Saxon Phonics Coding Help & Hints!

The following rules will help your child code and read the words introduced in our Saxon Phonics program. Please always have your child read the words we code and write in school on the worksheet side of the paper before he/she completes the homework side of his/her paper. Saxon Phonics is a wonderful way to learn to read, however your child must pay attention to all our lessons to absorb all the material taught during the school year. We review a lot in school to practice all the sounds and words.  Your help and encouragement at home is greatly appreciated and will help turn your child into a confident and happy reader!
 
V means vowel                                C means consonant

Spelling with c and k: Use the letter "k" before the letters e, i, or y.  (kept, kite, sky).
Use the letter "c" before the letters a, o, u, or any consonant. (cape, coat, cup, club) ( code the "c" with a K-back).
Use the letters "ck" after a short vowel. (back, neck, pick, rock, luck) (underline the "ck" digraph and code the "c" silent).
Use the letter "k" after a consonant or vowel digraph.  (milk, bank, look, week).
Use the letters "ke" after a long vowel.  (bake, like, duke)  (silent the "e").
Use the letter "c" at the end of a word that has two or more syllables.  (magic, picnic, fantastic) (code the "c" with a K-back).

Vowel Patterns: The breaking of a word into syllables to make coding and pronunciation easier.
VCCV means a word has two vowels, so it has two syllables. You find the vowel pattern and draw the syllable line between the two consonants. Then code each syllable.  happy, kitten, invite, penny, inject.

Digraph: Two letters that come together to make one sound. Digraphs are always underlined and then coded.  Consonant digraphs are: ck, th, ng, sh, ch, ph
Vowel digraphs:  Long "a" vowel digraphs are: ay (hay, day), ai (rain, nail), ea (steak, break), ei(veil) 
Long "e" vowel digraphs are:  ee (sheep, see), ea (leaf, meat), ey (key, money), ie (shield, field), ei (receipt)
Long "i" vowel digraph is:  ie (pie, tie)
Long "o" vowel digraphs are: ow (snow, grow), oa (soap, road)
Long "u" vowel digraph is: ue (glue, blue)
Short "e" vowel digraph is: ea (thread, feather)
Short "o" vowel digraphs are: au (faucet, August), aw (straw, lawn)

Floss Rule: The letters "f", "l", and "s" are doubled after a short vowel in a one-syllable root word.  (puff, stiff   hill, doll   boss, miss).

Final Stable Syllable: A syllable the occurs at the end of a word frequently enough to be considered stable. The final stable syllable is coded first with a bracket (code the "e" silent ) and then code the first syllable of the word.
[ble table,  [cle uncle,   [dle candle,  [fle ruffle,  [gle goggle,  [kle buckle,  [ple staple,  [sle hassle,
[tle battle,  [zle puzzle,  [tion motion,  [sion  mansion, television,  [ture  picture.


Vowel "y": The letter "y" can act like a vowel at the end of a word. 
When "y" sounds like a long "i", it is at the end of a one syllable word. It is coded with a dot and a macron.  (cry, my, shy)
When "y" sounds like a long "e", it is at the end of a two syllable word and is coded with a dot.  (baby, happy, silly)
When "y" is an ending it will make the long "e" sound. You box the ending -y, then code the root word.   (sunny, rainy, cloudy).


Combinations: Two letters that come together to make an unexpected vowel or consonant sound are combinations. Code combinations with an arc under the letters. "ar" (jar, card), "er" (fern, her), "ir" (bird, shirt), "or" (for, horse), "ur" (turtle, hurt), "qu" (quit, quack), "wh" (whale, white).

Voiced sounds: They are sounds that require the use of your vocal cords; a vibration is felt. The letters are coded with a line through them.  as, his ( the s /z/)   that, this ( the th is voiced).

Endings/Suffix: A letter or group of letters added to a root word. You must always box endings first, and then code the root word.   mix+-ing= mixing,  cat+-s=cats,   help+-ed=helped,   look+-s=looks,               box+-es=boxes,   soap+-y=soapy,   slow+-ly=slowly,   good+-ness=goodness,   home+-less=homeless

Trigraph: Three letters that come together to make one vowel or consonant sound are called trigraphs. They are underlined and some letters are marked silent.  "igh" makes the long "i" sound (high, sight),  "tch" makes the "ch" sound at the end of a word and comes after a short vowel  (catch, stretch),  "dge" makes the "g" sound at the end of a word and comes after a short vowel  (edge, bridge).

Compound Words: Two words that come together to make one word is called a compound word. You are to divide the word in half with a division line and then code each word using the phonics rules.   (backpack, doghouse, bedroom, afternoon).
 
Spelling with final "s": Use "ss" after a short vowel. Code the second "s" silent.  (pass, dress, miss, boss, fuss).
Use "ce" after a long vowel. Code the "c" with the cedilla marking and the "e" silent.  (face, niece, nice).
Use "se" after a consonant or two vowels. Code the "e" silent.  (purse, mouse, loose, horse).