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Color-Coded Vowels

This page explains the use of color-coded vowels in this program.  In some of the Sound City Reading books, the vowels and vowels patterns are printed in color.  This makes the patterns stand out, making them easier to recognize within words.  They also give the students a visual clue about the sound of the vowel pattern.  A specific color is used to show each vowel sound.  There are fifteen different colors used to show the vowel sounds in the English language. 
General Information About Using Color-Coded Vowels
Each individual color represents a single vowel sound and will never represent a different sound.  For example, in the words play and they, the color-coded vowels both represent the long ā sound.  
If a vowel pattern includes more than one letter, all of the letters in the pattern will have the color that represents that vowel sound.       found      bought     sleigh  ​
Some vowel patterns include consonants that are pronounced as part of that pattern.  These consonants take on the same color as the vowel because they are part of that pattern.     ​call     ​wild      told     for  ​
Single vowels that are not pronounced are printed in black.  These are usually vowels that are in unaccented syllables or silent e syllables.     ribbon       wagon      salad     petal     little
In some R-Controlled vowel patterns, the vowel itself is not pronounced.  These patterns are printed in a gray color, to indicate "no vowel sound."    bird     turtle     tractor      dollar     her
Note:  The sample words above are shown in this website's font, not the font used in the student books and on the wall charts.  The patterns have been set to bold so that you can see the colors clearly.  The words are samples to demonstrate how the colors are used in words.  You can see how the words look in the books farther down on this page.    ​
​Color-coded sound charts from the student books are shown below to illustrate the various types of vowel patterns taught at level four.  The charts show the colors used for each phonetic pattern.  The charts present the phonics patterns in logical groups, making them easier to learn and remember.  For example all of the patterns that represent the long ā sound are grouped together.  All of the charts are available separately in larger versions to post on the classroom wall.  As a daily warm-up, students practice saying the sounds for the phonics patterns that that they have learned, as the teacher points to the patterns on the charts.  This review helps students to remember the phonics patterns easily so that they can apply them when spelling and reading.   ​
For more information about vowel sounds in general, read the information on the Understanding Vowels page.  
To see videos that model the sounds for all of the phonics patterns in this program, click here.  Charts are included for level four, phonics patterns, and level five, advanced phonics patterns.  The charts in the videos are shown in all black print, but the sounds are exactly the same for the color-coded charts shown below.  
If you  would like to print your own flashcards, charts, or other materials using this color-coding system, I'm including the exact RGB and Hex colors for each vowel pattern on this page, with instructions about how to apply them.  These colors were selected so that the colors would be perfect when printed on my Ricoh color laser printer.  Be aware that the printed colors may vary somewhat depending on your printer.  Also note that the colors on a computer screen may not match the printed colors precisely.  If you do not plan to use the RGB or Hex color values, just skip the sections that show them.   
If you prefer not to use a computer and printer, you can make color-coded word cards and wall charts by writing the patterns or words by hand, using a black marker for the consonants and a variety of colored markers for the vowels and vowel patterns.  Select a set of markers with a wide variety of colors, and use the colors which best match the colors shown on the color-coding charts shown below.  When I started using color-coded vowels in a full classroom, I made flashcards for each phonics pattern by writing the words on index cards using markers.  I kept these cards in separate sets, stored in a drawer in the order in which they would be taught.  Eventually, I made sets of color-coded word cards using my computer and a printer.       ​
Which Sound City Reading Books Have Color-Coded Vowels?
Level 3 - Short Vowels
Rhyming Short Vowel Words And Sentences - For Beginning Readers, Kindergarten
Mixed Short Vowel Words And Sentences - For students at the beginning of first grade
Two-Page Short Vowel Words And Sentences - For older students who need to review short vowels
Color-Coded Short Vowel Lists - More practice
In each of the Short Vowel Words And Sentences books, the vowels on the sound charts, in the word lists, and in the sentences are printed in color.​
Level 4 - Phonics Patterns
Phonetic Words And Stories, Books 1-8
Color-Coded Phonetic Lists - More practice
In the Phonetic Words And Stories books, the vowels on the sound charts, in the word lists, in the sentences, and in the stories are printed in color.  ​
Which Sound City Reading Books Do Not Have Color-Coded Vowels?
Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet
Learning The Alphabet, Books 1 and 2
Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words
Exploring Sounds In Words, Books 1 and 2
Level 3 - Short Vowels
Basic Short Vowels
This book follows the teaching sequence in the Rhyming Short Vowel Words And Sentences book, but it is printed in a different font with all black print.
Level 4 - Phonics Patterns
Basic Phonics Patterns, Books 1, 2, 3, 4, 5-6, 7-8
These books teach the same phonics patterns in the same sequence as the Phonetic Words And Stories books, but they use a different font and have all black print.
Level 5 - Advanced Phonics Patterns
Advanced Phonics Patterns
Why Are The Vowels Printed In Color?
Printing the vowels and vowel patterns in color makes them stand out in words.  Students are able to see the vowel pattern as a distinct unit within each word.  They will be able to recognize and remember the patterns more easily.  
Each vowel sound is assigned a specific color, regardless of how it is spelled.  The vowel color not only makes the vowel pattern stand out, it also provides information about the specific vowel sound.  ​
For example, the ai, ay, and a_e patterns are all printed in the same dark red color, because they all represent the long ā sound.  As students read multiple words with the same vowel pattern printed in the same color, such as rain, pail, wait, and aid, they notice that every word has the same vowel pattern, they all have the same color, and they are all pronounced in the same way.  This helps students associate the written vowel pattern with its sound.  ​
rain       pail        wait        aid
The same color is used even if a pattern with a different vowel represents the the long ā sound.  
veil       they      steak      sleigh  
On the other hand, some vowel patterns can represent more the one sound.  For example, the ou pattern is printed in four different colors in the words shown below, showing that the pattern can represent four possible sounds.  When students are reading text and see that the ou pattern is printed in different colors, they know that the patterns will be pronounced differently.     ​
out      though     you     country
Which Colors Are Used To Represent The Vowel Sounds?
This chart shows the colors used for each of the vowel sounds.  Click on the chart to enlarge it.   
Each vowel can represent three different sounds:  short, long, and dotted.  Dotted vowels do not have the expected sound.
How I Chose The Colors
I picked the vowel colors so that I could remember then easily.  I started with the long vowel colors.  I matched each long vowel sound with a color name.  For example, the color for the long ē sound is green, because you hear the ē sound when you pronounce that word.  
Then I added the same colors, in a lighter shade, for the short vowel sounds.  For example, the short e sound is represented by a light green color.
This plan left me with the prospect of using gray for the long ā sound.  I didn't want to use gray, so I decided to associate the short a sound with a red apple, which begins with the short a sound.  This allowed me to use red for the short a sound, and a darker red for the long ā sound. 
The third sound for each vowel is marked with two dots, which alert the reader that in this case the vowel does not have the short or long sound.  See the chart below to see how the dotted vowels relate to the other vowel sounds.
I use a gray color for r-controlled vowels in which the vowel sound is not pronounced: dollar, her, bird, tractor, turtle, early, journal, worm. 
​"No color" equals no vowel sound.  
The chart below explains the colors for all of the vowel sounds.  Click on the chart to enlarge it.   
How To Teach Lessons When Using Color- Coded Vowels
To get started, you just need to know that the vowel colors will help many students recognize the vowel patterns in words and apply them more easily.  In this program, students will study just one new vowel pattern at a time.  The teacher and the students will study the various vowels and vowel patterns together in a gradual, structured way.  If you are not familiar with the process of teaching words phonetically, you won't have to learn all the patterns at the same time.      
