Teaching Sound-Spelling Patterns: Part 2

If you've ever wondered how to explain words like laugh, enough, through, thought, and though to a beginning reader, you're not alone.

English spelling becomes especially interesting when the same group of letters represents different sounds in different words.

Look at these:

though
through
thought
rough
cough

They all contain OUGH, but we don't pronounce OUGH the same way in every word.

Then there's:

laugh

It contains the related spelling AUGH, with gh representing /f/.

These words can be challenging if children expect every letter or group of letters to behave the same way every time. But rather than treating them as completely random words to memorize, we can help children analyze their sounds, compare their spellings, group similar words, and use memorable visual and multisensory connections to reinforce what they've learned.

Let's take them one pattern at a time.

What Sound Does OUGH Make?

There isn't just one OUGH sound.

The letter sequence ough occurs in words with several different pronunciations.

Compare:

Pronunciation can vary somewhat by dialect, especially in words such as thought, but the important lesson for children is simple:

OUGH does not always represent the same sound.

That's one reason these words deserve explicit attention.

Instead of asking children to discover the pronunciations on their own, we can teach the words and their related patterns directly.

What Sound Does AUGH Make in LAUGH?

Let's start with laugh.

Say the word slowly:

laugh

Listen to the sounds:

/l/ /ă/ /f/

Now look at the spelling:

l a u g h

The spelling is less straightforward than a word such as lap.

In laugh, the letters gh contribute to the /f/ sound, while the vowel spelling au represents the vowel sound we hear in laugh.

This is a word that benefits from explicit teaching and a memorable connection.

How to Teach the Word LAUGH

Write several simple short-A words on the board:

cat
map
hat
lap

Read them together.

Then announce that you have a much more interesting word to investigate.

Write:

LAUGH

Say the word aloud.

Ask:

“What sounds do you hear in laugh?”

Help children segment it:

/l/ /ă/ /f/

Now compare what they hear with what they see.

There are only three phonemes in the word, but five letters.

That immediately tells children something important:

One letter does not always equal one sound.

Notice the GH

Underline:

GH

Compare laugh with:

rough
tough
enough

What do children notice?

In these words, the final spelling includes gh, and the ending is pronounced with /f/.

Now children have a useful relationship among words rather than one isolated spelling to memorize.

Sarah's Donut Story

“We already figured out the sounds in laugh and looked carefully at how the word is spelled. Now let's give our brains a funny picture to help us remember the unusual spelling.”

Draw the donuts inside the U.

Then read the word again:

laugh

Have children:

say it → segment it → read it → spell it → write it

The silly picture is a memory anchor for the spelling they've just learned, not the explanation of why English spelling developed that way.

Compare LAUGH and COUGH

Now write:

laugh

cough

Ask:

What's the same?

Both end with ugh, and both end in the /f/ sound.

What's different?

Their vowel sounds differ.

Let children alternate dramatically between:

laughing

and

coughing

The movement and sound now have a purpose: they help children contrast two related spellings and pronunciations.

How to Teach ENOUGH

Next introduce:

ENOUGH

Don't explain everything immediately.

Put it beside laugh:

laugh
enough

Ask:

“What do you notice?”

Then add:

rough
tough

Read all four words.

Now focus on:

rough
tough
enough

These words share the ending sound:

/ŭf/

This gives children a useful word family to compare.

Segment ENOUGH

Say:

enough

Have children identify the sounds they hear.

Then map those sounds to the spelling.

The important point is that children aren't being asked to pronounce o-u-g-h as four independent sounds.

They're learning how this spelling works in this particular group of words.

Bring Back the Donut Story

Ask children to determine which letter has its mouth full in rough, tough, and enough.

Write the following sentence on the board:

They are rough and tough enough.

Have them:

1. read the sentence;
2. find the shared spelling;
3. write the sentence from dictation;
4. mark or color the target spelling; and
5. illustrate what they think is “rough and tough enough.”

That combines phonemic analysis, orthographic attention, writing, reading, and meaning.

