spots
PronouncedSPAHTS
Small round marks or dots on something.
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: SP Blend
Sound“sp”·/sp/
S and P blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'spin' and 'sport'.
The blend SP combines /s/ and /p/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
When the letter O appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short O sound “ah”. In American English, this sounds like 'ah'.
Tip
O says “ah” like 'Ahh!' said the doctor.
Examples
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
Phonics Rule: Plural -S (/s/ sound)
Sound“s”·/s/
After a quiet sound like p, t, k or f, the plural ending says /s/ — like 'cats' and 'cakes'.
Say 'ssss' and then 'zzzz' with a finger on your throat — only 'zzzz' buzzes. When the word already ends in a quiet (unvoiced) sound like p, t, k or f, the plural ending stays quiet too and says /s/. This happens whether the word is spelled -s (cats) or -es (cakes, notes), because in cakes the e is silent and only the s is sounded.
Examples
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