

Plus, we know that each vowel has two sounds – the short and the long sound. Focusing on the shape of the mouth and the tongue’s position is very helpful in teaching correct vowel pronunciation. These tricky vowels are often the HARDEST for kids because the vowel sounds have such similar sounds. When pronouncing the letter sounds /w/ and /y/, you need to be especially careful not to add the /uh/ (schwa sound) to the end but rather clip or stop the sounds at the /w/ and the /y/. So the sound is a stop sound but we would model it continuously, /h/ /h/ /h/. For example, the letter sound /h/ should sign like a dog panting. These sounds can be tricky because they may contain a combination of continuous and stop sounds. The letter sound /s/ is a great one to start with since it makes the all-familiar snake sound and it’s an easy sound for students to replicate.ģ. These sounds are the most fun and generally some of the first letter sounds to be taught. These sounds can be especially tricky and are often subjected to the unwanted schwa at the end (like /buh/ or /puh/ instead of the hard /b/ and /p/.Ģ. They make a fast, short sound that does not continue on. These are the quick and quiet sounds of the alphabet. STOP SOUNDS: B, C, D, G, H, J, K, P, and T.There are FOUR different letter-sound categories: Not Prounouncing the Letter Sounds Correctly

Young children would hear those incorrect sounds being blended and feel frustrated that the word doesn’t sound the way it is spelled and make reading feel very confusing and unpredictable. However, if they learn that /t/ says ‘tuh’ and /g/ says ‘guh’, suddenly blending the word tag goes from /t/ /a/ /g/ to /tuh/ /a/ /guh/. For example, if a child has correctly learned all their letter sounds, they are on the path to blending three-letter CVC words such as tag, mop, and pig. When young children are learning their letter sounds, adding those vowel sounds to the end can really hinder their ability to blend sounds together. But that extra vowel can make things really confusing for kids! You might not even notice a problem until they come to the next stage of reading: blending and segmenting sounds. It may seem like that extra vowel sound added on to the end is really not all that consequential. Adding the Schwa SoundĪ common mistake that many make when teaching letter sounds to preschoolers is adding the schwa sound (an unstressed vowel sound) to the end of the sound – think /l/ prounounced as /luh/, or /m/ pronounced as /muh/. Using high-quality letter sound songs to teach makes this even more engaging and fun!īefore we get into the songs, let’s briefly go through some of the most common letter sound mistakes. Teaching the letter sounds accurately is so important to get right the first time! Otherwise, you’re accidentally setting yourself, and your kids, up for a world of frustration and re-training. One thing is for sure – letter names, sounds, and formation are an essential part of a preschooler’s day. Correctly learning the letter sounds is a critical step into the world of pre-reading, and learning through music makes the process fun and memorable! For more awesome and educational songs, don’t miss our compilation of the best songs for kids. We have searched high and low for the perfect letter sound songs to accurately teach the letter sounds.