Beyond a short initial explanation to students, it is not necessary to "teach" the vowel colors.  The instruction will always focus on the letter patterns and their sounds.  At level four, students will study a new pattern and read a new list of words with that pattern each day.  The words will have the new pattern printed in the color that matches that sound.  Students will instinctively connect the new vowel pattern and its sound with the related color as they read the words.  The nice thing about using color-coded vowels is that the shape and identity of the letters in the vowel pattern are highlighted but not obscured.   
Each day, students will say the sounds for all of the vowel patterns they have learned from color-coded sound charts.  This review will also help students internalize the color for each sound.  
In each of the Short Vowel Words And Sentences books, the vowels on the sound charts, in the word lists, and in the sentences are printed in color.  These books provide an easy introduction to words with color-coded vowels because there are only five different short vowel sounds.  The use of color with the vowels is helpful in having students distinguish the vowels from the consonants.  This is helpful in two different ways.
  • Students can easily see where the vowel is placed within the word.  In short vowel words, the vowel is always followed by one or more consonants.  This lays the groundwork for understanding the concept of closed syllables, which usually have the short vowel sound.
  • At the short vowel level, students are learning to decode words for the first time.  They look at each letter in a word going from left to right, pronouncing each sound, sliding the sounds together smoothly.  This skill comes easily for some students but is challenging for others.  I believe that seeing the vowel in color and the consonants printed in black provides a contrast that allows the students to develop decoding skills more easily.      ​
In the Phonetic Words And Stories books​, vowels on the sound charts, in the word lists, and in the sentences and stories are printed in color.  Students will become familiar with the colors by saying the sounds from the charts and by reading the words, sentences, and stories.  So that students can transfer their knowledge to all black print, the phonics pattern flashcards have all black print and each practice story is printed twice, first with color-coded vowels, and then with all black print. Students read the stories with color-coded print first, and then read the story again with the black print.  ​
The Basic Phonics Patterns books teach the same phonetic patterns in the same order but they have all black print.  However students will still become familiar with the colors for the various vowel patterns by saying the sounds from the color-coded wall charts each day.  
In my experience, students who are learning to read for the first time and students who are working to improve reading fluency tend to prefer the color-coded print when reading the practice stories.   Students who are already reading well tend to prefer all black print.    ​
I taught students for many years using color-coded vowels, and found that it had a very positive affect on student learning.
Colors For Single Vowels - Short, Long, And Dotted Vowel Sounds
The single vowels, a, e, i, o, and u, can show three possible sounds.  Each of these sounds is assigned a specific color.  In general, the short and long sounds in words are predictable, with some exceptions.    
  1. A single vowel in a syllable that ends with a consonant usually represents its short vowel sound: fan, crack, bed, vest, in, slick, off, notch, jump, bluff, bob-cat, rab-bit, hot-dog, pic-nic, fan-tas-tic.  Short vowels are not marked in this program.  
  2. A single vowel that comes at the end of a syllable usually represents it long vowel sound.  For instructional purposes, long vowels are sometimes marked with a straight line (called a macron) above the vowel: gō, nō, mē, wē, rā-ven, bē-gin, lī-lac, rō-bot, tū-lip, mū-sic, hip-pō, men-ū, zē-rō, tō-fū.  Notice that there are two slightly different long u sounds, as heard in tū-lip and in mū-sic.  Both of these sounds are printed with the same dark blue color.    
  3. A single vowel can also represent a third sound, which is different from that vowel's short and long vowel sounds.  The third  sounds are less common.  ​In this program, the third sounds are marked with two dots: ä/all, ë/ballet, ï/pizza, ö/to, ü/bush.  These vowels are called dotted vowel sounds.  ​
Notice on the charts above that the short and long sounds for each vowel are printed in the same color, except that the short vowels are printed in a in a lighter or brighter color and the long vowels are printed in a darker color.  
Information About The Colors Used For The Dotted Vowel Sounds
  • The dotted ë sound is the same as the long ā sound, so they are both printed in the same dark red color.
  • The dotted ï sound is the same is the long ē sound, so they are both printed in the same dark green color.
