The Sounds of English Spoken words are made by combining sounds together in particular ways. Every language has its own phonology ~ a particular group of sounds, combined to form the words of the language. The actual number of sounds in English depends on the variety of English being spoken. You will see the number of sounds of English vary from 42. to 46 or more. In British English, for example, the or pattern in organise is pronounced the same as the awin awful because the letter r is not pronounced’r’, In American English, the letter r is pronounced’r’so the or and the aw patterns represent two different sounds. Written English is an alphabetic language. The 26 letters of the alphabet are used in many different combinations to represent the more than 40 sounds of English. Learning to use the alphabetic code to read and write English therefore depends firstly on learning to identify individual sounds in words. Once children can recognise sounds, they can learn to write them down and to recognise the letters and spelling patterns that represent them when they are reading. Skills with sound analysis - phonemic awareness - are therefore critical to literacy success. The songs on this CD have been written to help children recognise 45 sounds and sound clusters that they will be learning to read and write. As well as the individual sounds of English, some sound clusters have been included. These sound clusters are common to many words and are reliably written (‘ear; ‘air, ‘kw’ — qu, ‘ks’— x), so it is easier to teach children to listen for them as a unit of sound, even though, strictly speaking, they are not individual sounds. Alison Kimble-Fry', speech pathologist and communication consultant, says: “the first step in becoming aware of speech sounds is to tune your ear to individual sounds within words..."(p 26.). Singing the Sounds of English teaches children to do just that. Through learning to sing these catchy songs, children will tune into the sounds of English and will learn to recognise them in words. The words of the songs also encourage correct pronunciation and an awareness of the position of sounds in words. The songs also build awareness of rhyme, rhythm and alliteration. Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCAMusic 2011. www.ucamusic.comThe sounds on this CD are grouped according to the way in which they are pronounced, They are grouped together as consonant or vowel sounds. Some are short sounds and some are long drawn out sounds that can last as long as a breath. Some are made through the mouth, some through the teeth and some through the nose. Some have voice and some are just made with air. There are four different melodies, and the songs with the same melody are linked in some way. The long and short vowel sounds share the same melody (tracks 1 and 2), the other vowels share a melody (Tracks 14-16), the consonants that are pronounced with a short burst of air share a melody (tracks 3-7), and the consonants that are drawn out sounds share a melody (tracks 8-13). 1 Kimble-Fry, A. (2001). Perfect Pronunciation. A guide for trainers and self-help students. Sydney: Clearspeak Pty Ltd. Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCAMusic 2011. www.ucamusic.comTeaching Suggestions You can use these songs in any order to match the sound you are going to be working with. For example, if you are teaching the’sh’ sound, choose track 8 and play verse 3. At the end of each sound hunt song, pause the music and allow time for children to think of more words that begin with the focus sound. You could extend this by thinking of words that have the sound at the end or in the middle. The sound hunt verses end with questions or challenges. Allow time for the children to answer these before moving on. You can use the long and short vowel songs in particular, with older children by setting them a listening task before you play the songs. For example, say to the children,“When these songs finish playing | want you to see if you can answer these questions: Where can we feel the short vowel sounds? What is the clue for pronouncing the long vowel sounds? Where in words do the short vowels occur? Which short vowel sound do we often hear at the end of words? Where in words do long vowels occur? What are the six short vowel sounds? What are the six long vowel sounds?” We hope you enjoy singing the sounds of English and laying the foundations for literacy success! