Glossary · Sounds and phonemic awareness
What is a stop sound?
Definition
A stop sound is a consonant made by fully blocking the air and then releasing it in a quick burst, such as /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/ and /g/.
Stop sounds can't be stretched. Try to hold /t/ and you either stop or add a vowel, “tuh.” That added vowel is the trouble. A student who reads bat as “buh-a-tuh” has three syllables to squash into one word.
Model stop sounds clipped and quiet: a quick /b/, not “buh.” It feels odd at first but it makes blending far easier, and students copy what they hear.
Words that start with a stop sound are harder to blend than words that start with a continuous one. Put them a little later in early practice, or blend them by attaching the stop sound straight to the vowel: /bă/ ... /t/.
In a lesson
Say bat the wrong way, “buh-ă-tuh,” and ask if that sounds like a word. Then say a clipped /b/ joined to /ă/, and add a quiet /t/. The student hears the difference.
Examples
Each word with its spelling units, one per sound.
- batb·a·t
- bidb·i·d
- gapg·a·p
- dotd·o·t
Words come from our lexicon, checked against a pronouncing dictionary. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out.
Why does this matter for the record?
If a student adds “uh” to every stop sound, note it. It is a teaching habit to fix, not a pattern problem.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.