Parent Activity

Basic Phonics Patterns

As part of their phonics instruction your children have been introduced to several common sound-spelling patterns. You can help them see the value of these patterns by looking for them in the newspaper or a magazine, especially in the headlines.

These basic phonics patterns can be easily understood by thinking of rhyme words, for example: cat, fat, hat. One pattern has only one vowel between two consonants, for example: bat, bet, bit, cot, but. This is the consonant-vowel-consonant pattern. It indicates that the vowel has a short sound.

Another basic pattern is sometimes called the silent 'e' pattern or the vowel-consonant-'e' pattern. It is seen in these long vowel words: date, ride, rope, cute. The 'e' acts as a marker for the long sound of the previous vowel.

A third basic phonics pattern also indicates a long vowel sound. It is the consonant-vowel/vowel-consonant pattern. It is seen in these words: paid, meat, trial, boat, fruit. These paired vowel words indicate the long sound of the first vowel.

Besides looking for these patterns in the newspaper, you and your child may want to see how many words you can write that follow these patterns. Make it a game, not a test, of writing words that rhyme and fit these patterns.