Alphabet and Phonics
Learning Objectives
- Students will know all 26 letters of the alphabet in order.
- Students will learn the difference between vowels and consonants.
- Students will learn the sound each letter makes with Indian examples.
- Students will read and write simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words.
Let Us Begin!
The English alphabet has 26 letters. Each letter has a big form called an uppercase letter and a small form called a lowercase letter. Every letter also makes a special sound. Learning these sounds helps us read and write words. This is called phonics!
The 26 Letters
Uppercase: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Lowercase: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Vowels and Consonants
The 26 letters are divided into two groups: vowels and consonants.
Vowels (5): A, E, I, O, U — these letters make open sounds.
Consonants (21): All the other letters — B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z.
Say this: A E I O U — these are the five special letters. Every word has at least one vowel in it!
Letter Sounds with Indian Examples
| Letter | Sound | Example Word |
|---|---|---|
| A a | /a/ | A for Aam (mango) |
| B b | /b/ | B for Ball |
| C c | /k/ | C for Cat |
| D d | /d/ | D for Doll |
| E e | /e/ | E for Elephant |
| F f | /f/ | F for Fan |
| G g | /g/ | G for Goat |
| H h | /h/ | H for Hat |
| I i | /i/ | I for Ink |
| J j | /j/ | J for Jug |
| K k | /k/ | K for Kite |
| L l | /l/ | L for Lemon |
| M m | /m/ | M for Mango |
| Letter | Sound | Example Word |
|---|---|---|
| N n | /n/ | N for Nest |
| O o | /o/ | O for Orange |
| P p | /p/ | P for Pot |
| Q q | /kw/ | Q for Queen |
| R r | /r/ | R for Roti |
| S s | /s/ | S for Sun |
| T t | /t/ | T for Top |
| U u | /u/ | U for Umbrella |
| V v | /v/ | V for Van |
| W w | /w/ | W for Well |
| X x | /ks/ | X for Box |
| Y y | /y/ | Y for Yak |
| Z z | /z/ | Z for Zebra |
Simple CVC Words
A CVC word has three letters: a Consonant, a Vowel, and a Consonant. These are the first words we learn to read!
| CVC Word | Sounds | CVC Word | Sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| cat | c - a - t | dog | d - o - g |
| sun | s - u - n | hen | h - e - n |
| pot | p - o - t | bag | b - a - g |
| mat | m - a - t | pin | p - i - n |
| cup | c - u - p | red | r - e - d |
| van | v - a - n | fox | f - o - x |
Ravi sees the word "sun". He says each sound: /s/ /u/ /n/. Then he blends them together: sun! Phonics helps Ravi read new words.
Words with Each Vowel
Every CVC word has a vowel in the middle. Here are words grouped by their middle vowel:
| Vowel | CVC Words |
|---|---|
| a | cat, bat, mat, hat, van, fan, pan, man, bag, rag |
| e | hen, pen, ten, red, bed, leg, peg, net, wet, jet |
| i | pin, bin, tin, fin, sit, hit, bit, fit, dig, big |
| o | pot, hot, dot, cot, dog, log, fog, box, fox, mop |
| u | cup, pup, sun, bun, run, fun, bus, nut, hut, cut |
Key Words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Alphabet | The set of 26 letters used in English |
| Vowel | The letters A, E, I, O, U |
| Consonant | All letters that are not vowels |
| Phonics | Learning the sounds that letters make |
| CVC word | A short word with consonant-vowel-consonant pattern |
| Uppercase | Big letters: A, B, C |
| Lowercase | Small letters: a, b, c |
- There are 26 letters in the English alphabet.
- The 5 vowels are: A, E, I, O, U.
- The other 21 letters are consonants.
- Each letter makes a special sound — this is phonics.
- CVC words like cat, dog, sun are made of 3 sounds.
- Every word has at least one vowel in it.
- Blending sounds together helps us read new words.
Practice Questions
| Column A | Column B |
|---|---|
| 1. A, E, I, O, U | a. CVC word |
| 2. cat | b. Consonant |
| 3. B | c. Vowels |
| 4. 26 | d. Sound of letter S |
| 5. /s/ | e. Total letters in alphabet |
Look around your home. Find one thing that starts with each of these letters and write its name.
| Letter | Thing I found | Letter | Thing I found |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | M | ||
| B | P | ||
| C | S | ||
| D | T |
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