SOUND CITY READING
  • A Sequential Phonics Program
    • How To Navigate This Site
    • What Happened To The Old Site
    • Can I buy physical copies of the books?
    • How Was This Program Developed?
    • Information About The Author
    • Copyright Information
    • Information About Reading Street
    • How To Use The PDF Files
    • Using A Print Shop
    • Other Recommended Sites
    • How To Get Started
    • Understanding Vowels
    • Understanding Consonants
  • Materials
    • Step Charts
    • Flow Charts
    • Program Overview
    • Overview Of All Of The Phonics Books
    • Level 1
    • Level 1. Learning The Alphabet Overview
    • Level 2. Exploring Sounds In Words Overview
    • Level 3. Short Vowels Overview
    • Level 4. Phonics Patterns Overview >
      • Phonetic Words And Stories, 1-8
      • Basic Phonics Patterns, 1-8
      • Basic Phonics Patterns Lesson Outline
      • Know The Phonetic Code, 1-3
      • Color-Coded Phonetic Lists
  • PDF Files
    • How To Work With PDF Files
    • Baseline Assessment PDF
    • Sequence Charts PDF
    • Sound Story PDF
    • Phonemic Awareness PDF
    • Manuscript Handwriting PDFs
    • Cursive Handwriting PDFs
    • Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet PDFs
    • Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words PDFs
    • Level 3 - Short Vowel PDFs
    • Level 4 - Phonics Patterns PDFs
    • Level 5 - Advanced Phonics Patterns PDFs
    • Large Picture-Word Pages PDF
    • Flashcards PDF
    • Wall Charts Newer PDF
    • Wall Charts Older PDF
    • Activities And Games PDF
    • Older PDF Files
  • Pictures
    • Sound Story Pictures
    • Keyword/Sound Chart Pictures
    • Level 1 And 2 Pictures
    • Level 3 Pictures
    • Level 4 Pictures
    • Consonant Blends
    • Level 5 Pictures
  • Audio
    • Sound Story Part 1
    • Sound Story Part 2
    • Individual Sound Pictures Part 1
    • Individual Sound Pictures Part 2
    • Individual Letter Sounds ABC Order
    • More Letter Sounds - sh, th, ch, wh, ck, tch, ng, oi, oy, ou, ow
    • Sound Pictures And Letters Part 1
    • Learning The Alphabet And Exploring Sounds In Words Charts
    • Level 3 Short Vowel Sound Charts
    • Level 3 Advanced Short Vowel Sound Charts
    • Sound Blending - Short U
    • Picture-Word Page Short U
    • Level 4, Book 1 Sound Charts
    • Level 4, Book 2 Sound Charts
  • Video
    • Sound Story Part 1 Videos
    • Robot Game a_e/safe
    • Advanced Sound Charts
  • Reading Street
    • Reading Street Stories
    • Reading Street Tests
    • Spelling Worksheets For Reading Street
    • Decoding Practice Pages To Use With Reading Street
    • Word Cards And Phonogram Cards
  • Blog
    • Contact Me
    • Share Your Experience
    • Take This Expanded Survey
Picture

Listen To The Letter Sounds


On this page you can listen to the sound or sounds for each letter of the alphabet.  The sound bars for each letter are shown below it.  Click on the triangle to hear each sound.  Some letters can represent more than one sound.  Beginners can just listen to just the first sound for each letter.  
If you are just starting this program, do not be discouraged by all of the sounds.  The letter sounds are taught one at a time over a long period, with enough practice to help you remember them.

Information About Vowel Sounds

There are five vowels in English, a, e, i, o, and u, with the consonant y sometimes representing a vowel sound in words.  Each vowel can represent several different sounds.  You can hear each sound for a, e, i, o, and u by clicking the sound bars below each vowel. 
The first sound bar demonstrates the short vowel sound.  
The second sound bar demonstrates the long vowel sound.  It is easy to remember the long vowel sounds because they are the same as the names of the letters.  Note that the terms long and short do not apply to the size of the printed vowel or the amount of time that it takes to pronounce the sounds.  
The third sound bar demonstrates a third vowel sound that is neither the short or the long sound.  These sounds are less common.  In this program, we call these dotted vowel sounds.  Two dots are placed above the vowel to indicate the dotted sound.  The dots look like a German umlaut, which means "not the usual sound." 

