What is the difference between voiced and unvoiced phonemes?
Voiced phonemes are sounds made with vocal cord vibrations (like /b/, /d/, /g/). Unvoiced phonemes are sounds made with just your breath, without using your voice box (like /p/, /f/, /t/). These are also called voiceless sounds and are produced without vocal cord vibration.
To tell the difference, place your hand on your throat: if it vibrates, it’s voiced! The sound feels different: when your vocal cords vibrate for voiced sounds, you can feel the vibration, but for a voiceless sound, there is no vibration.
Why teaching the correct letter sounds matters
Helping your preschooler pronounce letter sounds correctly is one of the most important early reading skills that we cover in our free preschool homeschool curriculum. These sounds, called phonemes, are the building blocks your child will use when sounding out words, spelling, and reading fluently later on. Each letter has a specific letter sound, and understanding the concept of voiced and voiceless sounds is key to mastering these skills.
But here’s the problem: many parents accidentally model the sounds incorrectly, especially when it comes to voiced and unvoiced consonants.
If your child gets used to saying sounds the wrong way, it can cause confusion when they start reading and writing. Even a small change in voicing can alter the meaning of a word.
Fortunately, there are two simple tips you can use at home to build a strong phonics foundation, without creating bad habits. Teaching your child to produce clear speech sounds and follow spelling rules helps them avoid confusion in reading and writing.
1. Teach your child the difference between voiced and unvoiced sounds
This is one of the easiest ways to improve your child’s pronunciation, and it’s fun, too!
How to teach voiced sounds:
- These are sounds that use the vocal cords and are called voiced consonant sounds.
- Examples: /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /v/. Other voiced consonants include b, d, g, j, and j, l, m, n.
- Test: Place your hand gently on your throat as you say the sound. You’ll feel it vibrate—this is your adam's apple moving as your vocal cords vibrate.
- Tip: Let your child do the throat test too! Feeling the “buzz” helps them recognize they’re using their voice correctly.
How to teach unvoiced sounds:
- These are sounds made with only your breath—no voice box. They are also called voiceless consonants or voiceless consonant sounds.
- Examples: /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/
- Test: Do the same throat test. If there’s no vibration, it’s unvoiced.
- Tip: Have your child whisper the sound or blow gently to help them understand the breath-only method.
Voiced and unvoiced sounds are the two groups of consonant sounds in English. Understanding voiced and voiceless consonants is important for clear pronunciation. There are several sound pairs in English where the only difference is voicing; for example, /p/ (voiceless) and /b/ (voiced).
Tips:
- Try to hear the difference between the two sounds by listening carefully or recording yourself.
- When teaching voiced and voiceless sounds to children, especially those learning English as a second language or coming from different languages, focus on physical and auditory cues.
- Different sounds can be pronounced for the same ending, depending on the voicing of the preceding consonant.
- Use the adam's apple as a tactile way to feel vocal cord vibration.
This simple awareness: voice or no voice?, makes a big difference in how accurately kids learn to pronounce sounds.
2. Avoid adding a "schwa" sound at the end
This is the #1 mistake most parents and even some teachers make: Instead of saying the sound /p/, they say “puh”. Or instead of /t/, they say “tuh.”
This tiny extra vowel sound is called a schwa. And while it might seem harmless, it can lead to real issues when your child starts to blend sounds together while reading.
❌ Why "schwa" sound causes problems:
- It turns one phoneme into two (e.g. /p/ becomes /puh/)
- It confuses decoding and spelling
- It makes reading slower and less accurate
✅ How to fix it:
- Practice saying consonants cleanly and quickly, without any added vowel
- Use short, clear articulation: /p/, not puh; /t/, not tuh
- Record yourself saying sounds or use a phonics app to check
If your child is voicing an unvoiced sound, the schwa is often the reason why. Pay attention to this, and you'll help prevent long-term reading struggles.
Quick recap for busy moms
Here's what to remember:
👉 Tip 1: Teach your child the difference between voiced and unvoiced sounds using the “throat test.”
👉 Tip 2: Avoid adding extra vowel sounds (schwas) when pronouncing letters like /p/, /t/, or /k/.
By practicing clean, correct phonemes now, you'll help your child:
- Read faster and more confidently
- Spell with fewer mistakes
- Develop lifelong literacy skills
If you keep these 2 tips in mind when following the curriculum lesson plans, you are going to be a majority of the way there as far as keeping bad habits out of this skill and laying a strong foundation of proper letter sounds that your child can build on later for reading, spelling, and literacy, which is what this is all about.
You'll give your child awesome skills that will make it much easier for them later on. So I hope you enjoy this week's lesson plan. Maybe go back and review the letter sounds that you've learned so far, and just run through all of them and make sure that you feel confident in how you're pronouncing them, and apply these two tips.
We'll see you next time.