SOUND CITY READING
  • Sequential Phonics Program
    • Welcome
    • Copyright Information
    • How To Navigate This Site
    • Information About The Sound City Reading Program
    • Information About The Author
    • How Was This Program Developed?
    • Why Are There So Many Different Books?
    • How To Get Started
    • What If I Can't Do Everything In This Program?
    • Information About Reading Street Materials
    • Reading Readiness
    • Understanding Consonants
    • Understanding Vowels
    • What Happened To The Old Web Site
    • Other Recommended Sites
  • Program Overview
    • Step Charts
    • Flow Charts
    • Teaching Levels
    • Books Used At Each Level
    • Color-Coded Vowels
    • Skill Sequence
    • General Information About Instruction
    • Integrating Phonics And Whole Language
    • Sound Story
    • Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet Overview
    • Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words Overview
    • Level 3 - Short Vowels Overview
    • Level 4. Phonics Patterns Overview
    • Level 5. Advanced Phonics Patterns Overview
    • Phonemic Awareness Picture Pages Overview
    • Handwriting Books Overview
    • Charts, Flashcards, And Games Overview
    • Newer Wall Charts
    • Previous Wall Charts
  • PDF Files
    • How To Work With PDF Files
    • Printers And Printing Supplies
    • PDF Files For Any Level
    • PDF Files For Handwriting
    • Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet PDFs
    • Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words PDFs
    • Level 3 - Short Vowels PDFs
    • Level 4 - Phonics Patterns PDFs
    • Level 5 - Advanced Phonics Patterns PDFs
    • PDF Files For Flashcards
    • PDF Files For Activities And Games
    • PDF Files For Newer Wall Charts
    • PDF Files For Older Wall Charts
  • Reading Street
    • PDFs Decoding Practice Pages
    • PDFs Spelling Worksheets
    • PDFs Word And Phonogram Cards
    • PDFs Reading Street Tests
    • PDFs Reading Street Stories
  • 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 - Alphabet Sounds
    • Sound Story Part 2 - Beyond The Alphabet Sounds
    • Sound Pictures With Letters - Part 1
    • Sound Pictures With Letters And Letter Patterns - Part 2
    • Individual Sound Pictures - Part 1
    • Individual Sound Pictures - Part 2
    • Individual Alphabet Sounds - ABC Order
    • More Letter Sounds - sh, th, ch, ng, oi, oy, ou, ow
    • Level 1 And Level 2 Sound Charts
    • Level 3 - Short Vowels - Sound Charts
    • Level 3 - Advanced Short Vowel Sound Charts
    • Level 4 - Book 1 - Sound Charts
    • Level 4 - Book 2 - Sound Charts
    • Two-Letter Sound Blending - Short U
    • Picture-Word Page Short U
  • Video
    • Sound Story Part 1 Videos
    • Robot Game a_e/safe Video
    • Advanced Sound Charts Videos (All SCR Patterns)
  • Blog
    • Contact Me
    • Share Your Experience
    • Take This Expanded Survey
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Understanding Consonants 


Consonants are easier to understand than vowels, but there are still several things to learn about them.  Most of the time, a single consonant represents a single sound.  There are a few common two- and three-letter consonant patterns that are easy to learn.  Two consonants (c and g) can represent a second, different sound (s and j, respectively). There are some other consonant variations but they are much less common, so it is not necessary to learn them right away. 
Why are there so many different consonant patterns?  It is because many words from other languages have been brought into the English language.  
To hear the consonant sounds, listen to the sound story and sound charts under the audio and video menu headings.​
Don't be discouraged by the number of different consonant patterns.  Most consonants represent their usual sound in words.  The variations will be taught in an orderly fashion and explained thoroughly  as you work through this program.  Many of these patterns are uncommon and are not taught until the advanced phonics patterns level.  If you are not familiar with them, you will learn them along with the children.  ​

Consonant Sounds

  1. There are twenty-one single consonants that represent twenty different sounds: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, qu, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, and z.  The letters c and k represent the same sound.
  2. There are five additional consonant sounds that are represented by pairs of letters: sh/ship, th/thumb, th/this, ch/chicken, and ng/ring.
  3. One consonant sound does not have a specific letter or letter pattern to represent it.  It is heard in these words: measure, azure, vision, garage.  The dictionary shows this sound as zh in the pronunciation guides.  However, the zh combination is not used as a letter pattern in English words.  Words with this sound are taught in Advanced Phonics Patterns From Children's Books.
Notes
  • The nk/wink pattern is taught in this program but it is not considered to be an additional unique sound.  It is pronounced as a combination of the ng/ring and k/kick sounds.  To say the /nk/ sound, pronounce the /ng/ and /k/ sounds one after the other, sliding the sounds together smoothly. 
  • The letter x​ can be pronounced in three different ways.  In most words, it is pronounced as in x/box.  In a few words, it is pronounced as in gz/exhaust or z/xylophone.  

