Phase 3 · Set 11
Sounds: ur ow oi ear
Tap a card to hear its sound, then say it. Look at the pictures. Tap the letters to blend a word.
Listen and say
Look and say
cow
owl
coin
ear
fur
Tap to blend
Tap a letter to hear its sound. Tap the play button to blend the sounds into a word.
Read it
The owl can hear a cow in the town.
Now play
For grown-ups
What to do: let your child tap a card, listen, and say the sound back. Then look at the pictures and say each word. Finish by blending a few words and reading the sentence together. Ten minutes is plenty.
Mouth tips
- ur (/ɜː/): Lips relaxed and slightly open, tongue in the middle. A long sound, as in burn.
- ow (/aʊ/): Start with the mouth wide and slide to a round shape. As in cow.
- oi (/ɔɪ/): Start with the lips rounded and slide to a smile. As in coin.
- ear (/ɪə/): Start with a smile (ee) and relax into a soft uh. As in ear.
Follow your own programme. This order follows the general Letters and Sounds phase order (GOV.UK, 2007, now historical). Schools in England choose their own phonics programme. The DfE publishes a list of validated programmes (there is no legal requirement to use one), and each programme orders the sounds a little differently. If your school has one, practise in its order and use these pages for extra listening and reading.
More: phonics notes for parents and teachers, phonics phases explained.