To understand written material about phonics, teachers should be familiar with the following terms:
Vowels. The letters a, e, i, o, and u represent vowel sounds, and the letters w and y
take on the characteristics of vowels when they appear in the final position in a word of syllable.The letter y also has the characteristics of a vowel in the medial (middle) position in a word of syllable.
Consonants.Letters other than the vowels generally represent consonant sounds.W and
y have the characteristics of consonants when they appear in the initial position in a word or syllable.
Consonant Blends (or Clusters).Two or more adjacent consonant letters whose sounds are blended together, with each individual sound retain its identity, constitute a consonant blend.For example, although the first three sounds in the word strike are blended smoothly, listeners can detect the separate sounds of s, t, and r being produced in rapid succession.Other examples are the fr in frame, the cl in click, and the br in bread, to mention a few.Many teaching materials refer to these letter combinations as consonant clusters rather than consonant blends.
Consonant Digraphs.Two adjacent consonant letters that represent a single speech sound constitute a consonant digraph.For example, sh is a consonant digraph in the word shore because it represents one sound and not a blend of the sounds of s and h.
Vowel Digraphs.Two adjacent vowel letters that represent a single speech sound constitute a vowel digraph.In the word foot, oo is a vowel digraph.(au, aw)
Diphthongs.Vowel sounds that are so closely blended that they can be treated as single vowel units for the purposes of word identification are called diphthongs.These sounds are actually vowel blends, since the vocal mechanism produces two sounds instead of one, as in the case with vowel digraphs.An example of a diphthongs is the ou in out.(oi, ow)