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When children begin learning to read, parents can quickly encounter a whole new set of terms: phoneme, grapheme, blending, CVC, digraph, decodable words and high-frequency words.
Understanding these terms can make it easier to follow what your child is learning and why their reading program follows a particular sequence.
Phonics
Phonics is the relationship between the sounds in spoken language and the letters or groups of letters used to represent those sounds in writing. Children use this knowledge to read and spell words.
Phoneme
A phoneme is the smallest individual sound in a spoken word.
For example, cat has three phonemes: /c/ /a/ /t/. In ship, there are four letters but three phonemes (sounds): /sh/ /i/ /p/.
Grapheme
A grapheme is a letter or group of letters used to represent a sound.
For example:
m – /m/
sh – /sh/
igh – the sound in night
Children gradually learn that the same sound can sometimes be represented in different ways.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and work with individual sounds in spoken words. For example, a child might identify the first sound in map or say the separate sounds in sun.
It is different from phonics because it involves spoken sounds without needing to see letters.
Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness is the broader ability to notice and work with the sound structure of spoken language, including words, syllables, rhyme and individual phonemes. Phonemic awareness is one part of phonological awareness.
Blending and Segmenting
Blending means putting individual sounds together to read a word:
c – a – t → cat
t – r – a – m → tram
Segmenting is breaking a word into its individual sounds:
cat → c – a – t
Blending is important for reading, while segmenting is particularly useful for spelling.
CVC Words
CVC stands for consonant-vowel-consonant.
Examples include cat, dog, sun, map and sit. CVC words are commonly introduced early in systematic phonics because they allow children to practise blending simple sound-letter relationships.
You may also come across VC words, such as at, in and up.
Digraphs and Trigraphs
A digraph is two letters that work together to represent one sound.
sh – ship
ch – chip
ay – day
A trigraph is three letters that work together to represent one sound.
igh – night
tch – match
High-Frequency Words
High-frequency words are words that appear often in written language, such as the, was, said, have, you, they, come and one.
Many high-frequency words are not easily decoded using the phonics patterns a child has learned. A systematic phonics program explicitly teaches common, irregular words alongside decodable words. Common words that children learn to recognise quickly without decoding are sometimes referred to as sight words.
Consonant Blends or Clusters
Consonant blends are two or more consonants that appear together in a word, with each letter making its own sound.
st – stop → /s/ /t/
mp – bump → /m/ /p/
A blend is different from a digraph. In a blend, you can hear both sounds, whereas a digraph such as sh represents one sound.
Decoding and Encoding
Decoding means using knowledge of letters and sounds to read a word. For example, a child who recognises sh, i and p in ship and blends the sounds is decoding.
Encoding is using sounds and their corresponding letters to spell a word. For example, a child hears map, identifies /m/ /a/ /p/ and writes the corresponding letters.
Decodable Words and Readers
A decodable word is a word that can be read using the phonics knowledge a child has already been taught.
Decodable readers are books designed to give children practice with the letter-sound patterns they have learned. They follow a planned sequence, gradually introducing more complex patterns as children's phonics knowledge develops.
Systematic Phonics
Systematic phonics means teaching phonics in a planned sequence rather than introducing sounds and spelling patterns randomly.
Children learn sound-letter relationships, practise using them to read and spell words, and then build on that knowledge as new patterns are introduced.
Why Do These Terms Matter?
Understanding the basic terms can make it easier to see how the different parts of learning to read fit together.
Children learn about the sounds in spoken language, connect those sounds to letters, practise blending to read and segmenting to spell, and gradually build their knowledge of increasingly complex spelling patterns.
A clear, cumulative sequence helps children build on what they already know as they develop their reading and spelling skills.
If you’re looking for a structured way to put these principles into practice,explore the Fitzroy Program range of phonics literacy resources.
Learn More About Phonics
Writing starts with more than letters.
Before children learn to write, they are developing the hand strength, coordination and pencil control needed for handwriting through drawing, playdough, cutting, construction, craft and everyday activities.
This blog looks at simple ways to develop these skills and introduce pre-writing activities without turning the preschool years into handwriting lessons.
Teaching your child to read at home doesn’t have to be complicated.
A structured phonics approach gives you a clear path to follow, while decodable readers give your child the opportunity to practise the sounds and skills they are learning.
Discover practical, evidence-based ways to help children develop a lifelong love of reading and writing at home or in the classroom.
