Memorizing and using these five skills is an indispensable tool and reading strategy used to decode, pronounce, and spell new words.
The Five Phonetic Skills are:
Phonetic Skill #1: When one guardian consonant — and nothing more — follows the vowel, the vowel will be short.
Phonetic Skill #2: When the vowel is followed by two guardian consonants and nothing more, the vowel will be short.
Phonetic Skill #3: When a vowel stands alone, it will be long.
Phonetic Skill #4: Silent E makes the first vowel long.
Phonetic Skill #5: When vowels are adjacent, the second vowel is silent, and the first vowel is long.