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comShort and Long Vowel Sounds Track 1: Singing short vowel sounds 7) These sounds are short, a burst of air Make them now, it’s fun Put your hand on your throat And feel them there Our game has just begun ‘a’ ‘e’ ‘i’ ‘o! ‘tu’ ‘oo! You did it! That was fun! a They love to be at the start of words Say these sounds right now Short vowel sounds at the start of words Come on, show us how! Ant and apple - ‘a’ ‘a’ ‘a’ Egg and exit - ‘e’ ‘e’ ‘e’ Is and inside - ‘i ‘i’ ‘i’ On and often -‘o’ ‘o’ ‘o’ Up and under -‘u’ ‘u’ ‘u’ You did it! That was fun! ar Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.com@ They love to be in the middle of words Say these sounds right now Short vowel sounds in the middle of words Come on, show us how! Cat and hat -‘a’ ‘a’ ‘a’ Bed and red —‘e’ ‘e’ ‘e’ Sit and knit-‘i' ‘4’ ‘i’ Dog and frog -‘o’ ‘o’ ‘o’ Pup and cup-‘u’ ‘u’ ‘u’ Look and book - ‘oo’ ‘oo’ ‘oo’ You did it! That was fun! e They're very shy at the end of words Only one goes there Hear that sound at the end of words What's that sound you hear? Camera, banana, China, umbrella Sofa, panda, pizza, pasta too There is an ‘uh’ right at the end Can you hear it too? @ Now you can say short vowel sounds Use them every day You can hear short vowel sounds Hip, hip, hip hooray! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 2: Singing long vowel sounds e Can you hear long vowel sounds? Here's a little clue Listen to the name of the letters Makes it easy for you! aeil Oo Uu You'll also hear an ‘oo’ @ They love to be at the start of words Say these sounds right now Long vowel sounds at the start of words Come on, show us how Ape and apron —‘a’ ‘a’ ‘a’ Eat and eagle -‘e’ ‘e’ ‘e’ Ice and island-‘i’ ‘i’ ‘i’ Oh and open -‘o’ ‘o’ ‘o’ Use and useful -‘u’ ‘u’ ‘u’ But hardly ever ‘oo’ You did it - clever you! @ They love to be in the middle of words Say these sounds right now Long vowel sounds in the middle of words Come on, show us how Cake and make - ‘a’ ‘a’ ‘a’ Green and seen -‘e’ ‘e’ ‘e’ Night and kite - ‘i’ ‘’ ‘i’ Cone and bone -‘o’ ‘o’ ‘o’ Moon and spoon - ‘oo’ ‘oo’ ‘oo’ But hardly ever ‘u’ You did it - clever you! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comThey love to be at the end of words Say these sounds right now Long vowel sounds at the end of words Come on, show us how Say and tray - ‘a’ ‘a’ ‘a’ Bee and three -’e’ ‘e’ ‘e’ Myandtry-‘i ‘i’ ‘i’ Go and no -‘o' ‘o’ ‘o’ Chew and flew - ‘oo’ ‘oo’ ‘oo’ But hardly ever ‘u’ > You did it - clever you! a Ca Now you can say long vowel sounds Ey @ Use them every day < ae You can hear long vowel sounds - Hip, hip, hip, hooray! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comSound Hunt Singing Games Consonant Sounds Track 3: Singing ‘p’ ‘t’ ‘k’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘p’ and ‘t’ and ‘k’ They're popcorn sounds like puffs of air Let's all make them now! ‘p’ ‘pp’ poe EE A @ I'm hunting in the kitchen, For things that start with ‘p’ Pot, pan, pudding and pie Peanuts, potatoes and peas Think about your kitchen Can you find more of these? Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.com@ I'm hunting in the bathroom For things that start with ‘t’ Towel, tub, toothbrush and toy Toothpaste, tissues and tap Think about your bathroom Any more things like that? @ I'm hunting in the kitchen For things that start with ‘k’ Cake, cup, kettle and can Cookies, carrots and cream Think about your kitchen What ’‘k’ things have you seen? Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 4: Singing ‘b’ ‘d’ ‘g’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘d’ and ‘b’ and ‘g’ Popcorn sounds with a voice sound too Let's all make them now! ‘dd’ ‘a 'b' 'b! ’b’ ‘gg '9 '9 @ I'm hunting in the toy box For things that start with ‘d’ Doll, darts, dragon and dog Dominoes, dinosaurs, drum Think about the toys you have Can you name just one? Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.com@ I'm hunting in the bedroom For things that start with ‘b’ Book, bed, bunny and boat Button, belt and bat Think about your bedroom Can you find more than that? @ I'm hunting in the garden For things that start with ‘g’ Gate, goat and guinea pigs Grapefruit, gravel and glove Think about your garden What things do you love? Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 5: Singing ‘ch’ and ‘j’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘ch’ and ‘j’ ‘Ch’ has air and ‘j’ has voice Let's all make them now! ‘ch’ ‘ch’ ‘ch’ J JJ e I'm hunting in the pantry For things that start with ‘ch’ Cheese, chips, chocolate and chives Cherries, and chops to chew Let’s look in your pantry And find some things for you! @ I'm hunting in the shopping cart For things that start with ‘j’ Jam and juice, and jelly in jars Ginger, and gingerbread too What is in your shopping cart? Yummy things for you! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 6: Singing ‘y’ and ‘w’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt / Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are hard to say alone ‘Y' and ‘w’ at the start of words Let's all make them now! yyy aw! fw! Aw! @ I'm hunting in my mind now For things that start with ‘y’ A yacht, a yak, yoghurt and yoke A yo-yo and a yes There's a colour in my mind What colour - can you guess? @ I'm hunting at the seaside For things that start with ‘w’ A wave of water, a wasp, some wood A wagon and water-toys Think about the seaside fed 5 Fun things for girls and boys Se a& Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 7: Singing ‘qu’ and ‘x’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘qu’ and ‘x’ Both are made of two sounds Let's all make them now! ‘qu’ ‘qu’ ‘qu’ x x Xx @ I'm hunting in a castle For things that start with ‘qu’ A queen, a quilt, a quiver, a quail A quiz book and a quad Now here’s a little quiz for you What's the opposite of slow? @ I'm hunting in my thoughts now For words that have a ‘x’ A box, a fox, an exit, an axe And excellent exercise A letter x can send a kiss What a nice surprise! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © ULA Music 2011 www.ucamusic.comTrack 8: Singing ‘th’ ‘s’ ‘sh’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘th’ and ‘s’ and ‘sh’ Push the air between your teeth Let's all make them now! ‘th’ ‘th’ ‘th’ ‘gl Ish gh ‘sh’ ‘sh’ ‘sh’ @ We're hunting in the woods We play the sound hunt game We're hunting in the woods now For things that start with ‘th’ Three thirsty rabbits A thorn, a thistle, a thrush Thousands of things to think about But we don't have to rush! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.com@ We're hunting in the playground We play the sound hunt game We're hunting in the playground For things that start with ‘s’ Slide, swing, seesaw and skates A swing-bridge and some sand Think about your playground What is on your land? @ We're hunting in the shops now We play the sound hunt game We're hunting in the shops now For things that start with ‘sh’ Shirt, sheet, sugar and shawl A ship and shiny shoes Think about your shop now What things would you choose? Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 9: Singing ‘f and ‘h’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are soft and hard to hear Hear our ‘f, hear our ‘h’ Let's all make them now! 1p hig ‘hh! hy @ We're hunting in the countryside We play the sound hunt game We're hunting in the countryside For things that start with ‘f’ Fox, foal, farmer, frog Forest and firewood too Think about the countryside What things interest you? @ We're hunting in the house now We play the sound hunt game We're hunting in the house now For things that start with ‘h’ Hat, harp, hammer, hoop Some honey, a hamburger too! Think about your house now I'll come and hunt with you! = ee Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 10: Singing ‘v’ ‘z’ ‘th’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘'v' and ’z’ and ‘th’ They make our voices wobble and shake Let’s all make them now! vy’ ly’ igh igh igh ‘th’ ‘th’ ‘th’ e I'm hunting in my mind | play the sound hunt game I'm hunting in my mind For things that start with ‘v’ Vet, vase, violet, van Volcanoes and vegetables too What words pop into your mind? Give me a little clue! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.com@ I'm hunting in a book | play the sound hunt game I'm hunting in a book For things that start with ‘z’ Zoo, zip, zebra, zed Zig-zag and xylophone Think about a picture book That you have in your home @ I'm hunting in the dictionary Playing the sound hunt game I'm hunting in the dictionary For words that start with ‘th’ Like this, and that, and these, and those And them, and then, and they Think about your dictionary And all the words we say Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 11: Singing the ‘zh’ sound @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... We're hunting for just one sound The sound we want is ‘zh’ It’s mostly heard inside a word Let’s all make it now! ‘2h’ ‘zh’ ‘zh’ @ I'm hunting right inside the words | play the sound hunt game I'm hunting right inside the words To hear the sound of ‘zh’ Treasure, pleasure, measuring tape Invasion, television too This sound is not in many words But | found a few for you! