Resource: Hard "c" Words

As children move through kindergarten, they start developing a more complete and sophisticated understanding of how language works, an important foundation for the learning they will do in the primary grades.

Beginning in the preschool years, children are learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet. The next step will be to identify the various sounds they represent (phonics). Literacy research suggests that children usually have a much easier time learning the consonant sounds than the tricky vowels. In teaching the letter "c," we teach its /k/ sound first because the words that children are most familiar with—for example, "cat," "corn," "cow," "cookie"—begin with the /k/ sound. In fact, most words that begin with "c" have a /k/ sound. (We call that the "hard 'c'" sound.) Later, when children are ready to understand some of the ambiguities of phonics, we introduce the soft "c" or /s/ sound. One way to help older children see the consistency in our spelling system is to point out the fact that when "c" is followed by "e" or "i"—as in "celery" or "circus—it usually makes a /s/ sound.

Much like an alphabet book, the letter "c" is highlighted in this video segment. Each word is displayed, and images are added to indicate the meaning of each word. In addition, the hard "c" sound is pronounced and held constant on screen as the letters that follow change to make a new word. Familiar words were chosen for this segment so that children will recognize the pictures and spelling of these words. One challenging word, "cattle," might be a vocabulary stretch, but the illustration should help children figure out its meaning.

Finally, the road sign is an example of environmental print, and reminds children to be aware of letters and words all around. Literacy research reveals that many children learn to recognize print in the environment, especially certain signs, as their first accomplishment in reading.

• Ask children to sort through common objects (cap, candle, baseball, marker, candy, penny, cup) and identify which ones begin with the hard "c" sound. Watch out for words with a c-blend ("clip," "clock," "closet"); it is harder to hear the /k/ sound in these words. Note, too, that the letter combination "ch" usually represents another sound altogether (as in "Charles").
• See if any of your students have the letter "c" at the beginning of their names. Listen for the sound it makes: does it sound like /k/ or /s/? Examples: "Carl," "Cameron," "Chris," vs. "Cindy," "Cecilia," or "Chandler."
• Take a walk outside and look for environmental print. Call attention to signs, their words, meanings, and the letters shown.