The more advanced children become at reading, the more complex certain phonics rules become. It can be frustrating (not to mention confusing) when kids learn core phonics rules only to encounter situations when there’s a different, more complex rule that may have exceptions. This is because the English language has a deep orthography. This means there are many different pronunciations for the same spelling patterns. The orthographic complexity of the English language shows the importance of studying complex phonics rules.
As a parent or educator, understanding the complex and unusual rules in phonics can help you support your child as they strengthen their reading and writing skills. Continued phonics education builds kids’ fluency and comprehension while empowering them with the literacy skills they need for life.
To better guide your student or child through more advanced learning, here are some of the most common “tricky” phonics rules to understand.
1. Rules of the Schwa Sound (ə)
“Schwa” is the name for a special speech sound in the English language. It’s the most common vowel sound we use, although not the most common vowel letter. Therefore, it’s often a big source of confusion when kids try to read and spell on their own.
- Schwa Rule #1: The schwa sounds like a lazier version of the soft /ŭ/. Examples: ‘the,’ ‘away,’ ‘of,’ ‘if,’ and ‘‘animal’.
- Schwa Rule #2: It can be represented by any vowel letter (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y) or no letter at all (for example, the sound before <m> in ‘rhythm’).
- Schwa Rule #3: In some cases, -or and -ar may say a schwa sound, /er/. Example: ‘factory,’ and ‘dollar’.
Fun fact: the schwa sound gets even more attention in phonics instruction of different dialects, such as Australian, British, or Caribbean English.
2. Diphthongs
Diphthong means “two sounds”. It is when two adjacent vowels in a syllable make new sounds. A diphthong starts out as one vowel sound and glides into another vowel sound. The two most common diphthongs in the English language are the /oi/ sound in ‘boy’ or ‘coin’ and the /ou/ sound, like in ‘cloud’ and ‘cow’. Once children get to a certain place in their reading ability, model the sounds these vowels make when they are together and practice sounding out words with these sounds.
Diphthongs are a rather complex aspect of speech and phonics as they vary greatly depending on which dialect is being used. For example, British English and Australian English are different from each other, and each of the two dialects is much different than American or Canadian English.
3. Homophones
Homophones are a fun rule in phonics. When two or more words share the same pronunciation but are made up of different spellings and contain different meanings, that’s a homophone.
Common examples of homophones include:
- To / Too / Two
- Their / There / They’re
- Hole / Whole
- Bare / Bear
- Sight / Site
- Flour / Flower
- No / Know
- Right / Write
Teaching homophones can be tricky! Several phonics activities can help students remember which words are which.
4. The Floss or FLSZ Rule
If a single syllable, short-vowel word ends with the letter <f>, <l>, <s>, or <z>, the final consonant letter is often doubled. The word ‘FLoSS’ is a mnemonic to help remember which letters need to be doubled.
Examples: ‘pill,’ ‘fuss,’ ‘buzz,’ ‘fluff,’ and ‘mess.’
Fun Fact: The word ‘gas’ is an exception to this rule, as it is a shortened version of the full word ‘gasoline’.
5. Vowel-Consonant-e (VCe)
For the VCe rule, when a vowel is followed by a consonant and then <e>, the vowel usually makes a long sound while the <e> remains silent.
Examples: ‘cake,’ ‘mate,’ ‘rake,’ ‘shine,’ ‘stripe,’ and ‘write.’
6. Soft C and Soft G
When the letters <c> or <g> are followed by the vowels <e>, <i>, or <y>, the consonants make their soft sounds: /s/ for <c> and /j/ for <g>.
Examples: ‘cent,’ ‘gem,’ ‘circle,’ ‘gym,’ and ‘cereal.’
7. Hard C and Hard G
Conversely, when the letters <c> and <g> are followed by the vowels <a>, <o>, or <u>, they make their hard sounds: /k/ for <c> and /g/ for <g>.
Examples: ‘game,’ ‘gut,’ ‘cup,’ ‘cow,’ and ‘cat.’
8. R-Controlled Vowels
When the letter <r> follows a vowel, it changes how the vowel is pronounced. Examples of R-controlled vowels include /ar/ in ‘cart,’ /er/ in ‘fern,’ /ir/ in ‘third,’ /or/ in ‘born,’ and /ur/ in ‘burnt.’
9. Longer Spelling After a Short Vowel
How do you know when to use -ch or -tch for the /ch/ sound? When should someone use -k or -ck for the end sound, /k/? Or what about -dge vs. -ge end-spelling?
Remember: Use the longer spelling option (-ck, -tch, -dge) if the sound is directly after a short vowel sound.
Whenever you hear the /ch/ sound at the end of a word (or syllable) and that sound follows a short vowel sound, use -tch. For example: ‘switch’, ‘botch’, ‘fetch’, and ‘latch.’
Conversely, in the words ‘couch,’ ‘finch,’ ‘church,’ ‘each,’ etc., the /ch/ sound follows a consonant, long vowel sound, or diphthong. These words use -ch instead of -tch.
The same rule applies to -ck vs. -k (‘snack’ vs. ‘shark’) and -dge vs. -ge (‘dodge’ vs. ‘cage’).
10. When “S” Sounds Like /Z/
In the English language, the letter <s> represents the /z/ sound 70% of the time!
When there are two vowels “sandwiching” the letter <s> in a word, the letter <s> is often pronounced /z/.
Examples: ‘use,’ ‘music,’ ‘rose,’ ‘lose,’ ‘excuse,’ ‘those,’ and ‘these.’
The <s> as /z/ rule also applies when it indicates a plural of a word that ends in -ss (‘crosses’), -sh (‘wishes’), -ch (‘benches’), -o (‘videos’), -x (‘boxes), and -z (‘fizzes’).
Another rule that can apply for <s> as /z/ is when <s> appears before or after a voiced consonant. For example: ‘bags,’ ‘gums,’ ‘toys,’ or ‘spasm,’ ‘wisdom,’ and ‘cosmic.’
How to Learn (or Teach!) More Advanced Phonics Rules
Whether you need to brush up on your advanced phonics rules or you’re trying to find creative ways to teach these rules in a classroom, phonics.org will walk you through it.
Start by exploring our helpful resources for teachers and tips for parents. We also recommend taking a look at our phonics program reviews for extra insight!