Alternate Sounds For C And G

The letter c represents the /s/ sound when it is followed by e, i, or y: cent, city, cycle, pencil, race, fancy.
The letter g usually represents the /j/ sound when it is followed by e, i, or y: gem, giant, gym, angel, huge, mangy.  However there are some common words that are exceptions to this rule in which the letter g keeps its /g/ sound: give, gill, girl, get.  ​
These alternate sounds for the letters c and g are called the "soft" c and g sounds.

Consonant Digraphs (2-Letter Patterns) And Trigraphs (3-Letter Patterns)

Sometimes two (or three) consonants work together to represent a single sound.  Sometimes the sound is one of the regular alphabet sounds.  Sometimes the sound is not a regular alphabet sound; it is a completely new sound.  These new sounds are part of the "beyond the alphabet" sounds taught in part two of the sound story.  They are not represented by any of the single alphabet letters.  ​
The th and wh patterns can each be pronounced in two different ways.  ​
The ugh pattern begins with the letter u.  In this pattern, the letter u does not act as a vowel.  ​
Consonant Pattern     How It Is Pronounced

sh                                sh/ship, mash                               
th                                 th/thumb, bath                               
th                                 th/this, bathe                              
ch                                ch/chicken, rich 
ch                                ch/chorus, ache (pronounced like the letter c)
ch                                ch/chef, machine (pronounced like the sh pattern)                       
wh                               wh/when, wheel (pronounced like the letter w)
wh                               wh/who, whole (pronounced like the letter h) 
ph                                ph/phone, graph (pronounced like the letter f)

Ending Consonant Digraphs And Trigraphs

Some consonant patterns are only used at the end of a short vowel word or or at the end of a syllable after a short vowel.   ​
Consonant Pattern    How It Is Pronounced

ck                                ck/Jack, pocket
tch                               tch/match, butcher                               
nch                              nch/bench, lunchbox                                                               
ng                                ng/ring, hanger
nk                                nk/wink, tinker  
dge                              dge/fudge, judgement  
ugh                              ugh/laugh, laughter, cough (pronounced like the letter 
f ) 

In the tch pattern, the t is not pronounced.  Just say the /ch/ sound.
To say the nch pattern, say the /n/ sound followed by the /ch/ sound.
​The ch pattern can also follow the letter l as in mulch, filch, and belch.
To say the nk pattern, say the /ng/ sound followed by the /k/ sound.
The dge sound is pronounced /j/. 
​

This chart shows the most common consonant digraphs and trigraphs. It also shows the soft sounds for the letters c and g.  The pictures are from A Sound Story About Audrey And Brad.  Each picture in the story represents a specific sound.  The sound pictures are used to help students remember the correct sound for each letter or letter pattern.  You can hear the sound story read aloud in the audio section of this website.  You can also hear the sounds for each of the individual sound pictures.  
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The second and third sounds for the ch pattern are taught at level five. 
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Consonant Blends

Sometimes two or three consonants appear side by side in words, and they all represent their regular sounds.  These letter combinations  are called consonant blends.  They are not new phonetic patterns, because the letters have their usual sounds.  However, it can be challenging to pronounce two or three consonant sounds one after the other.  It takes time to learn to slide the sounds together smoothly.  For this reason, it is important for students to practice pronouncing the consonant blends by themselves and within words.
Consonant blends can appear at the beginning or the end of words.  Those that come at the end of words are taught first, because it is easier to pronounce a blend by adding it after a vowel sound.  Blends that come at the beginning of words are taught afterwards, because pronouncing a consonant blend before a vowel is more challenging.
When you are pronouncing the beginning consonant blends, do not add an "uh" sound to the end.  Say /st/ not /stuh/, say /cl/ not /cluh/, say /pr/, not /pruh/, say /sw/, not /swuh/.  Go to the audio and video files on this site to hear how to pronounce the consonant blends.

These charts show the ending consonant blends and beginning consonant blends.  
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Two-Letter Consonant Patterns That Are Pronounced As One Sound

In some two-letter consonant patterns, one letter is pronounced and the other letter is not pronounced.  We can say that one of the letters is "silent."  The silent letter may be either a consonant or a vowel.  

This Consonant Pattern    Is Pronounced As      In The Words
​
bu                                      b                                 building, built
gh                                      g                                 ghost, aghast
gu                                      g                                 guest, guard
kn                                      n                                 knife, know
mb                                     m                                lamb, thumb
mn                                     m                                autumn, hymn
rh                                       r                                  rhinoceros, rhyme
sc                                      s                                  scissors, scene
wr                                      r                                  wren, write

Ending Consonant Patterns Pronounced As One Sound

In these ending consonant patterns, the letter e is not pronounced.  The e is "silent."
​
This Consonant Pattern    Is Pronounced As      In The Words

_se                                    s                               mouse, loose, else, tense
_se                                    z                               cheese, please, noise, pause
_ze                                    z                               freeze, snooze, bronze, gauze 
_ve                                    v                               give, have, sleeve, carve
_ce                                    s                               fence, peace, force, voice
_ge                                    j                                hinge, lounge, barge, urge

Silent Consonants And Consonant Patterns That Are Not Pronounced

 In a few cases, single consonants are not pronounced.  They are "silent."  There are only a few words with single silent consonants.

