Gg

Written By: Greg Whitfield
Copyright © 1996 Greg Whitfield

A G is fun to say
Sometimes it sounds like J
/j/ /j/ /j/ /j/ /j/ /j/ /j/ /j/
Sometimes it sounds like J

But sometimes G goes /g/
Yeah, sometimes G goes /g/
Like goofy green gorillas
Sometimes G goes /g/

/g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/
/g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/
/g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/
/g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /g/

A giant starts with G
But so do goat and green
And George and Gus and Gene and Greg
Are names that start with G

So say the sounds with me
Now say the sounds with me
/g/ /g/ /g/ /g/ /j/ /j/ /j/ /j/
They're both the sound of G

Suggested Activities

G is one of those letters that makes two distinctly different sounds. Not surprisingly, the soft G, or /j/ sound is the first one most kids tune into, as they are able to hear it in the name of the letter. More common, however is the hard G sound, especially in the consonant-vowel-consonant words most beginning readers see (ie, dog, pig, big, got, get). Beginning readers can tell one sound from the other using a few simple rules:

If a G is the final letter in a word, it will usually say /g/ (hard G).

It may be soft if followed by an e or an i, but it almost never is when followed by a, o or u. This helps explain the reasoning behind words such as giraffe and gem.

Make a list of words, and have your child guess whether the G sound is soft or hard based on these rules. Even without reading the words, most kids are able to correctly guess the G sound using these rules.

For a tactile activity involving g, draw an oversized Gg on construction paper and have your child trace the letters (point out that upper case G looks like a C with a mouth on it, while lower case g looks like a circle with an umbrella handle stuck to the right side). Next, apply glue along the lines of the letter and sprinkle with green glitter. Find the g's in glue, green, and glitter.

Follow up by brainstorming G words in different categories (food: gum, granola, gelatin, grapes; names: Gail, Greg, George, Gaye; animals: goat, gopher, goose).

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Other Songs and Activities:

A | B | C | D | E | F
G | H | I | J | K | L | M
N | O | P | Q | R | S | T
U | V | W | X | Y | Z