How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child

Phonics Letter Sounds

Learning the correct sounds of each letter is the essential first step in learning to read with phonics. Each page below includes the proper pronunciation, fun activities, and tips to help your child master that letter’s sound. Remember: teach the sound the letter makes, not just its name.

For important background, read about letter names vs. letter sounds and why learning incorrect sounds causes reading problems.

Special Sounds & Advanced Topics

The /sh/ Sound — SH, CH, TI, CI, SI, SSI spellings and how to teach them
Past Tense -ED Sounds — The three different sounds of the -ed ending
Voiced and Unvoiced Sound Pairs — Understanding how sounds are produced
Phonics Sound Infographic — Visual overview of all English phonics sounds

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Learn the theory behind phonics in our About Phonics section, download free printable worksheets for practice, or read tips for teaching young children to read.

How to Teach Letter A and its Sound — Short A Phonics Vowel Worksheet

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Teaching the Alphabet Letter B and /b/ Sound — Activities and Worksheets

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Teaching the Letter C and the /c/ Sound With Phonics Activities

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Phonics Sound for Letter D — How to Teach the /d/ Sound

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Phonics Sound for Letter E — Teaching the Short E Vowel Sound

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Alphabet Letter F and the /f/ Sound — Fun Activities and Printables

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Learning Letter G and its Phonics Sound With Printable Activity Sheets

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Learning Letter G and its Phonics Sound With Printable Activity SheetsLetter...

How to Teach the Unvoiced Sound for Letter H — /h/ Not “huh”

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Learning Letter I and the /i/ Sound With Worksheet Activities

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Learning Letter I and the /i/ Sound With Worksheet ActivitiesAlphabet Letter...

Alphabet Letter J Sound — Learning the J Sound With Songs and Activities

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Letters and Sounds — Leaning Letter K and the /k/ Sound

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Letters and Sounds — Leaning Letter K and the /k/ SoundLetter...

Learning Phonics Sounds for Kids — Letter L and the /l/ Sound

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Reading Lesson for Letter M and the mmm Sound.

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Reading Lesson for Letter M and the mmm Sound.So, You Want...

Fun Activities, Rhymes, and Worksheets For Letter N Sound

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Fun Activities, Rhymes, and Worksheets For Letter N SoundTeaching the N...

Teaching the Short O and Long O Vowel Sounds to kids

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Teaching the Short O and Long O Vowel Sounds to kidsVowel...

Learning Letter P and the /p/ Sound — Fun Activities and Printable Worksheets

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Learning the Phonics Sound for Letter Q and Qu — /koo/

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Learning the Phonics Sound for Letter Q and Qu — /koo/Learning...

Alphabet Letter R and the /r/ Sound Activity and Worksheets

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Alphabet Letter R and the /r/ Sound Activity and WorksheetsARRRRR! It’s...

Learning Letter S and /s/ Sound — Fun Activities and Free Worksheets

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Learning Letter S and /s/ Sound — Fun Activities and Free...

Teaching the Alphabet Letter T and its /t/ Sound (Not TUH)

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Teaching the Alphabet Letter T and its /t/ Sound (Not TUH)T-T-T-Time...

Vowel Letter U and the “uh” Sound Activities and Worksheets

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Vowel Letter U and the "uh" Sound Activities and WorksheetsUh… It’s...

Teaching the Sound of Letter V With Phonemic Awareness Activities and Worksheets.

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Teaching the Sound of Letter V With Phonemic Awareness Activities and...

Learn the W Consonant Sound (Woo) Using Phonemic Awareness Activities

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Learn the W Consonant Sound (Woo) Using Phonemic Awareness ActivitiesW for...

Teaching the Alphabet Letter X and the ‘ks’ Phonics Sound

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Teaching the Alphabet Letter X and the 'ks' Phonics SoundLearning the...

Learning Letter Y Sound — Can be Consonant or Vowel

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Learning Letter Y Sound — Can be Consonant or VowelAlphabet Letter...

Learning Letter Z Phonics Sound With Phonemic Awareness Activities

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Learning Letter Z Phonics Sound With Phonemic Awareness ActivitiesTeaching the Letter...

When to Voice the E in Past Tense “ED”

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › When to Voice the E in Past Tense "ED"How to Voice...

A Complete Phonics Sound Chart Infographic For Learning Reading

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › A Complete Phonics Sound Chart Infographic For Learning ReadingAlphabet and Phonics...

Teaching the /sh/ Sound — SH, CH, TI, CI, SI, SSI Spellings

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Teaching the /sh/ Sound — SH, CH, TI, CI, SI, SSI...

Teaching the Proper Sounds of Phonics — Voiced and Unvoiced Sound Pairs

Home › How to Teach the Phonics Sounds of Letters to Your Child › Teaching the Proper Sounds of Phonics — Voiced and Unvoiced Sound...

-AD Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -AD word family with a sample word list, simple phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. Perfect for kindergarteners and grade 1 early readers.

-AM Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -AM word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. Great for early readers in kindergarten and grade 1.

-AN Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -AN word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. Perfect for early readers in kindergarten and grade 1.

-AP Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -AP word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. Perfect for early readers in kindergarten and grade 1.

-AT Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -AT word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. Perfect for early readers in kindergarten and grade 1.

-ED Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -ED word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great short E pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-EN Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -EN word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great short E pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-ET Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -ET word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great short E pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-IN Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -IN word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great first short I pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-IP Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -IP word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great short I pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-IT Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -IT word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great short I pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-OP Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -OP word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great first short O pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-OT Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -OT word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great short O pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-UG Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -UG word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great first short U pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-UN Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -UN word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great short U pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

-UT Word Family: Word List and Teaching Activities

Explore the -UT word family with a sample word list, phonics tips, and fun teaching activities. A great short U pattern for kindergarten and grade 1 readers.

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