Curriculum › Grade 1 › English Language Arts

Phonics and Decoding

Grade 1
English Language Arts
RF.1.3
Reading: Foundational Skills
Free lesson

Aligned to RF.1.3 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

We sound out words by matching letters to their sounds and blending them. Knowing letter teams (like 'sh' or 'ee') helps read longer words.

Worked examples

Example 1

To read 'ship': /sh/ + /i/ + /p/ = 'ship.' The letters s-h work together to make one sound, /sh/.

Example 2

To read 'chop': /ch/ + /o/ + /p/. The letters c-h make one sound too, just like s-h did.

Example 3

Silent e changes everything. 'Hop' has a short o, but adding an e makes 'hope' — the e says nothing itself and changes the vowel.

Practice questions

Sound out the word 'fish'.
What sound do the letters 'ch' make?
Read 'green' — what sound do the two e's make?

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

▶ Watch this lesson

En español

Fonética y decodificación

Deletreamos las palabras relacionando las letras con sus sonidos y uniéndolos. Conocer los grupos de letras (como 'sh' o 'ee') ayuda a leer palabras más largas.

Ejemplo 1: Para leer 'ship': /sh/ + /i/ + /p/ = 'ship.' Las letras s-h trabajan juntas para producir un solo sonido, /sh/.

Ejemplo 2: Para leer 'chop': /ch/ + /o/ + /p/. Las letras c-h también hacen un solo sonido, igual que s-h.

Ejemplo 3: La e muda cambia todo. 'Hop' tiene una o corta, pero agregar una e hace 'hope' — la e no suena y aun así cambia la vocal.

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