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15 Phonics Rules For Reading and Spelling

The document outlines 15 important phonics rules for reading and spelling. The rules cover topics like short and long vowel sounds, silent e, consonant blends and digraphs, r-controlled vowels, soft c/g and hard c/g, doubling consonants, and y rules. Mastering these rules can help people become better readers and spellers by understanding spelling patterns and connections between sounds and letters in words. The document also notes that while most words follow phonics rules, exceptions still exist and may need to be directly taught.

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688 views5 pages

15 Phonics Rules For Reading and Spelling

The document outlines 15 important phonics rules for reading and spelling. The rules cover topics like short and long vowel sounds, silent e, consonant blends and digraphs, r-controlled vowels, soft c/g and hard c/g, doubling consonants, and y rules. Mastering these rules can help people become better readers and spellers by understanding spelling patterns and connections between sounds and letters in words. The document also notes that while most words follow phonics rules, exceptions still exist and may need to be directly taught.

Uploaded by

michele
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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15 Phonics Rules for Reading and Spelling

By Ginny Osewalt

When kids and adults learn to read, they’re


connecting how words sound to how those sounds
are represented by letters. Phonics instruction helps
make those connections.

Phonics instruction also teaches spelling patterns


and spelling rules. It teaches about parts of words
called syllables. Learning common syllable patterns
can help people become better readers and spellers.

To thrive in both reading and spelling, here are 15


important rules to know.

1. Vowels in syllables

Every syllable of every word must have at least one


vowel sound. A vowel can stand alone in a syllable,
as in u●nit and an●i●mal. It can also be surrounded
by consonants, as in jet, nap●kin, and fan●tas●tic.

2. Short and long vowels

Vowels can make different sounds. The sounds


they make depend on where they are in a word. For
example, is the vowel followed by a consonant?
This helps determine if the vowel makes its short or
long sound: go vs. got, she vs. shed, hi vs. him.

When there’s only one vowel in a syllable and it is


followed by at least one consonant, the vowel
usually makes its short sound. Examples
include on, itch, mas●cot, and Wis●con●sin. This
pattern is called a “closed syllable” because the
consonant “closes in” the short vowel sound.

When there is only one vowel and it is at the end of


a syllable, the vowel makes its long sound, as in
he and ban●jo. This pattern is called an “open
syllable.”

3. Silent e

When e is the last letter in a word, and there’s only


one other vowel in that syllable, the first vowel in
that syllable is usually long and the e is silent, as in
sale and in●side. This syllable pattern is called
“vowel-consonant-e.”

Some teachers call this the “silent e” rule. Some


call it the “magic e” rule. The e gives all its power
to the other vowel and makes that vowel use its
long sound (“say its name”).

4. Consonant blends and digraphs

Digraph is a fancy word for two letters that


represent one sound. In a digraph made of
consonants, the two consonants work together to
form a new sound. Examples
include chap, ship, thin, whiz, and photo.
Consonant blends are different. These groups of
two or more consonants work together. But unlike
digraphs, their individual sounds can still be heard
as they’re blended together. Examples
include clam, grasp, and scrub.

5. Vowel digraphs

In a vowel digraph, two vowels are side by side.


The first vowel is long and says its name. The
second vowel is silent, as in boat, paint, and beach.

Sometimes, two vowels work together to form a


new sound. This is called a diphthong. Examples
include cloud and boil.

6. R-controlled vowels

When a syllable has a vowel that is followed by r,


the vowel is “controlled” by the r and makes a new
sound. Examples include car, bird, germ, form, and
hurt. This rule is sometimes called “bossy r”
because the r “bosses” the vowel to make a new
sound.

7. The “schwa” sound

Any vowel can make the schwa sound; it sounds


like a weak uh or ih. Words like from and final
have the schwa sound. Some words have more than
one schwa sound, like apartment and banana. It’s
the most common sound in the English language.

8. Soft c and hard c, and soft g and hard g


When the letter c is followed by the vowels e, i,
or y, it usually makes its soft sound. Examples of
that are cent, circus, and cyclone. With other
vowels, the letter c makes a hard sound, as in cat
and cot.

Likewise, when the letter g is followed by the


vowels e, i, or y, it usually makes its soft sound.
Examples of that are gel, giant, and gym. With
other vowels, the letter g makes a hard sound, as
in gas, gorilla, and yogurt.

9. The “fszl” (fizzle) rule

The letters f, s, z, and l are usually doubled at the


end of a one-syllable word immediately following a
short vowel. Examples include stuff, grass, fuzz,
and shell. Exceptions include quiz and bus.

10. Ending in k or ck

When a one-syllable word ends with the /k/ sound


immediately following a short vowel, it’s usually
spelled with ck, as in duck and trick. When the /k/
sound follows a consonant, long vowel sound, or
diphthong, it’s usually spelled with k, as in task,
cake, soak, and hawk.

11. The /j/ sound and the /ch/ sound

In a one-syllable word, when a /j/ sound


immediately follows a short vowel, it’s
spelled dge as in badge, hedge, bridge, dodge, and
smudge. (The d “protects” the vowel from the
“magic e” rule.)

In a one-syllable word, when a /ch/ sound


immediately follows a short vowel, it’s usually
spelled tch as in catch, fetch, stitch, blotch, and
clutch. The exceptions to this rule are
such, much, rich, and which.

12. Drop the e with -ing

When words end with a silent e, drop the e before


adding -ing. Examples: bike/biking, give/giving,
and dodge/dodging. This rule also applies to other
suffixes that start with vowels, like -ed, -er, -able,
and -ous. Examples: grieve/grievous,
excite/excitable, and hope/hoped.
13. Doubling

In a one-syllable word like win where one short


vowel is followed by one consonant, double the
consonant before adding a suffix that starts with a
vowel. Examples: winner, winning, winnable.

14. Plurals

For most words, add s to make them plural, as in


cat/cats. But when a singular word ends
with s, sh, ch, x, or z, add es to make it plural, as in
classes, brushes, and foxes.

15. Y rules

To make plural a word that ends in a vowel


immediately followed by y, just add s, as in
toy/toys. When y immediately follows a consonant,
change the y to i and add es. Examples:
family/families, pony/ponies, and treaty/treaties.

Suffixes follow a similar set of y rules. When


there’s a vowel right before y, keep the y and
simply add the suffix. Examples include
play/playing and annoy/annoying.

When a word ends with a consonant followed


immediately by y, change the y to i before adding
suffixes like -ed and -est. Examples include
carry/carried and happy/happiest.

But when the suffix begins with i, keep the y and


simply add the suffix, as in fly/flying and
baby/babyish.

Exceptions to the Rules

Most words in the English language follow phonics


rules. But any exceptions to these rules need to be
taught and memorized for reading and spelling.
These words are often found on lists of sight
words or high-frequency words.

If your child is struggling with reading or spelling,


talk to the teacher. An extra scoop of phonics
instruction could help your child catch up. You
may also want to learn
about reading specialists and reading interventions,
which are common resources schools use to help
struggling readers.

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