Phonemes, graphemes and letters are all essential components children must master when learning how to read, write and spell. They can be confusing, especially since none of these skills come naturally to any learner. However, learning how to read can be very fun for children, if taught with the right tools.
To help your child learn to read, begin by practicing phonemes. Once your child understands these units of sound, he or she is ready to graduate and learn about graphemes. When your child understands graphemes and the relationship between phonemes and graphemes, he or she is not far from learning how to read.
What Is A Grapheme?
There is often some confusion about graphemes. Graphemes are made up of letters, but they are not necessarily single letters of the alphabet. The 26 letters of the alphabet are symbols we use to make written words. Letters have to do with what words look like on the page (visual), not how they sound (audio). As a result, children experience difficulty learning how to read: the letters on the page do not always sound the same when coupled with other letters. For example, the a in apple sounds very different from the a in ape, but the letter a looks the same in both words. When children are learning how to read, they need to figure out why.
Graphemes are individual letters and groups of letters that represent phonemes (the smallest units of sound that make up words). They also vary in length, from one to four letters. In a way, they are the roots of words from a sound perspective.
- Phonemes: the smallest unit of sound in language
- Ex: the sound of a in apple and the sound of a in ape are two different phonemes
- Graphemes: the smallest unit of writing to represent phonemes
- Ex: the letters pp in apple and the letters p in ape are two different graphemes
- Letters: visual symbols used to represent phonemes
- Ex: the letters a, p, l and e are all different and can represent multiple variations of sounds depending on their context
Note: To express the sound of phonemes in print, such as this article, it is contained between the / / symbol. For example, the sound of a in apple is written as /a/.
Children learning how to read are taught graphemes such as at, it, ar and or. Take the grapheme at. With this one grapheme, we can create words like:
- Bat
- Cat
- Mat
- Sat
With a longer or more complex grapheme like ight, we can create words like:
- Light
- Sight
- Night
- Might
When children become familiar with common graphemes, learning how to read becomes a much simpler and more enjoyable task. A child familiar with the grapheme ight will also know the phonemes related to it and so be able to create and recognize a multitude of words through speech, like the ones listed above, as a result. When they recognize graphemes in text, they link the sight of the grapheme to its phoneme. In doing so, they are finally learning how to read.
What Do Graphemes Have To Do With Learning How to Read?
With graphemes, memorization and practice become crucial. Since graphemes relate to sound and pronunciation, they do not always read the way letters are. For example, the grapheme at is pronounced with a short /a/ sound. In the word cat, the a is also short. However, in the word ate, the grapheme at takes another form; it is a long /ai/. Graphemes play an essential role in learning how to read, but they can be difficult, which is why it is best to practice often.
To make matters more confusing, some phonemes can have multiple graphemes. For example, the words hair and pear sound similar, with only the sound /h/ and /p/ making the words different. By sound alone, one might think hair can be spelled hear and still be correct. On the other hand, pear and pair really do sound the same while the spelling differs. For children learning how to read, these patterns can be difficult to grasp. Consequently, they later learn about homonyms in advanced phonics lessons.
The more children understand how graphemes work and see them in action, the better they understand how phonemes, graphemes and letters relate to one another. When they understand that, they also become better at reading, writing and spelling. With enough practice, students come to know that pear, pair, hair and hear are all very different words.
Learning How To Read With Graphemes
Learning how to read through graphemes is easier than it sounds. Children often pick up the practice of graphemes without even knowing that they are called “graphemes.” Additionally, because speech comes naturally to them, most children master phonemes rather quickly.
When children learn phonemes and recognize their graphemes in text, they start learning how to read. They begin to be able to know when graphemes sound differently depending on the context. Children also learn to sound out sight words, thinking back to phonemes they learned and how that sound looks on the page through graphemes.
So, a child may begin with knowing the phonemes /d/, /o/ and /g/. Remember, phonemes are only sounds, so children only know how to make these sounds with their mouths. They know that the letter d makes the /d/ sound; the letter o makes the /o/ or /oo/ sounds; and the letter g makes the /g/ sound. So, potentially the word dog has two possible outcomes. First, it can be pronounced as /d/ /o/ /g/. Or, it can be pronounced as /d/ /oo/ /g/.
If shown a picture of a dog with the letters d-o-g, they learn that in this instance, the o does not make an /oo/ sound. They know this because they do not have a doog at home, but they might have a dog. So, they learn that in this case, the o in dog is /o/ and not /oo/. This is precisely how children learn to read with phonics.
Learning How To Read with Professor Pup and Friends
Learning graphemes is an important step in learning how to read. The link between phonemes, graphemes and letters is also not an obvious one. As a result, children who want to learn to read need explicit and clear instructions.
At Professor Pup’s Academy, we make learning how to read fun with Professor Pup and his friends. For children who already know their phonemes, we recommend Pup’s Quest for Phonics. We follow Professor Pup and his friends through games, songs and dances while learning about phonemes and their corresponding graphemes. Children continually practice linking phonemes to their graphemes until they understand common patterns and combinations. In this program, children also learn to write letters, spell words and read basic sentences.
At Professor Pup, we designed our programs for parents, teachers and children alike. They require little supervision or training, so anyone can use them. Most importantly, our curriculum teaches children to read through methods backed by thorough research and science. This ensures that children learn in the most effective manner.
To implement Professor Pup at home, please visit our Home Edition page. If you are a teacher and would like a free trial to see if Professor Pup’s Academy is right for your classroom, please visit our School Edition page.