  • The dotted ö sound is the same as the long ū sound, as in ū/tulip, so they are both printed in the same dark blue color.
  • The dotted ä sound is printed in pink, a pastel color variation of red.
  • The dotted ü sound is printed in a khaki green color to match the color of the key word picture, bush.    
Values For The Short Vowel, Long Vowel, And Dotted Vowel Colors
These numbers can be used for single vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and any multi-letter patterns that represent the same sounds.
Short A, Bright Red
R   255     or     Hex # FF0000
G      0
B      0
​
Long Ā, Dark Red
R   165     or     Hex # A50021
G      0
B     33
​
Dotted Ä, Pink
R   255    or    Hex # FF73D0
G   115
B    208
​
Short E, Light Green
R   109     or     Hex # 6DDA00
G   218
B       0
​
Long Ē, Dark Green
R       0      or     Hex # 008000
G   128
B        0
​
Dotted Ë, Dark Red  (Same as Ā)
R   165     or     Hex # A50021
G      0
B     33
​
Short I, Light Violet
R     202      or     Hex # CA61FF
G      97
B     255
​
Long Ī, Dark Violet
R    162     or     Hex # A200C8
G        0
B     200
​
Dotted Ï, Dark Green (Same as Ē)
R       0      or     Hex # 008000
G   128
B        0
​
Short O, Light Orange
R    255     or     Hex # FF9900
G   153
B       0
​
Long Ō, Dark Orange
R    204      or     Hex # CC6600
G    102
B        0
​
Dotted Ö, Dark Blue (Same as Ū)
R       0       or      Hex # 0088D4
G    136
B     212
​
Short U, Light Blue
R      69       or     Hex # 45C1FF
G    193
B     255
Long Ū, Dark Blue
R         0       or       Hex # 0088D4
G     136
B     212
Dotted Ü, Gray-Green
R    153      or      Hex # 999900
G    153
B        0
How To Select The Color Values On Your Computer
The numbers shown above are the specific color values I use in the color-coded materials used in the Sound City Reading Program.  The numbers will allow you to make your own materials using the same color system.  To change black print to a different color in Microsoft Word, Publisher, or Excel, follow these steps.
  1. Highlight the letter or letters that represent the vowel sound.
  2. Click Home on the menu at the top. 
  3. Look for the Capital A with a bar beneath it.  The bar will show the current text color.  
  4. Click the down arrow ˅ beside the Capital A.  A submenu will open.
  5. Click More Colors....  A new window will open.
  6. In the new window, click the Custom tab.
  7. Type the Hex number in the box for the color you want.  If you prefer, you can enter the RGB  numbers instead. The numbers you need for each color are listed on this page.    
  8. Click OK.  The highlighted text will change to the desired color.
You could also enter the three R, G, B numbers instead to get the same results.  
​ If you are using a different program, follow their directions about how to change text colors.
How To Add Letters With Lines And Dots To Text -  ā ē ī ō ū  and  ä ë ï ö ü
If you want to add letters that are marked with a straight line (long vowels) or two dots (dotted vowel sounds) to materials that you create, follow these instructions in Microsoft Word, Publisher, or Excel.
  1. Type the words or words.
  2. Highlight the vowel letter that you want to change.
  3. Click the Insert tab at the top of the page.  
  4. Click Ω Symbol.  A submenu will open.
  5. Click Ω More Symbols.
  6. ​A window will open showing all of the possible configurations for all of the letters in the font.  
  7. Click on the letter form you want to select.
  8. Click insert.  
  9. Click close.
  10. The new letter form will appear in your text. 
  11. If you want the new form to be a specific color, follow the steps shown above for changing text color.
Long Vowel Patterns That Have More Than One Letter
Long vowel sounds can also be shown with various multiple-letter patterns.  For example, the long ē sound can be shown with all of these patterns: ee/feet, e_e/these, ei/weird, and ey/key.      
