From sounds to words
- Beginning sounds. Hear the first sound of a word and match it to its letter.
- Ending sounds. Listen to the end of the word, which is harder to hear.
- Short vowels. The middle sound: c _ t, p _ g, s _ n.
- Build the word. Write all three sounds, one in each box.
- Rhymes. Hear that cat and hat end the same way.
- Word families. Change the first sound: cat, hat, bat.
- Digraphs and blends. Two letters, one sound (sh, ch) or two quick sounds (fr, st).
Pictures first
Phonics practice works when children say the word out loud. A picture gives them the word without needing to read it, so they can focus on the sounds. Each picture is chosen to have one obvious name, and the letters use simple shapes children learn first, like the single-story a.
Keep going
Pair these with spelling worksheets for the words that can’t be sounded out, and withpicture puzzles for spelling whole words with pictures.
In the MATATAG curriculum
- Grade 1Reading and Literacy: phonological awareness and phonics in the first language, Filipino in most classes.
- Grade 2English, first quarter: letter names, rhymes, onset and rime, and CVC words.
- Grade 2English, later quarters: CVCe and CVVC words, then words with clusters such as CVCC and CCVC.
Under MATATAG, English begins as a subject in Grade 2, after a year of learning to decode in the first language. These sheets are in English, so they line up with Grade 2 English; in Kinder and Grade 1, use them with children who already speak English, or for the sounds the two languages share.
The English guide expects letter-sound knowledge and blending to carry over from Filipino. Filipino spelling is close to one letter, one sound, so English short vowels (cat, cut) and pairs like th and wh are where children need the most listening practice.
Summarised in our own words from DepEd’s MATATAG Reading and Literacy (Grade 1) and English (Grades 2–10) Curriculum Guides (2023), and DepEd Order No. 20, s. 2025.
