways to make the sound “k” – c (cat), k (kite), ck (sack), ch (Christmas), -que (Antique), and lk (walk). A vowel team combination example is: ea. It says, long e, short e, and long a sounds – key words: eagle, bread, steak.

Three Prong Approach: Hear It, See It, Write It

For review: Letters are said in a more clipped way. D is not pronounced “duh,” it is “d.”

If making a deck, the front of the card would have the letter in bold, the back would have the sound and the key word. When showing the deck, if a student says the correct sound, move on.

Sample card:

If students stumble, tell them the sound and the key word. Have them trace the letter while saying the sound. They can trace on the table or in the air. It is important that they say the sound out loud as the tracing is being done. Be sure, if it’s a card or cards students stumble on to pull that card aside and do it again within the drill until it is said correctly.

There is more than one way to say some of the letters. Below is a list of the letters and the sounds that they make along with a key word. These can be used to make a deck.

m “m” Milk

s “s” Sun “z” Rose

f “f” Fish

b “b” Bat

h “h” Hat

j “j” Jam

k “k” Kite

p “p” Pan

t “t” Top

c “k” Cat “s” City (Cat in the city)

r “r” Ring

l “l” Lamp

n “n” Nose “ng” Think

g “g” Gum “j” Germy (Gum that’s germy)

w “w” Wagon

d “d” Dog

v “v” Valentine

y “y” Yarn

z “z” Zebra

x “gz” Exit “ks” Box (Exit from a box)

qu “kw” Queen

Helpful Tools for Practicing Sounds

Whisper Phones https://amzn.to/3H5YOph
Students speak softly into the “receiver” and hear their amplified voice directed into their own ear. It’s a good multi-sensory way to say it and hear it at the same time.

CVC Cards https://amzn.to/3JeI9Tf
I think these would be good to make sure the sounds are heard. I would use these interactively in a lesson. Have student fill in the letter, teacher says word elongating sounds, student says word elongating the sounds. I have not personally used these.

CVC Puzzle https://amzn.to/3XDBDda
I like this for doing something tactile and sounding out letters. I would have students trace it after putting it together while saying the sounds. I would sound it out with them. I have not personally used these.

CVC Blending Rods with Puzzle https://amzn.to/3XVcgDd
I like this for the rods, being able to change the letters and ask the new word. It would help with phoneme work. I have not personally used this.

Bubble Popping Tool https://amzn.to/3WxuUA8
Kids can push through a bubble and say the sound for tapping.

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