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Learn the 70 Phonograms

Phonograms are the letters and letter groups that stand for the sounds in English words. A common phonics chart lists 70 of them, and knowing them well helps with both reading and spelling.

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The 70 phonograms, in five groups

• Single letters (26). b, c, d, f, g and the rest of the alphabet, including the different sounds some letters can make, plus the vowels a, e, i, o and u.
• Digraphs (7). Two letters that make one sound: sh, ch, th, wh, ph, ck and ng.
• Vowel teams (18). Vowel pairs and groups such as ee, ea, ai, oa, oo and ow.
• Bossy R (7). Vowels that change when an r follows: ar, or, er, ir, ur, ear and wor.
• Silent and tricky (12). Spellings that hide sounds or break the usual rules, such as kn, wr, igh, dge and ough.

How the practice works

Your child hears a sound, then spells it. Many of the sounds are recordings of a real person, with a computer voice filling in the rest, and some phonograms have more than one sound, so the practice covers each one. You can practice one group at a time, take a quick practice of 15 random phonograms, or work through all 70.

Tips for learning them

• Start with the single letters, then the digraphs, and add the vowel teams when your child is ready.
• Little and often. Five to ten minutes a day sticks better than a long session once a week.
• Say the sound while writing the letters, so the sound, the shape and the hand all learn together.
• Record your own voice. In the tool you can record each sound yourself, and the practice will use your recording in place of the built-in one.

Free and private

There is no sign-up and no ads. Settings and any recordings you make stay on your own device and are never uploaded. You can choose which computer voice speaks, from the voices already on your device.

Also see: weekly spelling practice, handwriting practice, and math practice.

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