The "Soft G" Sound

Welcome back to Read Not Guess. Today we’re going to work on the soft “g” sound like in the words “magic” and “gem.”

Remember that we’re going to focus on the sounds the letters make. Both parent and child will need to be able to see the screen.

Let’s get started.

Today’s Sounds

As we’ve covered already, some letters can make more than one sound. The letter “g” can make a hard sound like in the words “gorilla” or “guitar.” But it can also make a soft sound more like the letter “j,” as in words like “gem.”

Explain that the “g” often makes the soft sound when it is followed by the vowels i, y, or e, (especially the Magic E).

Now let’s try reading some soft g words:

g em

gem

And:

g erm

germ

And:

ma g ic

magic

Now let’s do a few with the Magic E at the end:

c age

cage

And:

st age

stage

And:

h uge

huge

Now let’s do a few with the where the “soft g” combines with the “d” sound:

b adge

badge

And:

br idge

bridge

And:

f udge

fudge

Decodable Story

Here’s a decodable story for your child to practice:

The Magic Garden

Dean has a magic garden.

One day, a gentle wind blows a tiny seed into his garden.

The seed grows into a large, green tree.

Under the tree, Dean finds a shiny gem. He holds it up.

Suddenly, the gem starts to glow. "I am a magic gem," the gem says in a soft voice. "I grant wishes!"

Dean closes his eyes and makes a choice. "I wish for a whole basket of daisy flowers!"

In an instant, colorful flowers bloom everywhere.

Dean smiles from ear to ear.

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