Welcome to Read Not Guess. Today we're going to work on short vowel sounds and then sound out a few words. At the end, I’ll leave you with a suggestion for a game to play to reinforce what your kids are learning.
Let’s get started.
Short Vowel Sounds
Kids often struggle with different vowel sounds. See if they can nail these words with short vowel sounds:
ad
bad
mad
sad
had
Now these:
ed
fed
red
led
Ted
And these:
ig
rig
dig
big
pig
And:
od
pod
god
nod
rod
Now these:
ud
bud
sud
mud
dud
Word Practice
Now we’re going to work on “blending” letter sounds into words. Your child can start slowly by saying each sound individually, but each time, they should try to say it just a bit faster.
Ask your child to say the correct sounds as they point to the letters:
l i p
l ip
lip
And:
l e g
l eg
leg
And
s l i p
s l ip
slip
And:
t e ll
t ell
tell
Last one:
b u zz
b uzz
buzz
Overnight Challenge: Play “I Spy…” With Letter Sounds
Try playing the classic “I Spy…” game with your child using letter sounds. One person might start by saying, “I spy with my little eye, something that starts with the “sss” sound.”
The other person has to guess things they see that start with the “sss” sound, like sofa or stairs. Once they guess correctly, switch roles and start with a new word.
This game is a good time waster at the dinner table, a restaurant, or waiting in line. (It doesn't work as well when you're in a car or walking around.)
That’s it for this today. We’ll see you next time.