The charts below are from Phonetic Words And Stories, Book 8.  They show all of the multi-letter vowel patterns that represent the long vowel sounds.  The RGB numbers and Hex numbers for the long vowel sounds are shown above.​
Notice that some of the long ī and long ō patterns include consonants.  Unless otherwise marked, these consonants are pronounced in the usual way.  A small x above a consonant indicates that it should not be pronounced.  I call these "follow the leader" patterns, since the consonants in each pattern follow the vowel.  Students need to be able to recognize these patterns as a unit, so the vowel and the consonants are printed in color.             ​
Click on either chart to enlarge it. ​
Colors For The Dotted Vowel Patterns
The German language sometimes uses two dots over a vowel.  The dots are called an umlaut.  It means "not the usual sound."  The Sound City Reading program uses dotted vowels, but they are not related to the German dotted vowel sounds.  Two dots in this program are used to indicate a third sound for each vowel that is neither the long sound nor the short sound for that vowel.    
NOTE:
​The dotted ë sound is the same sound and color as the long ā sound.
The dotted ï sound is the same sound and color as the long ē sound. 
​The dotted ö sound is the same as the first long ū sound sound (ū/flute) and has the same color.
Some of the dotted sounds on this chart are shown with single letters and some of the sounds are shown with multi-letter patterns.  For example, the dotted ë sound can be shown in all of these ways:  ë/ballet, ëi/veil, ëy/they, ëa/steak, and ëigh/sleigh.
Odd O patterns are shown in the last column as a review.  These patterns do not have dotted vowel sounds.   
The RGB and hex colors for the dotted vowel sounds are shown above.
Colors For The Odd O Patterns
These charts, from Phonetic Words And Stories, Book 8, show the sounds for the oi, oy, ow, ou, oo, ould, and ought patterns.  The chart on the left uses sound pictures to show the sound for each pattern.  The chart on the right uses key words.  Click on either chart to enlarge it.  These patterns are grouped together as "odd o" patterns because their pronunciation is unpredictable.  Their sounds must be memorized.   
It will be helpful for the teacher to listen to these sounds before teaching them to the students. In the ould pattern, the letter l is not pronounced.  In the ought pattern, the letters g and h are not pronounced.  You can hear these charts read aloud here  and here.
Notice that the ow, ou, and oo patterns can represent more than one sound.  
Color Values For The Odd O Patterns
OI And OY, Gold
​R      226       or     Hex # E2A700
G     167
B         0
​
OU And OW, Brown
​R      138       or     Hex # 8A4500
G        69
B          0
​
OU And OW, Dark Orange (Long ō sound)
​R      69       or     Hex # CC6600
G    193
B     255
​
OU And OO, Blue (Dotted ö sound)
​R        0       or     Hex # 0088D4
G    136
B     212
OO And OULD, Khaki Green (Dotted ü sound)
​R     153       or     Hex # 999900
G     153
B         0
OUGHT, Pink (Dotted ä sound)
​R    255       or     Hex # FF73D0
G    115
B     208
Colors For The R-Controlled Vowel Patterns (Bossy R Patterns)
When the letter r  follows a vowel, in most cases it affects the vowel's sound.  The sound of the vowel is controlled by the letter r.  
In many of the R-controlled vowel patterns, you pronounce a vowel sound followed by the /r/ sound. These patterns are taught as a single phonetic unit, even though they are a combination of two sounds.  The patterns are printed in a color that matches the vowel sound in that pattern.  The letter r is printed in the same color, even though it is a consonant.  This allows students to recognize these patterns as letter combinations that work together in words.  The letter r is pronounced in the normal way in these patterns.     
In some of the R-controlled vowel patterns, you just pronounce the /r/ sound.  These patterns are printed in gray.  The gray color is an indication that there is no spoken vowel sound in these patterns.  Only the sound for the letter r is pronounced.  
The color of the pattern tells you which vowel sound to pronounce.  After you pronounce the vowel sound, immediately pronounce the sound for the letter r, sliding the sounds together smoothly. 
