Phonics helps you read words by sounding them out! When you know that C says /k/, A says /a/ (short a), and T says /t/, you can put them together to read C-A-T – "cat". Phonics is like a code. Once you learn the code, you can read almost any word. Even grown-ups use phonics when they see a new word they have never read before!

Bunny starts with the /b/ sound! B is for bunny, ball, bat, banana, and bicycle. The /b/ sound is voiced – that means your vocal cords vibrate when you say it. Put your hand on your throat and say "buh." Do you feel the vibration? That is your vocal cords working!

Turtle starts with the /t/ sound! T is for turtle, tiger, table, tooth, and telephone. The /t/ sound is unvoiced – your vocal cords do not vibrate when you say it. Put your hand on your throat and say "tuh." You will feel no vibration. T and D are made the same way with your tongue, but D is voiced and T is unvoiced!

Mouse starts with the /m/ sound! M is for mouse, moon, monkey, milk, and mother. The /m/ sound is a nasal sound – the air comes out through your nose. Try saying "mmmm" – your lips are together and you can feel the sound buzzing in your nose. M is the first letter in the word "mom" – one of the most important words in the world!

Snake starts with the /s/ sound! S is for sun, snake, sand, sister, and smile. The /s/ sound is unvoiced and continuous – you can hold it for a long time: sssssss. It is the sound of a snake, a leaky tire, or the wind. Can you hiss like a snake? Sssssss! That is the sound of the letter S.

Cat starts with the hard C sound /k/! C makes the /k/ sound when it comes before the letters A, O, U, or most consonants. That is why we say "cat", "cot", "cut", and "clap". C makes the /s/ sound (soft C) when it comes before E, I, or Y – like in "cent", "city", and "cycle". C is a tricky letter because it has two sounds!

Fish starts with the /f/ sound! F is for fish, fan, flower, frog, and family. The /f/ sound is unvoiced – your vocal cords do not vibrate. Put your hand on your throat and say "ffff". You will feel no vibration. V makes a similar sound but with vibration – try "vvvv" and you will feel the difference!

Apple has the short A sound /a/! The short A sound is like the A in "apple", "ant", "cat", "hat", and "bat". To make the short A sound, open your mouth wide and your tongue stays low. Short vowel sounds are usually the first vowel sounds children learn because they are in many simple three-letter words like C-A-T, H-A-T, and M-A-P.

The word is "mat"! When you blend /m/ /a/ /t/ together, you get "mat". Blending is a very important reading skill. Try another one: /s/ /u/ /n/ – that makes "sun". /c/ /a/ /t/ – that makes "cat". The more you practice blending, the faster you will become at reading new words. Great job!

The ending sound in "pig" is /g/! Good job listening to the end of words. Being able to hear beginning, middle, and ending sounds is called phonemic awareness. It is a very important skill for reading and spelling. Try some more: "dog" ends with /g/, "cat" ends with /t/, "sun" ends with /n/. You are becoming a phonics superstar!