What are Consonant Letter Sounds?

What are Consonant Sounds?
Consonant sounds are the sounds made by consonant letters. Learning these sounds helps us read and spell words. Let’s explore how consonants sound in words!

Identify the Consonant Sound

  • What Are Consonant Sounds?
    Consonants are the letters in the alphabet that aren’t vowels (A, E, I, O, U). Each consonant makes its own sound.
  • How to Identify Consonant Sounds:
    Listen to the word and find the consonant sound.
    • Example: In the word “bat”, the consonant sounds are /b/ and /t/.

Match the Consonant Sound to the Picture

  • Recognizing Consonant Sounds with Pictures:
    Look at a picture and think of the word. Listen for the consonant sounds.
  • Example:
    • Picture of a dog. The consonant sounds are /d/ and /g/.
    • Picture of a fish. The consonant sounds are /f/ and /sh/.

Consonant Sounds in Words

  • Finding Consonant Sounds in Words:
    Words have consonants at the beginning, middle, or end. Listen for the sounds.
  • Example:
    • In the word “frog”, the consonant sounds are /f/, /r/, and /g/.
    • In the word “sand”, the consonant sounds are /s/, /n/, and /d/.

Beginning and Ending Consonant Sounds

  • What are Beginning and Ending Consonant Sounds?
    Some consonant sounds are at the start of a word, and others are at the end.
  • Examples:
    • Beginning Consonant Sound: In the word “sun”, the beginning sound is /s/.
    • Ending Consonant Sound: In the word “hat”, the ending sound is /t/.

Consonant Blends and Digraphs

  • What are Consonant Blends?
    A consonant blend is when two consonants come together and you can hear both sounds.
    • Example: In “bl” (like in “blue”), you can hear both /b/ and /l/.
  • What are Consonant Digraphs?
    A consonant digraph is when two consonants come together to make one new sound.
    • Example: In “sh” (like in “ship”), the two letters make the /sh/ sound.