doorstep
PronouncedDOR-stehp
nounA step at the entrance to a building that you stand on before going through the door.
nounA very thick slice of something, usually bread.
nounThe area very close to where you live.
verbTo go from house to house asking people to buy things or give money.
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter D
Sound“d”·/d/
The letter D makes the /d/ sound, like in 'dog', 'day', and 'dig'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
D is a voiced alveolar stop. The tongue tip touches the ridge just behind the upper front teeth, then releases with voice. It reliably makes the /d/ sound in almost all positions.
Tip
D is for dog — and dog starts with /d/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: OOR says “or”
Sound“or”·/ɔːr/
OOR can make the “or” sound, like in 'door' and 'floor'.
OOR says “or” (the 'or' sound) in door and floor. (In 'poor' it can say “oor”.)
Tip
Open the door — door, floor!
Examples
Phonics Rule: ST Blend
Sound“st”·/st/
S and T blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'stop' and 'fast'.
The blend ST combines /s/ and /t/ spoken quickly together. It can appear at the beginning or end of a word.
Examples
When the letter E appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short E sound “eh”. This is often confused with short I by new readers.
Tip
E says “eh” like an egg on your head.
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter P
Sound“p”·/p/
The letter P makes the /p/ sound, like in 'pan', 'pig', and 'pot'. Both lips press together then pop open.
P is a voiceless bilabial stop — both lips press together and release with a puff of air but no voice. It pairs with B (which is the voiced version of the same mouth position).
Tip
P pops open — press your lips and let it POP!
Examples
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