  • For the light orange color, use the short o sound.
  • For the dark orange color, use the long ō sound.  
  • For the dark red color, use the long ā sound. 
  • For the light green color, use the short e sound.
  • For the gray color, do not pronounce a vowel sound.  For all of these gray patterns - ar, er, ir, or, ur, ear, our -  just say the /r/ sound.   
  • The wor pattern is pronounced as /w/ /r/.  (This pronunciation sounds like the word were.)  
You can also say the key word for each pattern to hear how the r-controlled vowel pattern is pronounced.  
You can see a video demonstrating the sounds and key words for the R-controlled patterns here.  
Color Values For The R-Controlled Vowel Patterns
AR And OR, Light Orange (Short o sound)
R    255     or     Hex # FF9900
G   153
B       0
​
AR, ER, IR, OR, UR, EAR, OUR, Gray
(No vowel sound, just the /r/ sound)
R    127     or     Hex # 7F7F7F
G    127
B    127
​
WOR, Gray 
​(No vowel sound, just the /w/ /r/ sounds)
R    127     or     Hex # 7F7F7F
G    127
B    127
​
ĀR, Dark Red  (Long ā sound)
R   165     or     Hex # A50021
G      0
B     33
​
ER, Light Green  (Short e sound)
R   109     or     Hex # 6DDA00
G   218
B       0
​
ŌR, Dark Orange (Long ō sound)
R    204      or     Hex # CC6600
G    102
B        0
​
Colors For The Umbrella Vowels
Years ago, as I was compiling the list of sight words taught in this program, I realized that many of the words could be put into a group that I call "umbrella" vowels.  The letter a and the letter o often represent the short u sound in words.  Both a and o each have three distinct patterns that show the short u vowel sound, as shown in the charts below.  I decided it would be much easier to teach these configurations as phonetic patterns instead of teaching the individual words as sight words.  All of these patterns are printed with a light blue color, which is the color for the short u sound.         
To help students understand and remember these patterns, I created a story to explain why some letters and patterns represent the short u sound.  In this story the alphabet letters are going for a walk when it starts to rain.  The letter u always carried his umbrella, but the other letters were getting wet from the rain.  They promised to say the short u sound in some words if he would let them get under the umbrella.  This story is introduced in book one of level four.  The teacher reads it aloud to the students.  Students enjoy acting out this story when it is first introduced, using an umbrella and large letter cards.    
This is the color to use for any of the umbrella vowel patterns shown above.  It is the color used for the short u sound.
A, A_, _A, O, O_E, OU
Light Blue
R      69       or     Hex # 45C1FF
G    193
B     255
​
Colors For The Shady Short Vowels
There are three vowel patterns that each show a completely unexpected vowel sound.  I call these shady short vowels because they are being sneaky and trying to trick the reader by not showing their usual sounds. 
  • In most words, the ea pattern shows the long ē sound as in ēa/eat.  In these words the ea pattern is printed in a dark green color, like long ē.  But in some words the ea pattern shows the short e sound, as in ea/head.  When the ea pattern sounds like the short e sound, it has a light green color, like short e. 
  • In level four, book one, students learn that the letter a has three different sounds: short a as in a/ax, long ā as in ā/rā-ven, and dotted ä, as in äll/bäll.  In book eight, students learn that the letter a can also represent the short o sound in some words, as in a/father.  In this case, the letter a is printed in a light orange color to show that it is pronounced like the short o sound.  There are not very many words with this sound for the letter a.   
  • The letter y  can serve as a consonant or a vowel.  In level four, book two, students learn that the letter y can represent two different vowel sounds, heard in y/my and y/happy.  In book eight, students are introduced to the sound y represents in the word gymnastics, which is the same as the short i sound.  In these words, the letter y is printed in the pale violet color used for the short i sound.     
Use these color values for the shady short vowels.
