The "ai" Sound

Welcome back to Read Not Guess. Today we’re going to work on the “ai” sound like in the words “rain” or “pain.”

Both parent and child will need to be able to see the screen.

Let’s get started.

Today’s Letter Sounds

Explain to your child that the "ai” letter combination usually makes a long “a” sound in words like "rain" and "pain."

Have them say the sounds as they point to the letters:

r ai n

r ain

rain

Did they get it right? Make sure they’re reading the word “rain” as one sound by the end. Let’s do some more:

pain

gain

train

stain

chain

And:

aid

raid

paid

maid

And:

bait

wait

traitor

Exception!

Unfortunately, English has some funny rules, and the “ai” makes a different sound when it is followed by an “r.”

One example of this is a very common word that means two things that match, like in the sentence, “I have a pair of shoes.” Have your child point to the letters as they read the word “pair” three times:

p ai r

p air

pair

Have them read a few more “air” words:

hair

chair

stair

Silly Sentences

See if your child can read these:

Where is the waiter? I need a drink of water.

Who will go to the fair with me?

My brain hurts.

If they read these smoothly, great! If they stumble, have them keep practicing.

That’s it for today. We’ll see you next time.