Alphability Resources

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Make sure you can pronounce the 44 sounds (phonemes) of English language with this video. It follows the sound desk chart from Smart Kids (https://www.smartkids.com.au/products/44-sounds-desktop). Some synthetic phonics programs pronounce 'qu' as /k/ then /w/ separately. The pronunciation of /w/ and /y/ is the way Australian speech pathologists say it, without the 'uh' sound added. It is also commonly pronounced this way in the UK.

Use the sound card focus for the week to flip through and say the sounds. If you have previous sound cards, add them for revision (but not too many if it is too much cognitive load for the child.) This is with the alphabet sounds, so if you want to check your pronunciation of these sounds, follow this or mute it for your child to say the sounds along with the video.

Tricky /p/ and /b/ practise - A simple way to practise the 26 alphabet sounds, particularly those tricky short vowel sounds. Set up consonant-vowel-consonant and flip through the 5 vowels. Say the sounds and blend to read the word. Some will be real words, some non-words (aka 'alien' words as I like to call them). Just be careful to set up appropriate words with the cards you give the child.

The end nasal sound 'ng' can be difficult for many children to articulate. They often add the /g/ and make two sounds /n/-/g/. Practise with a CVC sound swap by changing the vowel or the initial consonant. The same goes for 'th', which is a sound expected to be mastered during the first year or so of school. Watch this video for correct pronunciation and then try it for yourself. Set up C-V-ng or th-V-C words to keep practising.

Practise a simple initial consonant sound swap with the ending 'oy'. Listen to me say it and then 'mute' the video to have a go yourself. Great for children to practise and for teachers/parents to check their pronunciation.

Contrasting between the different phonemes (sounds) for each grapheme (letter or letter combination) is really important as children develop their knowledge of the code. This is particularly helpful with vowel sounds and identifying homographs, words spelt the same, but have different pronunciation. Start simple like with the two phonemes for 'ow' and build on their understanding, systematically and explicitly, to move into phonemes or graphemes that have more than two representations. Link it to their vocabulary and sentence structure for context and meaning.