Information About Consonant Sounds

A few consonants can represent more than one sound.
The letter c sound like s when it is followed by e, i, or y.
The letter g usually sounds like j when it is followed by e, i, or y.
The letter s sometimes sounds like the letter z.
The letter x sounds like the letter z when it is at the beginning of a word.  

In some words the letter x sound like the a combination of the g and z sounds, gz.
The letter u always follows the letter Q q in words. In this case, the letter u is not pronounced as a vowel.   

A  a
B  b
C  c
D  d


E  e
F  f
G  g
H  h


I  i
J  j
K  k
L  l


M  m
N  n
O  o
P  p


Qu  qu
R  r
S  s
T  t


U  u
V  v
W  w
X  x


Y  y
Z  z


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Sound City Reading

All Materials Copyright 2021 by Kathryn J. Davis, All Rights Reserved
Teachers, parents, tutors, and schools may download and print PDF files to use with the students they teach.  They are not to make a profit from distributing the materials.  
​Teaching videos are free to watch, and they may be downloaded for personal use, at home or in the classroom. 

In special cases I may grant written permission to individuals to use the material in other ways.  

You can contact me at kathjdavis@gmail.com.
  • A Sequential Phonics Program
    • How To Navigate This Site
    • What Happened To The Old Site
    • Can I buy physical copies of the books?
    • How Was This Program Developed?
    • Information About The Author
    • Copyright Information
    • Information About Reading Street
    • How To Use The PDF Files
    • Using A Print Shop
    • Other Recommended Sites
    • How To Get Started
    • Understanding Vowels
    • Understanding Consonants
  • Materials
    • Step Charts
    • Flow Charts
    • Program Overview
    • Overview Of All Of The Phonics Books
    • Level 1
    • Level 1. Learning The Alphabet Overview
    • Level 2. Exploring Sounds In Words Overview
    • Level 3. Short Vowels Overview
    • Level 4. Phonics Patterns Overview >
      • Phonetic Words And Stories, 1-8
      • Basic Phonics Patterns, 1-8
      • Basic Phonics Patterns Lesson Outline
      • Know The Phonetic Code, 1-3
      • Color-Coded Phonetic Lists
  • PDF Files
    • How To Work With PDF Files
    • Baseline Assessment PDF
    • Sequence Charts PDF
    • Sound Story PDF
    • Phonemic Awareness PDF
    • Manuscript Handwriting PDFs
    • Cursive Handwriting PDFs
    • Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet PDFs
    • Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words PDFs
    • Level 3 - Short Vowel PDFs
    • Level 4 - Phonics Patterns PDFs
    • Level 5 - Advanced Phonics Patterns PDFs
    • Large Picture-Word Pages PDF
    • Flashcards PDF
    • Wall Charts Newer PDF
    • Wall Charts Older PDF
    • Activities And Games PDF
    • Older PDF Files
  • Pictures
    • Sound Story Pictures
    • Keyword/Sound Chart Pictures
    • Level 1 And 2 Pictures
    • Level 3 Pictures
    • Level 4 Pictures
    • Consonant Blends
    • Level 5 Pictures
  • Audio
    • Sound Story Part 1
    • Sound Story Part 2
    • Individual Sound Pictures Part 1
    • Individual Sound Pictures Part 2
    • Individual Letter Sounds ABC Order
    • More Letter Sounds - sh, th, ch, wh, ck, tch, ng, oi, oy, ou, ow
    • Sound Pictures And Letters Part 1
    • Learning The Alphabet And Exploring Sounds In Words Charts
    • Level 3 Short Vowel Sound Charts
    • Level 3 Advanced Short Vowel Sound Charts
    • Sound Blending - Short U
    • Picture-Word Page Short U
    • Level 4, Book 1 Sound Charts
    • Level 4, Book 2 Sound Charts
  • Video
    • Sound Story Part 1 Videos
    • Robot Game a_e/safe
    • Advanced Sound Charts
  • Reading Street
    • Reading Street Stories
    • Reading Street Tests
    • Spelling Worksheets For Reading Street
    • Decoding Practice Pages To Use With Reading Street
    • Word Cards And Phonogram Cards
  • Blog
    • Contact Me
    • Share Your Experience
    • Take This Expanded Survey