Curriculum › Grade 1 › English Language Arts

Sound It Out

  • Grade 1
  • English Language Arts
  • RF.1.2
  • Reading: Foundational Skills
  • Free lesson

Aligned to RF.1.2 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

Words are made of little sounds. We can blend sounds together to make a word, or break a word into its sounds.

Worked examples

Example 1

Blend /c/ + /a/ + /t/ to say "cat." Now break it back apart: cat = /c/ /a/ /t/. Three sounds!

Example 2

Blend /s/ + /t/ + /o/ + /p/ to say 'stop.' Now break it apart again: four sounds.

Example 3

Change only the last sound in 'stop' to /k/ and you get 'stock.' One sound at the end makes a whole new word.

Practice questions

  1. Blend these sounds: /m/ /a/ /p/. What word is it?
  2. Break the word "sun" into its sounds.
  3. Clap once for each sound in "dog."

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

Suena los Sonidos

Las palabras se hacen de sonidos pequeños y de sílabas. Podemos unir sonidos para formar una palabra o separarla en sus sílabas.

Ejemplo 1: Une las sílabas ma + no para decir "mano." Ahora sepárala: mano = ma-no. ¡Dos sílabas! Aplaudimos una vez por cada sílaba.

Ejemplo 2: Une las sílabas pe + lo + ta para decir 'pelota.' Ahora sepárala: tres sílabas.

Ejemplo 3: Cambia solo la primera sílaba de 'pelota' por 'ca' y obtienes 'caleta'. Una sílaba distinta hace una palabra distinta.

More Reading: Foundational Skills lessons

Phonics and DecodingRF.1.3Reading FluencyRF.1.4What Makes a Sentence?RF.1.1

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