Short E, Light Green
R   109     or     Hex # 6DDA00
G   218
B       0
​
Short O, Light Orange
R    255     or     Hex # FF9900
G   153
B       0
​
Short I, Light Violet
R     202      or     Hex # CA61FF
G       97
B     255
​​
​
How I Create Color-Coded Print In My Materials
Use This Method To Make Your Own Charts, Flashcards, And Stories Using Color-Coded Print
The font that I use to print materials that have color-coded vowels is Comic Sans MS.  The print is bold enough to show the colors clearly, and the letters a and g are printed in the same way that they are written.   
Note: I use the Century Schoolbook font whenever I want to print letters, letter patterns, words, sentences, and stories in all black print.  This gives students practice reading standard printed materials, including the alternate forms for the letters a and g.      
To create color-coded materials using the Comic Sans MS font, I first type the words in all black print.  Then I highlight the vowels and vowel patterns, one at a time, and apply the correct color.  The first time you create a particular color, you will need to type in the RGB numbers or Hex number manually. (See the list of colors and their related numbers listed above.)  After applying a color to a vowel or pattern for the first time, it is quick and easy to copy and paste it into all of the other words where that color is needed.  For example, if you apply the dark green color to the ee in the word feet, you can copy and paste the green ee letters into the words see, green, weed, and street.     
Review - How To Set RGB And Hex Values For The Vowel Colors
You can set the print color for the vowels using either RGB values or Hex values.  
The RGB numbers and Hex numbers for each vowel color used in the Sound City Reading program are shown below.  
  • R = Red value, G = Green value, B = Blue value - The values to type in are numbers only.
  • Hex Numbers - These values include capital letters and numbers.  Any entry that looks like it might be a capital O should be entered as the number 0. 
To type in either the RGB or Hex numbers using Microsoft Publisher, Word, or Excel, follow the steps below.  If you are using a different program, follow their directions about how to change text colors.​
  1. Highlight the letter or letters that represent the vowel sound.
  2. Click Home on the menu at the top. 
  3. Look for the Capital A with a bar beneath it.  The bar will show the current text color.  
  4. Click the down arrow ˅ beside the Capital A.  A submenu will open.
  5. Click More Colors....  A new window will open.
  6. In the new window, click the Custom tab.
  7. Type the Hex number in the box for the color you want.  If you prefer, you can enter the RGB  numbers instead. The numbers you need for each color are listed on this page.    
  8. Click OK.  The highlighted text will change to the desired color.
Review - How To Add Letters With Lines And Dots To Text -  ā ē ī ō ū  and  ä ë ï ö ü
If you want to add letters that are marked with a straight line (long vowels) or two dots (dotted vowel sounds) to materials that you create, follow these instructions in Microsoft Word, Publisher, or Excel.
  1. Type the words or words.
  2. Highlight the vowel letter that you want to change.
  3. Click the Insert tab at the top of the page.  
  4. Click Ω Symbol.  A submenu will open.
  5. Click Ω More Symbols.
  6. ​A window will open showing all of the possible configurations for all of the letters in the font.  
  7. Click on the letter form you want to select.
  8. Click insert.  
  9. Click close.
  10. The new letter form will appear in your text. 
  11. If you want the new form to be a specific color, follow the steps shown above for changing text color.

Sound City Reading
All Materials Copyright 2023 or earlier by Kathryn J. Davis, All Rights Reserved
My goal is for as many people as possible to use this reading program to teach students how to read.  All of the materials you need are available on this site as free PDF files.  The materials are copyrighted, but I give permission to all teachers, parents, tutors, and school systems to download and print any of the PDF files for use with the students they teach.    However, they are not to make a profit from distributing the materials.  If you don't have a printer, using a print shop is allowed.  If preferred, you may work with the PDF files directly from a computer screen, without printing them.  This makes it possible for tutors to teach the program online.  Audio and video files are free to watch and to listen to, and they may be downloaded if desired for use with your  students.  In special cases I may grant written permission to individuals to use the materials in other ways.  You can contact me at [email protected].