Understanding Alphabet Sounds

Before we begin with each letter, here’s what some important words mean:

● Phoneme: The smallest sound in a word (e.g.,/k/ in “cat”).

● Voiced sound: Your vocal cords vibrate whenyou say it (put your hand on your throat and say /z/).

● Unvoiced sound: Your vocal cords don’t vibrate(say /s/—no buzzing!).

● Nasal sound: Air comes out of your nose (say/m/ and you’ll feel it!).

● Short vowel sound: The vowel says a"quick" sound (like /ă/ in "cat").

● Long vowel sound: The vowel says its name(like /ā/ in "cake").

● Digraph/Blend: Two letters that make one sound(like "sh" or "ch").