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Phonics - Phonemes (Consonant and Vowel)
This quiz will test you on how much you remember about phonemes.

Phonics - Phonemes (Consonant and Vowel)

Every spoken word is built from tiny sounds called phonemes. Spotting vowel and consonant phonemes helps children blend, segment and read words like cat, bed and sun accurately.

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Fascinating Fact:

Phonemes for vowel sounds like /a/ /e/ /i/ /o/ /u/ are the stretchy middle bits in words such as cat, bed and sun.

In KS1 English Phonics, children learn to hear and say each phoneme in a word. They explore vowel phonemes and consonant phonemes, then blend and segment these sounds to read and spell more confidently.

  • Phoneme: The smallest unit of sound in a word, like /c/ /a/ /t/ in cat.
  • Vowel phoneme: A sound made with an open mouth, such as /a/ /e/ /i/ /o/ /u/.
  • Consonant phoneme: A sound made with some blocking of air, like /b/ /t/ /s/.
What is a phoneme in KS1 phonics?

In KS1 phonics, a phoneme is the smallest sound in a word. For example, the word dog has three phonemes: /d/ /o/ /g/. Children learn to hear and match these to letters.

What is the difference between vowel and consonant phonemes?

Vowel phonemes are open, stretchy sounds like /a/ and /e/. Consonant phonemes are made with lips, teeth or tongue blocking airflow, like /m/ /t/ or /f/. Words need both types.

How can I help children hear phonemes more clearly?

Say words slowly, clap or tap each sound, use simple picture cards, and ask children to jump or count for every phoneme they can hear in short, fun listening games.

1 .
How do the sounds break up in this word: 'snail'?
s + n + ai + l
sn + ai + l
s + n + a + i + l
s + n + ail
There are different types of snails: land, sea and freshwater.
2 .
How do the sounds break up in this word: 'meeting'?
m + ee + t + i + ng
m + ee + ti + ng
m + ee + t + ing
mee + t + i + ng
The 'ee' sound is also made by these vowels 'ea'.
3 .
What is a vowel phoneme?
A sound that has a consonant in it.
A sound that has a vowel in it.
A sound that has a consonant and a vowel in it.
A group of countries.
There are five vowels in the alphabet and a vowel phoneme is a sound made by just those five letters.
4 .
How do the sounds break up in this word: 'shopping'?
s + h + o + p + p + i + n + g
sh + o + p + p + i + ng
sh + op + pi + ng
sh + o + pp + i + ng
When trying to read this word we would break it up into all the small sounds like this.
5 .
What is the vowel phoneme in this word: 'apple'?
a
pp
le
e
Although the last letter of 'apple' is 'e' - that letter is linked with the 'l' making the word break up like this; 'a' + 'pp' + 'le'.
6 .
How do the sounds break up in this word: 'August'?
Aug + u + s + t
Au + g + u + s + t
Au + g + us + t
Au + gu + s + t
August is the eighth month of the year.
7 .
What is the vowel phoneme in this word: 'tree'?
tr
t
re
ee
A vowel phoneme can consist of two vowels like 'ee' or one like 'e' but they make different sounds.
8 .
What is a consonant phoneme?
A sound that has a consonant in it.
A sound that has a vowel in it.
A sound that has a consonant and a vowel in it.
A group of countries.
A consonant phoneme is a sound made by the consonant letters of the alphabet. They can be single letters like 'b' or double letters like 'mm'.
9 .
How do the sounds break up in this word: 'coins'?
c + o + i + n + s
co + i + n + s
c + oi + n + s
c + oi + ns
The sound 'oi' is the same as 'oy'.
10 .
What is the vowel phoneme in this word: 'boat'?
b
oa
t
at
There are lots of sounds that make similar sounds but are spelt differently - unfortunately, some sounds can only be learnt by memorising them.
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Graphemes

Author:  Finola Waller (MEd, Primary School Teacher & KS1 English Quiz Writer)

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