[Upbeat instrumental music]
Hello and welcome to Little Learners. In today's video we are looking at phonics and specifically
sound buttons and how we can use these to help children learn to read. So what are sound buttons?
Sound buttons are symbols that help us to break up a word and understand how many different sounds
are in that word. Each symbol represents one sound - so one unit of sound - there are really three main
symbols that you need to know about. The first is a 'dot', the second is a 'dash' and the third is this
kind of curved shape. Sometimes sound buttons are referred to as dots and dashes. So if we're looking
at the dot symbol, this is for any sound that is represented by one letter. So for example if we
look at the word 'cat', we have c-a-t so each of those sounds has its own sound button and that's a dot
because it's represented by one letter each. So c-a-t and then of course we can blend those sounds
together to form the word 'cat'. If we're looking at the dashes, these are for any sounds that are
represented by two or more letters. So for example if we think of the sound 'sh' which is one sound that's
represented by two letters, that would have a dash underneath it. If we think of the sound 'igh
which is represented by an I G and an H that would also have a line or a dash underneath it because
it's one sound that's being represented by more than one letter. As a side note, sounds that are
represented by two letters are called digraphs, sounds that are represented by three letters are
called trigraphs, and sounds that are represented by four letters are called quadgraphs. But we
don't need to get into that too much today, I just thought I'd add that in there. So we have our dots
and we have our dashes. So if we have a look at what dots and dashes look like in a word then
we can look at the word 'chip'. So here we have a C and an H which come together to make the 'ch' sound.
So that has a line under it - a dash - then we have the individual letters that make a sound each so
we have ch-i-p and you can do this with your fingers with children as well, so
ch-i-p chip. Then we come to the kind of curved shape or the curved dash if you want to call it that.
This is for a split diagraph. Split digraphs are when two letters are representing one sound but
they are split up by another letter. So let me show you what that looks like in a word.
So for example if we look at the word 'cake' we have 'c' then to make the 'A' sound we have an
A and an E at the end there, they are working together to make an 'A' sound. So sometimes that
is called the 'magic e' - putting a magic e on the end of a word because without that E the A would
make an 'a' sound but with that E together they make an 'A' sound so we have that curved symbol
there reminding us that those two letters are working together to make one sound. So we have
c-A-k cake. So let's recap on those three symbols: we have dots for sounds that are represented
by one letter such as 'a' or 't', we have a dash or a line for sounds that are represented
by more than one letter, so maybe a 'sh' or an 'igh' and then we have our curved line which is
for split digraphs such as a_e in cake or o_e in mode. Let's take a look at some more examples
of words using all of these symbols. So let's look at the word 'shine'. We have a line under 'sh',
and then a curved line under i_e for that I and E working together to make the i_e sound and a
dot under the 'n' because that is one sound being represented by one letter. So we have 'sh-i_e-n' shine.
Let's look at a few more words and you can have a go at putting the sound buttons on
there yourself before I reveal them to you. Feel free to pause the video after each word if you
want to have a go and play yourself at home.
'Tap.' What sound buttons do we need to use for this word?
t-a-p.
We're putting a dot under each letter. t-a-p.
'Church'. What sound buttons do we need for this word?
ch-ur-ch. Church. We have a line under 'ch', a line under 'ur' and another line under 'ch'. So we
have three lines here because we have three sounds. ch-ur-ch. Church.
'Poke'. What sound buttons do we need under this word?
p-o_e-k. Poke. We have a dot under 'p', a curved line under 'o_e' and a dot under 'k'.
p-o_e-k. Poke.
Let's look at the word 'teach'. What sound buttons do we need for this word?
t-ea-ch. Teach. A dot under 't', a line under 'ea' and a line under 'ch'.
We have three different sounds in this word. Let's have a look at one more word.
'Chime'. What sound buttons do we need under this word?
ch-i_e-m. Chime we have a line under 'ch',
a curved line connecting the I and the E together to make i_e and a dot under the 'm'.
I hope you found this video helpful, if you did please give it a like as it really helps out
the channel and lets me know that you find these videos helpful. If you're not already
subscribed I would really appreciate it if you would also click that subscribe button,
join the Little Learners family and see more videos just like this. If you have any
questions about sound buttons or anything Early Years related at all do let me know in
the comments section down below. Thank you so much for watching and I will see you next time.
[Upbeat instrumental music]