Say the Sounds, Sing the Sounds to Blend, Then Read the Word

Activities To Assist Your Child Decode Words

Published January 27, 2020

One of the foundational reading skills that nigh children larn in early uncomplicated or primary school is how to decode words. While decode sounds like something spies do, decoding is really the ability to see a written give-and-take and read it aloud.

This process is often known familiarly as being able to sound out words when reading. Sound complicated? Information technology'southward non, nosotros swear!

Plus we're going to break down different elements of decoding words, from recognizing letter of the alphabet sounds to blending, as well as provide some fun learning activities you can do at habitation, then you tin can help your child principal this critically important skill.

Why is decoding of import?

Many students are taught to read via a method known as phonics. This centuries-old approach to learning how to read teaches students to intermission down words into the sounds represented past the letters. For case, in English language, the letter C tin make the sound /k/ or /s/. (The forwards slashes indicate a sound rather than a letter.)

Knowing how to pronounce letters or combinations of messages that symbolize specific sounds is known as decoding. To exist clear, existence able to decode a discussion isn't the same equally knowing what the word means. But it's an important first step.

Letter sounds

The first stride to being able to decode words is recognizing that different letters brand different sounds. If you lot take a child in preschool or kindergarten, they are probable working on this skill in form.

Endeavor some of these activities

To aid your child with this, and to make it fun, you can casually contain recognizing alphabetic character sounds into daily life.

• Sing the Alphabet Song together (it'south a archetype).
• Get letter magnets and have fun rearranging the letters to make nonsense words. Inquire your child to say the sound of each of the letters in the nonsense word. (And and so come upwards with a definition for your nonsense word!)
• When reading with your child, bespeak to pictures, name what's pictured, and ask what letter of the alphabet the word starts with. For example, "This is a frog. Frog. What alphabetic character does frog commencement with?"
• Play I-Spy with letters on signs around your neighborhood, like terminate signs. For instance, "I spy with my little eye the letter S."

VC and CVC words

Once students have the nuts of alphabetic character sounds down (fifty-fifty if they're still working to master the whole alphabet), the next pace is VC and CVC words. V stands for vowel and C stands for consonant. The vowels are A, East, I, O, U and sometimes Y. Consonants are all other letters. These short words are a skilful mode for students to starting time to learn how vowels work. If your child has started tackling VC and CVC words, there are a few fun ways you lot can assistance them build this skill.

Try some of these activities

If your child has started tackling VC and CVC words, in that location are a few fun ways you can help them build this skill.

• Use letter magnets or a white lath to write a CVC word like bat. First, say the discussion aloud sound-past-sound and have your child create the word. Then, swap out the vowel to create another discussion, like bit. Play around with creating different words by swapping out the vowels without changing the consonants. Alternatively, you can swap out the first letter of the alphabet while leaving the vowel and the final alphabetic character the same to create lists of rhyming words.
• I of the nice things about CVC words, like true cat and dog, is that children are oftentimes familiar with what they mean from their everyday lives. Enquire your child to draw a CVC word, like dog. Then, have them label the drawing. Break the word downward sound-by-audio to help them (eastward.thousand., /d/ /aw/ /g/).
• If you come up across a CVC word when reading a book aloud to your kid, pause and ask them to identify each of the messages in the word. You lot can also read the word aloud while pointing at each of the letters. Then, have your child repeat the gesture and the word.

Combining letters (digraphs)

Often, letters are combined to create a unmarried sound. These are technically known equally digraphs (di– means "ii" and –graph means "letters"). For example, P and H combine to brand the sound /f/. Once students have a grasp on letter sounds and unproblematic CVC words, they are ready to tackle combining letters.

Endeavor some of these activities

There are a couple different ways you can assistance your child piece of work on this skill at home.

• Words with the same vowel digraphs, like AI or OU, oft rhyme. Singing and/or reading classic plant nursery rhymes like "Hickory Dickory Dock" and "I'grand a Petty Teapot" reinforces this concept.
• Use letter magnets to create words with the same digraphs. For example, you can starting time with chow then accept away the ow and have your child add new letters to create a new word, like chat. Read the words aloud.
• When reading aloud with your child, pause when you come up across a word with a digraph. Read the give-and-take aloud. Then, inquire your child if they know what sound the digraph makes (east.yard., "What sound does AY make in this word?") Take them repeat the word afterward yous while pointing at the letters.

Blending

Besides recognizing letter and digraph sounds, another foundational skill of decoding is beingness able to blend sounds. Retrieve about information technology: when you read the word dog, you don't pause between each of the sounds (/d/ (pause) /aw/ (pause) /g/). Y'all read it every bit a consummate give-and-take: /dawg/. That is blending.

The best mode to learn blending is to do, practice, practice. Have your kid read aloud to you (or a stuffed animal, or a pet) at domicile. Don't insist that they blend every single word (that might take forever and exist very frustrating). We recommend you kickoff by encouraging them to alloy the sounds of shorter words, like VC and CVC words.

Attempt this!

Another fashion to practice is to start by having your child recognize each of the alphabetic character sounds in the word equally you lot both count off the sounds on your fingers. And then, you slowly say the word with the sounds blended equally you count off the sounds again on your fingers. Finally, accept your child repeat the give-and-take while besides counting off the sounds on their fingers.

Exist patient

When reading aloud with your child, give them lots of time to work on decoding words independently. It takes a lot of mental energy to effigy out what sounds the letters on the page make. Instead of jumping in to tell them what the discussion is when they become stuck, await and let them effigy information technology out themselves.

If your kid routinely struggles to recognize letter sounds and blend them together, and is missing class benchmarks, you might desire to inquire their classroom instructor about their progress. It's possible there is an underlying problem, such equally dyslexia, that needs to be addressed. That said, everyone learns differently. If your kid is making progress, fifty-fifty if it's different than what yous expect, be patient. They volition probable get where they need to be eventually. Sometimes, it just takes a little while for decoding words to "click."

While learning to decode words is important, learning to love to read is even more important. Your child will likely become plenty of practice decoding words in the classroom. Yet, you can still model good reading behaviors at home.

Keep lots of books around and at a height that your child can attain them independently. Read out loud equally part of bedtime routines. Have your own books around the house that you tin read to bear witness that y'all enjoy reading. Make reading into a fun, depression-pressure activity. Before you know it, they (and y'all!) will be a master-class decoder.

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