Teaching phonics skills like the hard C and soft C sounds can be a thrilling journey for young learners as they unlock more phonics skills. Just think–now the word “circle” makes sense! It can feel tricky to teach, so let’s dive into an explicit explanation of how to teach each of these phonics skills. I also will share some teacher-tested activities for hard C soft C rules practice.
Phonics instruction is a cornerstone of early literacy development as we know thanks to the Science of Reading research. It’s one of the five pillars of reading instruction. We also know that our phonics instruction must be explicit. That means we can’t assume any child will pick up on the phonics skill simply by being exposed to it. Just because we read the word “circle” doesn’t mean they will pick up on the fact that the letter C is making two different sounds.
Teaching phonics provides students with the tools to decode and encode words accurately, leading to improved reading fluency, comprehension, and spelling skills.
Begin by explaining the rules of hard C soft C to students.
Use visual aids such as sound wall cards to illustrate examples of words with hard and soft C sounds.
Prepare a set of word cards with examples of hard C and soft C sounds. Have students sort the cards into two categories: hard C and soft C. This is a great activity to do whole group. You really want the kids sounding out the words. Point them back to the rules so they know which sound to try! Encourage them to say the sounds aloud as they sort and discuss why certain words belong in each category.
You can find MORE phonics sorts HERE in our monthly shared reading poem sets.
Once you have all practiced together, now it’s time to practice with you near to help guide them. This activity is great whole group, where they can individually build their own words or in small groups.
Provide magnetic letters or letter tiles for students to build words with hard and soft C sounds. Call out words like “cat,” “cup,” “cent,” and “city.” Encourage students to sound out each letter and identify whether the C is hard or soft in each word.
Once you feel like you have provided enough explicit instruction and your readers have a good grasp of the hard c soft c rules, let them try something independently.
Grab this FREE cut-and-paste worksheet featuring words with hard and soft C sounds. Students will cut out the words and glue them under the correct column for hard or soft C. This hands-on activity also reinforces visual recognition of C sounds in words.
You can find similar cut and paste phonics sorts HERE.
When you are ready to work on fluency, give them exposure to words with BOTH sounds. This is a great way for them to continue practice decoding and build their accuracy and automaticity. You can do several words on a strip or a sentence that has both sounds included.
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Phonics can feel tricky and like there are so many rules to keep up with. By providing explicit instruction for hard C soft C rules, and engaging activities, you will help students master this important phonics skill with confidence. Don’t forget to download the FREE resources now to enhance your phonics instruction and support students where they are!
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I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your students love and that are easy to implement for teachers. Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, you’ll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!
