Lesson 1: Understanding the Alphabet and Their Sounds

The English language uses 26 letters. Each letter has a name (like A, B, C) and usually one or
more sounds it makes. When we learn to read, we focus a lot on the sounds of the letters.
This is called phonics.

Think of it like building blocks. Each sound is a block, and we put blocks together to make
words.

Part 1: Learning the Alphabet Names and a Key Sound for Each

First, let's go through the 26 letters. I'll give you the letter name and then its most common
"short" sound.

Instructions:

1. Look at the letter.

2. Say its name aloud.
3. Then, try to make the sound it produces. Imagine you're making that sound for a
word.

Letter Common Sound (Listen to an English speaker Example Word to Hear the
Name if you can!) Sound
A (Ay) /a/ (like in "cat," a short, quick 'a') Apple, Ant
B (Bee) /b/ (like in "ball") Bat, Book
C (See) /k/ (like in "cat," a hard 'c' sound) Cat, Cup
D (Dee) /d/ (like in "dog") Dog, Duck
E (Ee) /e/ (like in "egg," a short, quick 'e') Egg, Elephant
F (Eff) /f/ (like in "fish") Fish, Fan
G (Gee) /g/ (like in "goat," a hard 'g' sound) Goat, Game
H (Aitch) /h/ (like in "hat") Hat, House
I (Eye) /i/ (like in "pig," a short, quick 'i') Igloo, Ink
J (Jay) /j/ (like in "jump") Jug, Jam
K (Kay) /k/ (like in "kite," same as hard 'c') Kite, Key
L (Ell) /l/ (like in "lion") Lion, Leg
M (Em) /m/ (like in "monkey") Mat, Moon
N (En) /n/ (like in "nose") Nose, Nut
O (Oh) /o/ (like in "octopus," a short, quick 'o') Octopus, On
P (Pee) /p/ (like in "pig") Pig, Pen
Q (Cue) /kw/ (often makes this sound, like in "queen") Queen, Quack
R (Arr) /r/ (like in "rabbit") Rabbit, Rat
S (Ess) /s/ (like in "sun") Sun, Sit
T (Tee) /t/ (like in "top") Top, Ten
U (Yoo) /u/ (like in "umbrella," a short, quick 'u') Umbrella, Up
V (Vee) /v/ (like in "van") Van, Vet
W (Double-
/w/ (like in "water") Water, Web
u)
 /ks/ (often makes this sound, like at the end of
X (Ex) Fox, Box
"fox")
Y (Why) /y/ (at the start of words like "yellow") Yellow, Yes
Z (Zee) /z/ (like in "zebra") Zebra, Zip

Part 2: Practice Letter Sounds

Now, let's practice isolating those sounds.

Exercise 1: Say the Sound For each letter below, don't say its name. Just make the sound it
produces:

 M
 T
 A
 S
 P
 I
 N
 D

Exercise 2: Identify the Starting Sound I'll give you a common English word. Try to
identify the first sound you hear, and then say the letter that makes that sound.

 Ball (What's the first sound? What letter makes it?)

o Answer: /b/, B
 Cat
o Answer: /k/, C
 Dog
o Answer: /d/, D
 Apple
o Answer: /a/, A
 Fish
o Answer: /f/, F
 Sun
o Answer: /s/, S
 Pig
o Answer: /p/, P
 Net
o Answer: /n/, N

Part 3: Vowels vs. Consonants

The 26 letters are divided into two groups:

 Vowels: A, E, I, O, U (and sometimes Y). Vowels are super important because every
word in English must have at least one vowel sound. They are like the "glue" that
holds words together. The sounds they make are open, with your mouth usually open.
  Consonants: All the other letters (B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V,
W, X, Y, Z). Consonant sounds are made by blocking the air flow in some way with
your tongue, teeth, or lips.

Why is this important? Because when we start reading, we often focus on words with one
vowel and two consonants.

Lesson 2: Blending Sounds to Read Simple Words (CVC

Words)
Now that you've practiced individual letter sounds, let's put them together! This is the
exciting part where you start reading words.

We will start with CVC words: Consonant-Vowel-Consonant. These are often the first words
people learn to read because they are very predictable.

How to Blend:

1. Look at the first letter and say its sound.

2. Look at the second letter (the vowel) and say its sound.
3. Blend those two sounds together smoothly.
4. Look at the third letter (the consonant) and add its sound to the first two.

Example 1:

 C - /k/
 A - /a/
 T - /t/
 Blend /k/ + /a/ = /ka/ (like "cuh-a")
 Add /t/ = /kat/ (like "cuh-at")
 Say it fast: CAT

Practice CVC Words:

Try to read these words by sounding out each letter and blending them together. Take your
time!

Set 1: Using A (short /a/ sound)

 m a t = MAT
 s a t = SAT
 p a n = PAN
 c a p = CAP
 f a n = FAN
 h a t = HAT
 r a t = RAT
 d a d = DAD
Set 2: Using I (short /i/ sound)

 p i g = PIG
 s i t = SIT
 t i n = TIN
 f i n = FIN
 l i p = LIP
 z i p = ZIP
 d i g = DIG
 k i d = KID

Set 3: Using O (short /o/ sound)

 t o p = TOP
 h o t = HOT
 p o t = POT
 d o g = DOG
 f o x = FOX
 m o p = MOP
 c o t = COT
 l o g = LOG

Set 4: Using E (short /e/ sound)

 p e n = PEN
 t e n = TEN
 h e n = HEN
 b e d = BED
 r e d = RED
 l e g = LEG
 m e n = MEN
 w e b = WEB

Set 5: Using U (short /u/ sound)

 s u n = SUN
 b u g = BUG
 c u p = CUP
 r u n = RUN
 h u t = HUT
 n u t = NUT
 j u g = JUG
 t u b = TUB

What to Do Next: Your Practice Plan

 1. Master the Alphabet Sounds: This is the most crucial step. Use online resources
(YouTube videos) to hear the correct pronunciation of each letter's short sound.
Practice saying them daily.
2. Practice Blending CVC Words: Go through the CVC word lists multiple times.
Don't rush. Sound out each letter, blend the first two, then add the third.
3. Use Flashcards (if possible): Write one CVC word on each card. Practice reading
them randomly.
4. Listen and Identify: As you hear words around you, try to think about what sounds
make up that word.
5. Don't worry about spelling yet! For now, just focus on reading. Spelling will come
more easily once you can read well.
6. Be Patient! Learning to read takes time and consistent effort. Celebrate every word
you successfully read!

Once you feel comfortable with these short vowel CVC words, you'll be ready for the next
steps, which include:

 Introducing consonant blends (like "bl," "st," "gr")

 Introducing digraphs (like "sh," "ch," "th")
 Learning about long vowel sounds
 And many more spelling patterns!

Keep practicing, and let me know when you feel ready for the next lesson! You're taking a
fantastic step towards learning to read.