When your child learns to read, they will be taught the sounds that letters make on their own as well as in different groups. For example, the letters ‘s’ and ‘h’ have their own individual sounds, but when put together as /sh/, a new sound is created. Your child will learn blends like /sh/, /ai/ and /ck/, as well as how to put all the sounds together to make words (blending). This is also called sounding out, which is the method your child will use as they read words they’ve not come across before.
In phonics, it's important to pronounce "pure sounds": for example, the sound /m/ is pronounced 'mmmm' and not 'muh' or 'em'. This makes it much easier for children to blend sounds together to read. We have put together video clips to show you how to pronounce these sounds so your child can hear the same pronunciation at home and at school.
