112 cards

Phonics Flashcards for Letter Sounds, Blends and Vowel Teams

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Letters 1: s a t p i n m d 8

a Short a as in apple: ant, cat, map. Long a says its name, as in acorn.
d d as in dog: dad, dig, den, red. Often flipped with b, so teach the two apart.
i Short i as in igloo: in, sit, pig. Long i says its name, as in ice.
m m as in map: man, mud, mop, ham. Say mmm, not the letter name.
n n as in net: nap, nut, nod, sun. Say nnn, not the letter name.
p p as in pig: pan, pot, pen, map. A quiet puff of air.
s s as in sun: sit, sad, sock, bus. Say the sound sss, not the letter name.
t t as in top: tap, ten, tin, cat. Keep it short and clipped, with no uh after it.

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Letters 2: g o c k e u r h 8

c Hard c as in cat: cap, cot, cup. Soft c before e, i or y: cent, city, cycle.
e Short e as in egg: bed, ten, net. Long e says its name, as in she.
g Hard g as in goat: gas, got, dig. Often soft before e, i or y: gem, giant, gym.
h h as in hat: hen, hop, hug, him. Only a breath out, with no voice.
k k as in kite: kid, kit, king. The same sound as hard c.
o Short o as in octopus: ox, hot, mop. Long o says its name, as in open.
r r as in run: red, rat, rug, rip. Hold the sound: rrr.
u Short u as in umbrella: up, sun, mud. Long u says its name, as in unicorn.

Letters 3: b f l j v w x y z qu 10

b b as in bed: bat, bus, big, tub. The word bed starts with b and ends with d.
f f as in fan: fit, fog, fun, leaf. Say fff, not the letter name.
j j as in jam: jet, jog, jug, job. At the end of a word, look for ge or dge instead.
l l as in leg: lap, log, lid, lip. Hold the sound: lll.
qu qu as in queen: quiz, quit, quack. Two sounds at once, k and w.
v v as in van: vet, vest, visit. Give, love and have put a silent e after the v.
w w as in web: wig, win, wet, wag. Round your lips to start it.
x x as in box: fox, six, wax, mix. Two sounds at once, k and s.
y y as in yes: yam, yak, yell. At the end of a word y is a vowel: my, funny.
z z as in zip: zap, zoo, buzz. Like s, but with your voice switched on.

Digraphs: sh ch th wh ck ng ph 7

ch ch as in chip: chin, chop, much. It says k in school and sh in machine.
ck ck as in duck: back, sock, pick. It follows a short vowel and never starts a word.
ng ng as in ring: sing, long, bang. One sound, made at the back of the mouth.
ph ph as in phone: photo, graph, dolphin. Two letters that say f.
sh sh as in ship: shop, shed, fish, dish. Two letters, one sound.
th Quiet th as in thin, bath, moth. Buzzing th, with your voice on: this, that, them.
wh wh as in when: what, which, whale. Most Americans say it like w. In who it says h.

Doubles and silent letters 10

dge dge as in bridge: edge, judge, fudge. It says j, right after a short vowel.
ff ff as in cliff: off, puff, stuff. Doubled after a short vowel. If does not double.
gn gn as in gnat: gnome, gnaw, sign. The g is silent.
kn kn as in knee: knot, knit, knight. The k is silent. It was sounded until the 1600s.
ll ll as in bell: hill, doll, shell. One sound, doubled after a short vowel.
mb mb as in lamb: limb, crumb, thumb. The b is silent at the end of the word.
ss ss as in kiss: mess, boss, dress. Doubled after a short vowel. Bus and yes do not.
tch tch as in match: catch, itch, fetch. After a short vowel. Much and rich drop the t.
wr wr as in write: wrap, wrong, wrist. The w is silent, so write sounds like rite.
zz zz as in buzz: fizz, jazz, fuzz. Doubled after a short vowel. Quiz does not double.

L blends 6

bl bl as in black: blue, blob, block. Two sounds, b then l, said close together.
cl cl as in clap: clip, club, clock. Hard c, then l.
fl fl as in flag: flip, flat, fly. Hold the f, then slide into the l.
gl gl as in glue: glad, glass, globe. Hard g, then l.
pl pl as in plug: plan, plum, play. Both sounds are heard, p then l.
sl sl as in slide: slip, sled, slug. Both sounds can be held: sss, lll.

