Download This Sample
This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!
Sign Me Up
Phonics can be thought of as the known relationships between letters in writing and the verbal sounds they make in a language when we speak them. This can be referred to as a letter-sound relationship. These relationships also include the spellings that match the sounds. We learn phonics at a very young age to build understanding of the language mostly used around us, and phonics builds our ability to write and read. Our understanding of writing and reading grows as our knowledge of letters and their combination of sounds improves and becomes more complex.
When we create sound by reading letters, we are actually decoding the language. Decoding just means saying the letters and the sounds the letters make. We blend the sounds letters make together to create words, which we then call reading.
We often match letters with animals or objects that begin with the sound the letter makes. For instance, let’s take the letter (p).
P : pig, pipe, pajamas, pumpkins, postbox, peacock, puzzle
The letter (p) can be heard at the beginning of each word with a harsh sound– /p/. The dictionary gives phonetic spellings to help us understand how to pronounce words we may not know.
/pig/ – with this word, the dictionary tells us that all the letters sound harsh and are presented as harsh consonants.
/rānˌstôrm/ – with the word rainstorm, the letter (a) has a long line above it to indicate that it is pronounced as a long vowel. The letter (o) also has a mark to tell us that it is a long vowel too.
Phonetic spellings show us how to move our mouths to pronounce words. However, we mostly try to sound out words letter by letter, especially when we are learning as children.
Some letters can be tricky, like vowels. Vowels can have different pronunciations. Look at the two words using the vowel (i).
Pick
Pile
Pronounce these two words and you will see that the letter (i) sounds much different in each word. The word pick uses a short /i/ sound to make it sound like /pik/, while the word pile uses a long /ī/ sound to make /pīl/
Once we start to put letters together, we create phonic blends. When we put two letters together, we create a two-letter blend. Three letters put together create a three-letter blend.
One two-letter blend is the sound /st/. This blend is found at the beginning of the word “student.” We know that the letter (s) and the letter (t) create a specific sound when put together. Therefore, we know the beginning of the word “student” sounds like /st/. We then know how to pronounce the beginning of the word “stuck” or “stop.” Our understanding of language begins to grow as we put letters together and learn how to pronounce them.
Phonics can change across the globe and even in the same language, because different countries and cultures have different accents. While England and America both speak a form of English, individuals from either country pronounce words differently. This means the phonetics between countries can change, even though both are speaking the same language. The way we speak comes from how we are taught to say letters: this is phonics!
Phonic | Sounds like | Phonic | Sounds like |
a | hat | key | key |
a | apron | kn | known |
a(ah) | father | l | let |
-a | China | le | puzzle |
-able | lovable | less | meaningless |
a-e | tape | ley | valley |
-age | courage | ll | bell |
ai | rain | lk | chalk |
air | fair | ly | rapidly |
al- | almost | m | mug |
-al | comical | mb | climb |
all | ball | mn | mnemonic |
ance | entrance | n | new |
ang | sang | ness | shyness |
ar | cart | ney | money |
are | beware | ng | singing |
ation | imagination | nk | think |
au | applaud | o | on |
augh | caught | o | go |
augh | laugh | o | brother |
aw | yawn | o | do |
ay | day | oa | coach |
b | big | oar | board |
b (silent) | comb | oe | goes |
bb | rubbed | oe | does |
c | cat | oe | shoe |
cc | accustomed | o-e | joke |
cce | accept | oi | voice |
ce | face | ong | song |
cei | receive | oo | soon |
ch | church | oo | book |
ch | echo | oor | indoors |
ch | chic | or | story |
ck | back | ore | boredom |
ci | circle | ou | noun |
cial | special | ou | you |
cious | spacious | ou | country |
cy | cycle | ough | enough |
cy | fancy | ough | though |
d | dot | ough | through |
dge | badge | ough | cough |
e | bet | ough | thought |
e | be | ough | bough |
e (silent) | plane | our | hour |
e | they | our | favour |
ea | bread | ous | humorous |
ea | sea | ow | vowel |
ea | great | ow | unknown |
ear | dear | oy | enjoy |
ed | patted | p | popular |
ed | rubbed | ph | alphabet |
ed | hopped | pn | pneumonia |
ee | cheese | ps | psychology |
e-e | Japanese | qu | quickly |
eer | deer | que | unique |
ei | height | que | question |
ei | receive | r | reading |
ei | reindeer | rh | rhino |
eir | their | rk | homework |
el | camel | rr | irregular |
en | even | s | safely |
eo | people | s | boy’s, it’s |
ence | difference | s’ | boys’ |
er | after | se | verse |
er | merchant | se | these |
ere | here | sh | shining |
es | buses | sion | revision |
est | bravest | sion | tension |
ew | new | ssion | expression |
ey | honey | ss | class |
ey | obey | str | strong |
f | fit | t | top |
ff | different | tch | pitch |
ful | grateful | th | thus |
full | full | th | think |
g | goal | tion | repetition |
gh | eight | tious | ambitious |
gh | laugh | tial | initial |
gh | ghost | ture | literature |
ge | gentle | u | fun, put |
gi | giant | u | music |
gn | sign | ue | Tuesday |
gy | energy | u-e | volume |
h | hi | ui | nuisance |
i | it | ull | full |
i | idea | ung | lungs |
ible | horrible | ur | purpose |
idge | bridge | v | vocal |
ige | vestige | ve | love |
ie | fried | w | wise |
ie | believe | wa | want |
ie | variety | war | warning |
i-e | five | wor | wordless |
ied | tried | wh | whisper |
ier | funnier | wh | whole |
iest | loveliest | wr | written |
ies | flies | x | exit |
ies | stories | x | xylophone |
igh | high | y | yet |
ing | bring | -y | funny |
ious | hilarious | -y | reply |
ir | birthday | -y- | style |
ire | inspire | -y- | rhythm |
ist | list | y -> i | funniest |
j | jam | z | zip |
k | kiss | zz | buzz |
ke | joke |
Phonics Worksheets
This bundle contains 5 ready-to-use Phonics worksheets that are perfect to test student knowledge and understanding of Phonics which is a method for teaching reading and writing of the English language by developing learners’ phonemic awareness—the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate phonemes—in order to teach the correspondence between these sounds and the spelling patterns (graphemes) that represent them
Link/cite this page
If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.
Link will appear as Phonics Table, Worksheets & Examples: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, February 15, 2018
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.