What This Chapter Covers
- Sounds of letters
- Vowels and consonants
- Reading simple 3-letter words
- Blending sounds together
- Breaking words into smaller sounds
Grade 1 English – Chapter 2: Phonics Basics
Learn letter sounds, vowels and consonants, blending sounds, and how to read simple words step by step.
Main reading content
grade-1-english-chapter-02
Chapter 2: Phonics Basics
Learn sounds of letters, vowels and consonants, simple 3-letter words, and how to blend and break sounds for easy reading.
Goal: Help students understand letter sounds and start reading simple English words with confidence.
Sounds of Letters
Every letter has a sound. We use sounds to read words. For example, the letter a makes the sound /æ/ like in apple.
- a /æ/ apple /ˈæp.əl/
- b /b/ ball /bɔːl/
- c /k/ cat /kæt/
- d /d/ dog /dɒg/
- e /e/ egg /eɡ/
- f /f/ fish /fɪʃ/
- g /g/ goat /ɡoʊt/
- h /h/ hat /hæt/
Vowels and Consonants
English has 5 vowels: a, e, i, o, u
All other letters are called consonants.
Vowels help us make words like: cat, pen, dog, sun.
- a /æ/
- e /e/
- i /ɪ/
- o /ɒ/
- u /ʌ/
- cat /kæt/ vowel = a
- pen /pen/ vowel = e
- pig /pɪg/ vowel = i
- dog /dɒg/ vowel = o
- sun /sʌn/ vowel = u
- hat /hæt/ vowel = a
- bed /bed/ vowel = e
- box /bɒks/ vowel = o
Simple 3-Letter Words
Many beginner words have 3 letters. These words are easy to read and help students start phonics practice.
- cat /kæt/
- dog /dɒg/
- bat /bæt/
- pen /pen/
- sun /sʌn/
- pig /pɪg/
- hat /hæt/
- bed /bed/
Blending Sounds
Blending means joining sounds together to make one word.
- c /k/ + a /æ/ + t /t/ = cat /kæt/
- d /d/ + o /ɒ/ + g /g/ = dog /dɒg/
- b /b/ + a /æ/ + t /t/ = bat /bæt/
- p /p/ + e /e/ + n /n/ = pen /pen/
- s /s/ + u /ʌ/ + n /n/ = sun /sʌn/
Breaking Sounds
Breaking means separating a word into smaller sounds.
- cat → c /k/ + a /æ/ + t /t/
- dog → d /d/ + o /ɒ/ + g /g/
- bat → b /b/ + a /æ/ + t /t/
- pen → p /p/ + e /e/ + n /n/
- sun → s /s/ + u /ʌ/ + n /n/
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