R blends 7

br br as in brick: bread, brush, brown. Two sounds. Tap one finger for each.
cr cr as in crab: crib, crop, cry. Hard c, then r.
dr dr as in drum: drip, drop, dress. Say d, then r, then run them together.
fr fr as in frog: from, fresh, fruit. Hold the f, then slide into the r.
gr gr as in green: grab, grin, grass. Hard g, then r.
pr pr as in prize: press, print, pretty. Both sounds are heard, p then r.
tr tr as in tree: trip, trap, truck. Say t, then r, then run them together.

S blends and tw 8

sc sc as in scarf: scab, scan, scoop. Before e or i the c goes soft: scene, science.
sk sk as in skip: skin, sky, desk. The same two sounds as sc, at either end of a word.
sm sm as in smile: smell, small, smoke. Hold the s, then hum the m.
sn sn as in snail: snap, snow, snack. Hold the s, then the n.
sp sp as in spot: spin, spoon, crisp. It works at either end of a word.
st st as in stop: step, star, last, nest. It works at either end of a word.
sw sw as in swim: swan, sweet, swing. In sword and answer the w is silent.
tw tw as in twin: twig, twist, twelve. In two the w is silent.

3-letter blends 7

scr scr as in scrub: scrap, screen, scratch. Three sounds in a row: s, k, r.
shr shr as in shrimp: shrub, shred, shrink. Three letters but two sounds: sh, then r.
spl spl as in splash: split, splat, splinter. Three sounds in a row: s, p, l.
spr spr as in spring: spray, sprint, sprout. Three sounds in a row: s, p, r.
squ squ as in squid: squash, square, squeak. Three sounds in a row: s, k, w.
str str as in street: strap, string, strong. Three sounds in a row: s, t, r.
thr thr as in three: throw, thread, throat. Three letters but two sounds: th, then r.

Ending blends 8

ft ft as in gift: left, soft, raft. Hold the f, then end on a clipped t.
ld ld as in cold: gold, held, child. The vowel before it is often long: old, wild.
lk lk as in milk: silk, elk, bulk. Both sounds are heard, l then k.
lt lt as in belt: melt, salt, quilt. Hold the l, then end on a clipped t.
mp mp as in lamp: jump, camp, stamp. Hum the m, then close on the p.
nd nd as in hand: sand, pond, wind. Say it slowly so the n is heard before the d.
nk nk as in pink: bank, sink, trunk. Before k the n says ng, so pink ends ng, k.
nt nt as in tent: ant, hunt, plant. Say it slowly so the n is heard before the t.

Silent e 5

a_e a_e as in cake: bake, game, late. Silent e makes the a long: rat turns into rate.
e_e e_e as in theme: these, eve, scene. Silent e makes the e long: pet turns into Pete.
i_e i_e as in bike: hike, time, five. Silent e makes the i long: fin turns into fine.
o_e o_e as in bone: cone, rope, home. Silent e makes the o long: cod turns into code.
u_e u_e as in cube: cute, mule, use. Cut turns into cute. It says oo in rule and flute.

Long vowel teams 12

ai ai as in rain: tail, wait, aim. Long a, but not at the end of a word. Said breaks the pattern.
ay ay as in play: day, say, tray. Long a at the end of a word.
ea ea as in leaf: eat, sea, team. It says short e in bread and head, long a in great.
ee ee as in tree: see, feet, sleep. Two of the same letter, one long e sound.
ew ew as in chew: grew, flew, crew. It says you in few and nephew.
ey ey as in key: money, monkey, valley. It says long a in they and obey.
ie ie as in pie: tie, lie, cried. It says long e in field and chief.
igh igh as in night: high, light, right. Three letters, one sound: long i.
oa oa as in boat: coat, road, soap. Long o, mostly inside a word.
oe oe as in toe: doe, hoe, goes. Long o at the end. Shoe and does break the pattern.
ow ow as in snow: low, grow, yellow. It also says ow as in cow, now and down.
ue ue as in blue: glue, true, clue. It says you in cue, rescue and argue.

