These are free phonogram cards for all 70 Spalding phonograms: the single letters a to z and the 44 letter teams from sh to ci, in teaching order. Print them on card stock, cut them out, and drill a few a day.
There are two ways to print. Fronts only shows just the phonogram, for drilling: hold up a card, your child says every sound. With sounds adds each sound and an example word under the phonogram, for parents who want the answers in front of them, or as a reference sheet on the fridge. Twelve cards fit on a page.
All 70 phonogram cards
- 1a/ă/ at/ā/ navy/ŏ/ father
- 2c/k/ can/s/ cent
- 3d/d/ lid
- 4f/f/ if
- 5g/g/ bag/j/ gem
- 6o/ŏ/ odd/ō/ open/ōō/ do
- 7s/s/ us/z/ as
- 8qu/kw/ quit
- 9b/b/ rib
- 10e/ĕ/ end/ē/ me
- 11h/h/ him
- 12i/ĭ/ big/ī/ silent
- 13j/j/ jam
- 14k/k/ ink
- 15l/l/ lag
- 16m/m/ ham
- 17n/n/ win
- 18p/p/ map
- 19r/r/ rat
- 20t/t/ bat
- 21u/ŭ/ up/ū/ music/ŏŏ/ put
- 22v/v/ vivid
- 23w/w/ wit
- 24x/ks/ box
- 25y/y/ yet/ĭ/ gym/ī/ my
- 26z/z/ zest
- 27sh/sh/ dish
- 28ee/ē/ see
- 29th/th/ thin/th̲/ this
- 30ow/ow/ how/ō/ low
- 31ou/ow/ round/ō/ soul/ōō/ you/ŭ/ country
- 32oo/ōō/ boot/ŏŏ/ foot
- 33ch/ch/ much/k/ school/sh/ chef
- 34ar/ar/ far
- 35ay/ā/ day
- 36ai/ā/ paint
- 37oy/oy/ boy
- 38oi/oi/ point
- 39er/er/ her
- 40ir/er/ first
- 41ur/er/ nurse
- 42wor/wer/ works
- 43ear/er/ early
- 44ng/ng/ rang
- 45ea/ē/ eat/ĕ/ head/ā/ break
- 46aw/aw/ law
- 47au/aw/ author
- 48or/or/ for
- 49ck/k/ neck
- 50wh/hw/ when
- 51ed/ed/ graded/d/ loved/t/ wrecked
- 52ew/ōō/ grew/ū/ few
- 53ui/ōō/ fruit/ū/ suit
- 54oa/ō/ boat
- 55gu/g/ guess
- 56ph/f/ phone
- 57ough/ō/ though/ōō/ through/uf/ rough/of/ cough/aw/ thought/ow/ drought
- 58oe/ō/ toe
- 59ey/ā/ they/ē/ key/ĭ/ valley
- 60igh/ī/ sigh
- 61kn/n/ knot
- 62gn/n/ sign
- 63wr/r/ wrap
- 64ie/ē/ field/ī/ pie/ĭ/ lilies
- 65dge/j/ bridge
- 66ei/ē/ conceit/ā/ veil/ĭ/ forfeit
- 67eigh/ā/ weigh
- 68ti/sh/ nation
- 69si/sh/ session/zh/ vision
- 70ci/sh/ facial
Phonogram cards 1–70 · free to print from phonogramfun.com/learn · not affiliated with Spalding Education International
How to drill with phonogram cards
- Small stack, daily. Review the cards your child knows, plus two or three new ones. Ten minutes is plenty.
- All the sounds, in order. For ough that's six sounds. Always in the same order, so it becomes automatic.
- Two piles. Instant and correct goes on the "know it" pile; anything slow goes back in the stack for tomorrow.
- Write it too. Say a phonogram's sounds and have your child write it without seeing the card. That's how Spalding builds spelling, not just reading.
Starting out? Begin with phonograms 1–26, the single letters, before the letter teams. And for why the count is 70 here but 75 elsewhere, see How many phonograms are there?.
Questions parents ask
Are these the official Spalding phonogram cards?
No. They show the same 70 phonograms and sounds in the Spalding teaching order, but they are made by Phonogram Fun, which is not affiliated with Spalding Education International.
How should I print phonogram cards?
Use card stock if you can and print at 100% scale. Twelve cards fit on each page; cut along the borders.
How many phonogram cards should my child learn at once?
Review the ones they know every day and add two or three new ones at a time. Daily review matters more than how many you add.