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 12: Singing ‘m’ ‘n’ ‘ng’ sounds e We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘m’ and ‘n’ and ‘ng’ We hum these sounds like a song Let’s all make them now! ‘m’ ‘mm’ ‘m ‘nN nn ‘ng’ ‘ng’ ‘ng’ @ I'm hunting in the classroom | play the sound hunt game I'm hunting in the classroom For things that start with ‘m’ Mat, mop, magnet, map A mandarin to munch Think about our classroom And what is in your lunch Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comI'm hunting in the cupboard | play the sound hunt game I'm hunting in the cupboard For things that start with ‘n’ Net, nest, necklace, nuts Nice new knife and spoon Think about your cupboard And things around the room @ I'm hunting round the room | play the sound hunt game I'm hunting round the room For things that end with ‘ng’ A gong to bang, some things to hang Some string, some earrings too Think about our room now And all the things we do Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 13: Singing ‘U and ‘r’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘I’ and ‘r’ Stretch them out nice and long Let’s all make them now! rrr @ I'm hunting at the zoo | play the sound hunt game I'm hunting at the zoo For things that start with ‘I’ Lynx, lark, leopard, lamb Lion and llama too Think about the zoo now What's exciting for you? e I'm hunting in the park | play the sound hunt game I'm hunting in the park For things that start with ‘r’ Rat, rose, rainbow and rocks Rake and rubbish bin Think about things in the park There are lots, so let's begin! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCAMusic 2011. www.ucamusic.comMore Vowel Sounds Track 14: Singing ‘er’ ‘or’ ‘ar’ sounds @ We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘er’ and ‘or’ and ‘ar’ These are also vowel sounds Let's all make them now! ‘er’ ‘er’ ‘er’ ‘or’ ‘or’ ‘or’ ar’ 'ar’ ‘ar’ @ We're going on a sound hunt To find a special sound Hunting in Mum’s bedroom For things that have an ‘er’ Purse, shirt, perfume, pearls A purple rug to shake A cat is on the bed What ‘er’ sound does it make? Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.com@ We're going on a sound hunt To find a special sound Hunting through the house For things that have an ‘or’ Door, corn, board, torch Wardrobe and a ball What words can you think of That rhyme with ball and tall? e We're going on a sound hunt To find a special sound Hunting on a farm For things that have an ‘ar’ Cart, yard, farmer, calf Garden and car You'll know, if you’ve been on a farm What other things there are Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics © UCAMusic 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 15: Singing ‘ear’ and ‘air’ sounds We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘ear’ and ‘air’ These are also vowel sounds What difference can you hear? ‘ear’ ‘ear’ ‘ear’ fair’ ‘air’ ‘air’ We're going on a sound hunt To find a special sound Listening very hard For things that have an ‘ear’ Fear, near, hear, spear Cheerfully and clear Can you find some ‘ear’ words We would like to hear? We're going on a sound hunt To find a special sound We have to think again For things that have an ‘air’ Chair, bear, a pair of shoes A fairy over there Lots of words that have an ‘air’ We would like to share Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 16: Singing ‘oy’ and ‘ow’ sounds We're going on a sound hunt Children, come with me Are your ears all ready? Then one, two, three ... The sounds that we are hunting Are ‘oy’ and ‘ow’ These are also vowel sounds Let's all make them now! ‘oy’ ‘oy’ ‘oy’ ‘ow’ ‘ow’ ‘ow’ We're going on a sound hunt To find a special sound Hunting in the workshop For things that have an ‘oy’ We found some soil, a coil of rope A toilet and a coin What could we make to play with? Something that rhymes with boy Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.com@ We're going on a sound hunt To find a special sound Hunting in the outdoors For things that have an ‘ow’ The ground, an owl, a cloud A flower, a cow, a mouse Let's go back inside And hunt around the house! Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.comTrack 17: Well Done! @ We all went on a sound hunt Hunting sounds was fun Children, you heard all the sounds Every single one! You're such good word detectives See you another day You all did so very well Hip, hip, hip, hooray! \ Singing the Sounds of English song lyrics. © UCA Music 2011. www.ucamusic.com