Other vowel teams 7

au au as in haul: sauce, launch, August. It rarely ends a word; aw does that job.
aw aw as in saw: paw, claw, yawn, crawl. The same sound as au.
oi oi as in coin: oil, boil, point. Used at the start or inside a word.
oo Long oo as in moon: zoo, food, spoon. Short oo as in book, foot, good.
ou ou as in cloud: out, house, loud. A tricky team: soup, touch and four all differ.
oy oy as in toy: boy, joy, enjoy. The same sound as oi, mostly at the end of a word.
ui ui as in fruit: suit, juice, cruise. It says short i in build.

Vowel plus r 9

air air as in chair: hair, pair, stairs. The same sound as are in care.
ar ar as in car: park, star, farm. After w it says or: war, warm.
are are as in care: share, scare, square. The word are on its own says ar.
ear ear as in hear: near, fear, dear. It says air in bear and pear, er in earth and learn.
er er as in her: fern, term, sister. The same sound as ir and ur.
ir ir as in bird: girl, shirt, first. The same sound as er and ur.
or or as in corn: fork, horn, short. After w it says er: word, work, worm.
ore ore as in more: store, score, shore. The same sound as or.
ur ur as in burn: turn, hurt, nurse. The same sound as er and ir.

How this list was compiled: Own work: the sets, key words, word lists and notes were written for this site. Facts checked on 2026-09-18. Digraphs, blends, x as k plus s and qu as k plus w, vowel teams, long vowel spellings, vowel plus r, silent e, and ck, tch and dge after a short vowel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonics. Starting with s, a, t, p, i, n and teaching sounds, not letter names: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_phonics. Hard and soft c and g: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_and_soft_C and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_and_soft_G. wh said like w by most American speakers, and as h in who: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8wh%E2%9F%A9. ch as k in school and sh in machine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch_%28digraph%29. Silent k, g, w and b in kn, gn, wr and mb, and when the k and w were last sounded: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonant_clusters. n as ng before k, doubled consonants after a short vowel, and the several sounds of ou, ow, ea, ie, ew, ue, ui and oo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_orthography. Silent e pairs (rat and rate, fin and fine, cod and code, cut and cute) and u_e as oo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_e. Which grade meets which set follows the Common Core Reading Foundational Skills standards RF.K.3, RF.1.3 and RF.2.3, read in the CCSSO copy at https://learning.ccsso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ELA_Standards1.pdf. Spellings checked against a standard English word list. Licence: own work

How it works

These phonics flashcards put one spelling on the front, such as s, sh, str or igh. The back gives a key word, more words like it, and the catch to watch for. The 112 cards come in 14 one-sheet sets and open on Letters 1.

Read the full guide

14 sets, from single letters to vowel plus r

Three sets are letters and sounds cards for the 26 letters, starting with s, a, t, p, i, n. Many synthetic phonics programs teach those six first because they make words fast: sat, pin, tap. Then come digraphs, doubled and silent letters, five sets of blends, silent e, two sets of vowel teams, and vowel plus r. Pick the chip for this week's lesson.

Print one set, double-sided

Choose a set under Show only, turn a card, then press the first Print button: one page of fronts and one of backs on Letter or A4. Print double-sided, flipped on the long edge: the rows of backs are mirrored, so ship lands behind sh. The whole deck is 10 sheets. No two-sided printer? The fold-over button sets each back beside its front. Choose Missed to print only the cards a student got wrong.

Say the sound, not the letter name: mmm, not em. Keep t, p and b clipped, with no uh on the end.
Lay a known set out to build words. Letters 1 alone makes sat, pin, map, dip, sand, mist and stamp.
The th, oo, ow and ea cards name two sounds on the back. Teach the first. Add the second when a book brings it up.

Questions and answers

What order should phonics sounds be taught in?

Single letters first, starting with s, a, t, p, i, n, then digraphs, blends, silent e, vowel teams and vowel plus r. Letters are kindergarten work, digraphs and silent e first grade, teams such as ou and ear second grade. Your program's order wins.

Why is there no picture on the cards?

The front shows only the spelling, because the card's job is to tie those letters to a sound. The cards carry no pictures at present. If your program uses picture cues, draw one on the back beside the key word.

What is the difference between a digraph and a blend?

A digraph is two letters that spell one sound, such as sh in ship. In a blend each letter keeps its own sound: b then l in black, or s, t, r in street. The deck has one digraph set and five blend sets.