Phase 2 · Set 5
Sounds: h b f ff l ll ss
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
hat
bus
leg
bell
Tap to blend
Tap a letter to hear its sound. Tap the play button to blend the sounds into a word.
Read it
The big hen sat on a hill.
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
- h (/h/): Open mouth and breathe out, as if fogging a mirror. No voice.
- b (/b/): Like p but with your voice on. Lips together, then pop open. Keep it short.
- f (/f/): Top teeth rest on the bottom lip. Blow air through the gap. No voice.
- ff (/f/): Top teeth rest on the bottom lip. Blow air through the gap. No voice.
- l (/l/): Tongue tip stays up behind the top teeth and the voice flows round the sides of the tongue.
- ll (/l/): Tongue tip stays up behind the top teeth and the voice flows round the sides of the tongue.
- ss (/s/): Teeth almost closed, tongue behind them. Let the air hiss out. No voice, just a quiet hiss.
Tricky words in this set: of. See the tricky words page.
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.