Jolly Phonics Tricky Words for Kids and how to teach them

Is it tough for you to teach your child the basic English alphabet? If yes, try making them learn through the sound of letters so that when they hear a sound, they can guess the letter. This is the straightforward concept of Jolly phonics. The Jolly Phonics method is used in over 100 countries to teach students English and has existed for the last 25 years.

A teacher at first teach children the sound of a letter and then how to write it. Hence, the sound of a letter comes first and the writing comes later. Have a look at our previous blog to understand the concept of jolly phonics better. Now let’s have a look at the relation between Jolly Phonics and tricky words.

1) What is the Jolly Phonic technique?

There are 43 letter-based sounds in total but only 26 letters in the English alphabet. Then you may wonder, why are there 42 letter sounds? This is because certain sounds are diagraphs; a combination of two letters representing one sound, as in ey and ph. One letter does not produce the sound, but the combination of two letters does. For instances of such sounds as “or” or “ee”.

How is this learned? Children learn actions for every sound. Post that, they learn the letter through sound and action. Slowly and over time, the child forgets the action and only remembers the sound. Hence, when a word is told to the child, he can come up with its letters.

With the Jolly Phonics technique, children learn six sounds in groups of eleven; this includes both single letter sounds and two letter sounds. The children are narrated stories and songs to co-relate the actions and sounds for every letter. For instance, when the child learns the letter “I”, they have to produce the sound “I”. This can be the sound of a mouse, so when the child learns to produce the sound of a mouse for the letter “I”. Most children learn the 42 letter sounds over nine weeks.

Read: What is Jolly Phonics and Five Core Jolly Phonics Skills?

2) What are some tricky words in Jolly Phonics for kids?

Children are introduced to words in groups so they can learn new words in a group based on what was taught in the earlier group. Here are a couple of examples of tricky words:

1. The
2. I
3. She
4. He
5. We
6. Be
7. Me
8. Was
9. Of
10. Do
11. To

Once the child learns these, they can move ahead.

3) How to learn Jolly Phonics tricky words?

Learning Jolly Phonics tricky words is not that difficult. You child can easily learn these words by:

• Drawing in the air: Drawing in the air is the easiest way to learn the letters. The teacher hides the word with her hand, and if you have drawn it correctly, the teacher will know you have understood it. This approach is known as the Look, Cover, Write and Check method.
• Teacher says them: The children can listen to the teacher when she says the words. This way, the children can grasp the letters of the word.
• Via a saying: The teacher will tell the children a saying and then note down the initials in the letters of the words in the saying. These initials are the same as the letters of the word. Quite easy, isn’t it?

4) 5 ways to teach your kids Jolly Phonic words:

Children don’t learn the letters as they appear in the alphabet (a, s, t, i, p, n) is taught first as you can write many words of three letters with it. Some of the sounds can be produced via different letters. For instance, the sounds “ai”, “ae”, and “ay” all consist of the sound “ai”. However, kids will be taught only one letter combination to produce this sound.

Moreover, children learn one letter per day, i.e. one sound. The teacher introduces a letter to the student and asks them to create a matching action and sound.

• Writing

The child has now started identifying letters through their sounds, so the next step is to start writing them. It’s time for them to grab a pencil between their thumb and the first two fingers of the right or left hand respectively.

To teach a child how to write, he is first shown how to hold a pencil in his hand, and the first letter he is taught to write is “o”. In this case, the child is taught to draw a circle in an anti-clockwise direction. The next letter taught to them is the letter “d”. In this case, the child uses the pencil to make the circle in an anti-clockwise position and then draws the line in the letter.

• Blending

Credit: Epic Phonics

The next step in teaching your kids phonic words is to teach them how to read the words and their letters. This process is called blending. Children start combining the sounds to form new words. So they use these sounds of different letters to say a word.

• Segmenting

Credit: Read Like a Rock Star

Segmenting is a different procedure in which kids learn how to write words and they can easily write the letters as they know the sounds of the letters.

• Tricky Words

In tricky words, the sounds don’t match their spellings. For instance, there is the word “who” has just two sounds, wherein “w” is silent. Thus, children usually find difficulties in saying this word. They tend to mix the sounds of “w”, “h”, and “o”, which is wrong. Moreover, they can’t write the word and will write it as “ho” and not “who”. When the children learn Jolly Phonics tricky words for kindergarteners, they easily begin reading books. They can be taught the 72 tricky words via fun activities like worksheets, reading, finding, and writing down the words.

Further reading: 20+ Phonic activities and games for early readers.

• Sight Words

Sight words are tricky words in phonics as well. To be able to read or write them, a student has to be able to draw them in the air.

5) How effective are Jolly Phonic words?

The method is highly effective as various studies have shown that students have better spelling, writing, and reading skills. It is effective for kids between 18 months to 7 years. It is a fun way of learning and helps kids develop a love for the language.

6) What are the advantages of learning Jolly Phonic words?

The Jolly Phonic method entails breaking down complicated words into constituent pieces. This helps children to develop the capacity to interpret letter sounds. As a result, they acquire a skill that comes in handy when learning new concepts during reading.

Jolly phonic words are a great approach to teaching children between the ages of 4 to 7. However, it is not only beneficial for kids but also for Jolly Phonics teachers. It has been shown to improve reading skills and literacy among children worldwide.

Conclusion

Jolly phonics can help your children do wonders and learn to read and write English fluently. They’ll build a good vocabulary and know the basics of every word. So enroll your child in phonics classes for kids today and get them to learn English in a fun manner. Contact us!

Hema Dave

Stemming from the aspiration to nurture and inspire young minds, Hema started her professional journey into education 20+ years ago. She founded 'Phonic Smart' as a trained educationist, an institute committed to equipping children with phonics skills and helping parents and teachers implement them effectively. Her diverse skill sets, encompassing teaching, teacher training, and coaching allow her to contribute valuable insights to the education industry.