s sit

This is the consonant sound /s/

/s/ is a loooong sound. Like the sounds of m, r, l, f, n, v, z, you can hold “sss” for a long time. See how loooong your little learner can say “sss”. It’s not “es” it’s just “sss”.

Continuant consonants (looooong sounds) at the beginning of a a word make it easier to segment and blend.
(There’s a practice sheet for reference for correct letter formation).

/s/ can also be spelled ‘ss’ (like in ‘fuss’), or ‘c’ (like in ‘ice’),

or ‘sc’ in science

See lessons part 3, lesson 17: when /s/ is spelled with ‘c’

Each vowel has a short sound and long sound. We learn the short sounds first.

a ant

This is the short sound of the vowel /a/

Watch the video, then draw the letter a, saying the letter-sound and the key word “ant” as you draw the letter (you can look at the practice sheet for reference for correct letter formation).

Common spellings of /a/ sound: ant, mat, sat, Pat, tap

Very rare spellings of the /a/ sound include: a_e as in the word ‘have’, ai as in ‘plaid’, al as in ‘half’, au as in ‘laugh’.

t tap

This is the consonant sound /t/

/t/ is a very short quick sound.

The quick sounds are also called stops: d, b, g, j, p, t, k. Put them at the end of word to hear how they sound: dad, jab, big, tap, pit, bulk. Notice how they can’t be long, like continuous (long) sounds: m, s, l, r, f, n, v, z
(There’s a practice sheet for reference for correct letter formation).

/t/ can also be spelled ‘tt’ (like in attend)

/t/ can be spelled ‘ed’ for the past tense after a voiceless consonant (helped, kissed, looked)

p pop

This is the consonant sound /p/

Close your lips. Try to blow air out. Open the lips at the front a tiny bit. Release the air - that’s the sound of ‘p’ - just a pop of air. 

Mostly so far, we’ve been hearing the sound at the start of words, but ‘pop’ has the subtle /p/ sound at the start and end, with a short o vowel in the middle.

/P/ is a quick sound and is unvoiced, meaning you don’t use your vocal cords to make the sound!

The quick sounds are also called stops: d, b, g, j, p, t, k. Put them at the end of word to hear how their sound: dad, jab, big, tap, pit, bulk. Notice how they can’t be long, like continuous sounds: m, s, l, r, f, n, v, z

(There’s a practice sheet for reference for correct letter formation).

/p/ can also be spelled ‘pp’ (like in puppy)

i in

This is the short sound of the vowel /i/

Watch the video, then draw the letter i, saying the letter-sound and the key word “in” as you draw the letter (you can look at the practice sheet for reference for correct letter formation).

Common spellings of the /i/ sound: it, is, in, fit, sit, big, tip, dig

Advanced spellings of the /i/ sound include the letter ‘y’ in words like gym, myth, and ‘i_e’ in words like give

n no

This is the consonant sound /n/

/n/ is a loooong sound. Like the sounds of m, s, l, f, r, v, z, you can hold “nnn” for a long time. See how loooong your little learner can say “nnn”. It’s not “en” it’s just the nasal sound “nnn”.

(There’s a practice sheet for reference for correct letter formation).

/n/ can also be spelled ‘nn’ (like in nanny)

or with a so-called silent letter, k or g, in knife, knee, or gnat

blend s i t

This is how you blend the sounds together to read a word. Congratulations! you can read !