As explained on the previous page, the phonics related activities described there can be done with no special materials of any kind — just an alphabet chart you make up yourself. But you might want to consider a more systematic treatment that helps with spelling. So on this page, I’ll discuss two types of phonics materials — letter/noun charts and a sound/story system. Then I’ll explain why I recommend one over the other.
Letter/Noun Charts
Most classrooms have a letter/noun chart. It shows a letter, paired with an object that begins with that letter. For example, “A” is for “Apple,” “B” is for “Ball,” “C” is for “Cat,” and so on. This chart is good for pointing out the most common sound each letter makes.
But linguists tell us there are 44 sounds spoken in English. So with only 26 letters in the alphabet, that of course, leaves 18 of those 44 sounds unaccounted for.
In addition, learning to spell English words is already difficult — for various reasons. For instance, several sounds can be spelled by a combining letters. For instance, we have “sh,” as in “shoe,” “ch” as in “cheese,” “ing” as in “ringing,” and several more.
And as if that’snot enough, many sounds can be spelled in a variety of ways. For instance, the “Sssss” sound we hear at the beginning of “step” can be spelled with a single “S.” But it can also be spelled with a “C” as in “Central.” Further, we can spell the long vowel “Eeee” in 6 ways: even, eel, each, happy, field, and ceiling. Yet again, letter/noun charts don’t reflect any of this.
So in an attempt to help with spelling and “sounding out” words for reading, experts have created several rules. One popular one is “I before E, except after C, unless it sounds like A, as in neighbor or weigh.”
But this rule is only true about 40% of the time, and the other spelling rules also have exceptions. So to account for this, experts have developed 31 spelling rules for those writing English to learn.
I find these rules confusing and hard to remember. So instead of asking children to try to memorize and navigate all this, I used a sound/story system in my K-2 classroom. I found it very effective in allowing children to sort out and absorb these spelling options — not by memorizing them, but by repeatedly using them for spelling, while writing. (Just as they do with the complexities of speech.)
This worked very well for writing, and what they absorbed must also have helped with reading. So we look now at the features of a sound/story system and how I used the one I had.
A Sound/Story System
This type of system consists of a set of cartoons, each representing one of the sounds spoken in English. Each cartoon has someone or something making the sound, and/or it includes objects that begin with the sound. 
This image for the Nnnnn sound in this particular set is a good example. The plane and the girl are both making the Nnnnn sound, plus she’s carrying a net.
A good cartoon/story system system is hard to find. I had to make one for my K-2 classroom by tracing children’s coloring books. But recently, a member of my Facebook Group, Helping All Kids Write To Read, told me about the one I’m using here as an example. It’s well done and costs less than $15. (More later about where to find it.)
Children enjoy playing with these during phonemic awareness sessions — and easily remember them. And using them there, this system allows a child to experience and absorb all the different ways to spell the sounds used in English. It works well there and in the beginning stages of Key Words. But they are especially valuable later — for spelling.
Following is how to introduce them during a phonemic awareness activity similar to the one I outlined on the previous page.
Stories For The Sound/Story System
The adult makes up a story to go with each of the cartoons, for it has to make sense to the child(ren) using them. And what resonates with them may differ, depending on where they live.
In this cartoon, the story could be, “The insects and birds are buzzing and flying around the man, making the sound, “Nnnnn.” The girl and the airplane are making an “Nnnnn” sound, too. So he’s holding his ears and feeling a little crazy.”
After hearing the story, the children act it out while making the sound. Here they might hold their ears and pretend to duck, so they don’t get hit by the plane. Children enjoy this activity, and from then on, they easily remember the sound and story associated with that cartoon. (But not the letter yet, although some children might notice it.)
Note to parents of very young toddlers: You could use this set of charts to tell stories to your child, during the time you’re also reading their simple books. Encourage them to examine the pictures and make the sounds along with you, if they can. Then once they’re older, you could add the phonemic awareness activities to this, as described below.
Phonemic Awareness Activities
In a phonemic awareness session with the sound/story cartoons, we add having the children act out the story. So here’s how a session goes:
1) Review Sounds. Before introducing each day’s new sound, show the cartoons previously introduced. The children call out the sounds as you go. (Pictures with stories are easy for any child to remember — for both have meaning.)
2) Introduce Today’s Sound:
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- Tell the story for just ONE new cartoon a day.
- Begin with consonants. Later, do the short vowels, as in pat, pet, pit, pot, and pup. Finally, introduce the stories for the remaining charts.
- IGNORE the letter and word on the chart, for now. Here, the focus is only on distinguishing the sound itself and connecting the story to the cartoon.
3) Play With the Sound:
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- Feel the sound, as the children here are feeling how the “Nnnnn” sound vibrates their nose.
Identify whose name begins with that sound, and have the group listen as each child substitutes Today’s Sound for the beginning sound of their name. (Donny says “Nonny.”)- Identify some things that begin with the sound. This might be one of their own physical attributes, something they’re wearing, or an object in the room.
4) Place the cartoon on display with at least one object that starts with that sound. Refer to it occasionally during the day, perhaps having a child add an object to it while the others watch.
Play With Word Families (Primary)
With children in the primary grades, once you have introduced and played with all the cartoons, occasionally play with some “word families.”
Here are 37 common word families:
ack, ain, ake, ale, all, ame, an, ank, ap, ash, at, ate, aw, ay, eat, ell, est, ice, ick,
ide, ight, ill, in, ine, ing, ink, ip, it, ock, oke, op, ore, ot, uck ,ug, ump, unk.
To play with one of them, first write a couple of examples. For instance, with the “ack” family, write back. hack,
Then have the children work through the alphabet to think of a few more, as you write them on the board. Example for “ack” would be “Jack,” etc. Go on to do two or three other families a day — depending on how the group responds. Then once that’s easy, add another sound to a familiar one, as in jacket, racket, crack, etc.
I would not try to do all the families or all the words within a family. And it’s not necessarily to relate them to the cartoons. Play with just a few of word families — in brief sessions, over time. It’s not to remember all possibilities — it’s to help them develop the habit of looking for the combinations of sounds/spellings within words.
On the following page, we see how to use the Sound/Story System with Key Words and beyond. For then where it becomes an excellent resource for spelling.