SnapPhonics

iteration

Pronouncedih-ter-AY-shuhn

/ˌɪ.tər.ˈeɪ.ʃən/noun
  1. nounDoing something again, or doing it more than once.

  2. nounA slightly different version of something.

  3. nounWhen a computer repeats the same instructions over and over in a loop.

  4. nounOne time through a set of instructions that a computer repeats.

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Syllables

iteration

4 syllables

Letters

Phonics breakdown

i

Phonics Rule: Short I

Sound“ih”·/ɪ/

The letter I makes a short sound, like in 'sit' and 'big'.

When the letter I appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short I sound “ih”. This is one of the trickiest short vowels because it sounds similar to short E.

Tip

I says “ih” like an itch you can't miss.

Examples

t

Phonics Rule: Letter T

Sound“t”·/t/

The letter T makes the /t/ sound, like in 'top', 'tap', and 'ten'. The tongue tip taps behind the upper teeth.

T is a voiceless alveolar stop. The tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth and releases with a puff of air. Double T (tt) makes the same /t/ sound.

Tip

T taps — touch your tongue to make /t/!

Examples

er

Phonics Rule: R-Controlled ER

Sound“er”·/ɜːr/

When R comes after E, it makes the “er” sound, like in 'her' and 'fern'.

ER makes the same sound as IR and UR — they all say “er”. ER is the most common spelling of this sound, especially at the end of words.

Tip

ER, IR, and UR all sound the same — Bossy R wins again!

Examples

Sound“ay”·/eɪ/

When A is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the A says its name “ay” — like in 'ba-by' and 'pa-per'.

This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves that vowel 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone A at the end of a syllable says “ay” (ba-by, a-pron, lady). The long A sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (cake), or vowel teams (ai in rain, ay in play) — but those are not open syllables.

Tip

Long A says its name — A!

Examples

tion

Phonics Rule: Suffix -TION

Sound“shun”·/ʃən/

-TION says “shun”! It turns verbs into nouns, like 'action' and 'nation'.

The suffix -tion is pronounced “shun”. It usually turns a verb into a noun: 'act' → 'action'. The TI makes a “sh” sound, which is unusual for T.

Tip

TION says SHUN — the nation takes action!

Examples

What is SnapPhonics?

A phonics reference for teachers, parents and learners. Every English word, broken into the sounds that make it — with audio, syllables, and the rule behind each spelling.

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