This Consonant Sound      Is Not Pronounced In These Words

b                                        debt, doubt, subtle
h                                        herb, honor, honest
p                                        pterodactyl, receipt
t                                         castle, whistle, thistle

There is also a two-letter pattern that is not pronounced in some words.

This Consonant Pattern    Is Not Pronounced In These Words.

gh                                     straight, through, though, daughter, taught

Here is a chart from the Advanced Phonics Patterns book that shows the patterns discussed above.  You can watch a video to hear these consonant sounds and key words by clicking here. 

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Alternate Consonant Patterns That Show The Same Sound

A number of consonant sounds can be represented in more than one way.  Some of these alternate patterns are taught at level four.  The less common variations are taught at level five.  

This Consonant Sound    Can Also Be Shown With These Letters And Letter Patterns

b                                       bu/building
c or k                                ck/Jack, qu/antique, ch/chorus
f                                        ph/phone, ugh/laugh
g                                       gu/guess, gh/ghost
h                                       wh/who 

j                                        dge/fudge, ge/gem, gi/giant, gy/gym, _ge/hinge
m                                      mb/lamb, mn/autumn
n                                       kn/knife, gn/gnat, gn/sign
r                                        wr/wren, rh/rhino
s                                       ce/cent, ci/city, cy/cycle, _se/mouse, sc/scissors
t                                        th/thyme
​v                                       _ve/give
​w                                      wh/when
y                                       i/onion, union, junior (i acts as a consonant in these words, showing the y sound)
z                                       s/his, _se/cheese, _ze/freeze, x/xylophone                                                  
​

This chart from the Advanced Phonics Patterns book shows the alternate patterns that can be used to show each of the consonant and short vowel sounds.  You can watch a video to hear the patterns on this chart and other advanced charts by clicking here.
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Sound City Reading

All Materials Copyright 2023 or earlier 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.     
If you download one or more PDF files from this site, you may not make the files available from a different site.  However, you may share links to any of the pages on this website, including the pages that have PDF files.    
​Teaching videos are free to watch, and they may be downloaded for use with your own students, at home or in the classroom.  

In special cases I may grant written permission to individuals to use the materials in other ways.  
You can contact me at kathjdavis@gmail.com.
  • Sequential Phonics Program
    • Welcome
    • Copyright Information
    • How To Navigate This Site
    • Information About The Sound City Reading Program
    • Information About The Author
    • How Was This Program Developed?
    • Why Are There So Many Different Books?
    • How To Get Started
    • What If I Can't Do Everything In This Program?
    • Information About Reading Street Materials
    • Reading Readiness
    • Understanding Consonants
    • Understanding Vowels
    • What Happened To The Old Web Site
    • Other Recommended Sites
  • Program Overview
    • Step Charts
    • Flow Charts
    • Teaching Levels
    • Books Used At Each Level
    • Color-Coded Vowels
    • Skill Sequence
    • General Information About Instruction
    • Integrating Phonics And Whole Language
    • Sound Story
    • Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet Overview
    • Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words Overview
    • Level 3 - Short Vowels Overview
    • Level 4. Phonics Patterns Overview
    • Level 5. Advanced Phonics Patterns Overview
    • Phonemic Awareness Picture Pages Overview
    • Handwriting Books Overview
    • Charts, Flashcards, And Games Overview
    • Newer Wall Charts
    • Previous Wall Charts
  • PDF Files
    • How To Work With PDF Files
    • Printers And Printing Supplies
    • PDF Files For Any Level
    • PDF Files For Handwriting
    • Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet PDFs
    • Level 2 - Exploring Sounds In Words PDFs
    • Level 3 - Short Vowels PDFs
    • Level 4 - Phonics Patterns PDFs
    • Level 5 - Advanced Phonics Patterns PDFs
    • PDF Files For Flashcards
    • PDF Files For Activities And Games
    • PDF Files For Newer Wall Charts
    • PDF Files For Older Wall Charts
  • Reading Street
    • PDFs Decoding Practice Pages
    • PDFs Spelling Worksheets
    • PDFs Word And Phonogram Cards
    • PDFs Reading Street Tests
    • PDFs Reading Street Stories
  • 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 - Alphabet Sounds
    • Sound Story Part 2 - Beyond The Alphabet Sounds
    • Sound Pictures With Letters - Part 1
    • Sound Pictures With Letters And Letter Patterns - Part 2
    • Individual Sound Pictures - Part 1
    • Individual Sound Pictures - Part 2
    • Individual Alphabet Sounds - ABC Order
    • More Letter Sounds - sh, th, ch, ng, oi, oy, ou, ow
    • Level 1 And Level 2 Sound Charts
    • Level 3 - Short Vowels - Sound Charts
    • Level 3 - Advanced Short Vowel Sound Charts
    • Level 4 - Book 1 - Sound Charts
    • Level 4 - Book 2 - Sound Charts
    • Two-Letter Sound Blending - Short U
    • Picture-Word Page Short U
  • Video
    • Sound Story Part 1 Videos
    • Robot Game a_e/safe Video
    • Advanced Sound Charts Videos (All SCR Patterns)
  • Blog
    • Contact Me
    • Share Your Experience
    • Take This Expanded Survey