shoal
Pronouncedshoal
nounA large group of fish swimming together.
nounA shallow area in a sea or river where the water is not deep.
nounA sandbank under water that makes the water shallow.
verbTo gather together in a large group.
Syllables
1 syllable
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: SH Digraph
Sound“sh”·/ʃ/
S and H together make the quiet sound “sh”, like in 'ship' and 'fish'.
The digraph 'sh' makes the “sh” sound. Think of the 'shh, be quiet' sound. It can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a word.
Tip
SH says 'shhh' — be quiet on the ship!
Examples
Phonics Rule: OA Vowel Team
Sound“oh”·/oʊ/
When O and A are together, they say long O, like in 'boat' and 'road'.
The vowel team 'oa' reliably makes the long O sound “oh”. This is one of the more consistent vowel teams.
Tip
O and A in a boat — O does the talking!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter L
Sound“l”·/l/
The letter L makes the /l/ sound, like in 'lamp', 'leg', and 'lip'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
L is a voiced lateral approximant — the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth while air flows around the sides. Double L (ll) makes the same /l/ sound.
Tip
L is for lamp — light it up with /l/!
Examples
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