How to Teach THROUGH

Now things get really interesting.

Write:

THROUGH

Ask children to compare it with:

rough

They look similar.

But:

rough ends with /ŭf/

while

through ends with /oo/.

This is an excellent opportunity to teach children something important about English:

Similar-looking spellings do not always have identical pronunciations.

That isn't a reason to abandon phonics.

It's a reason to teach the correspondence explicitly.

Use the THROUGH Visual

Then use the snake as the memory connection:

The snake goes THROUGH.

Have children say the word while tracing or pointing to its spelling.

Use Body Motions to Remember OUGH

Turn the shapes of the letters into a body-motion sequence:

circle → bowl → circle → upside-down bowl

for:

o → u → g → h

Write:

ough

Have children look closely at the shapes.

Then make the motions with their arms while saying the letter sequence:

O – U – G – H

Notice what we're using the movement to remember:

the spelling sequence.

We're not telling children that the movement produces the sound.

It's a kinesthetic way to help them remember the order of four letters in an unusually complex spelling.

After practicing the motion, remove the written model and ask children to write:

ough

from memory.

Then check it.

That's purposeful multisensory practice.

Why Is OUGH So Tricky?

Now show children several OUGH words together:

though
through
rough
cough
thought
drought

Ask:

“What is the same in every word?”

OUGH

Then:

“Do we pronounce it the same way every time?”

No.

Sort the words by pronunciation.

This is more useful than trying to teach an imaginary rule that works for every OUGH word.

The child learns:

The spelling is recognizable.

Its pronunciation depends on the word and word family.

Similar words can be grouped together.

That is much more manageable than treating every word as unrelated.

OUGH Words Grouped by Sound

Here's a useful reference for teachers and parents.

OUGH as in THOUGH

though
although
dough

These have the long /ō/ sound.

OUGH as in THROUGH

through
throughout

These contain the /oo/ pronunciation.

OUGH as in ROUGH

rough
tough
enough

These end with /ŭf/.

OUGH as in COUGH

cough

This ends with /ŏf/.

OUGH as in THOUGHT

thought
bought
brought
sought
ought

In many American English pronunciations, this group contains the vowel sound heard in thought.

OUGH as in DROUGHT

drought

Here we hear the /ow/ sound.

Children don't need to memorize this entire chart in one lesson.

Use it as a teacher reference and introduce groups as appropriate.

How to Teach THOUGHT

Write:

THOUGHT

Compare it with:

through

Ask children:

What's the same?

Both contain ough.

What's different when we say them?

Now segment thought.

In many pronunciations, the word contains three phonemes:

/th/ /aw/ /t/

Yet it contains seven letters.

That's a wonderful demonstration of why we teach graphemes, not simply one-letter/one-sound relationships.

Several letters can work together to represent a single sound.

Use the OUGH Motion Again

circle → bowl → circle → upside-down bowl

motion while recalling:

O-U-G-H

Then hide the word.

Ask children to write thought from memory.

Afterward, reveal the model and have them compare their spelling.

This is better than copying the word repeatedly because the child has to retrieve the spelling.

How to Teach THOUGH

Now place:

thought

and

though

side by side.

These are especially useful comparison words because they're visually similar.

Read each one.

Ask children to identify:

what is the same

and

what is different.

Then add:

through

Now you have:

though
thought
through

This can look intimidating at first.

But comparison turns the words into a word study activity.

Children learn to attend carefully to both:

orthography — what the word looks like

and

phonology — what the word sounds like.

Don't Teach OUGH as One Universal Phonics Rule

This is an important distinction.

It would be misleading to teach:

“OUGH says _____.”

because there isn't one answer.

Instead say something like:

“These four letters occur together in several English words, but they don't always represent the same sound. We're going to learn the different word groups.”

Then teach manageable groups:

rough – tough – enough

thought – bought – brought

though – dough

and so forth.

Grouping reduces the amount of unrelated information a child has to remember while still being accurate about the spelling system.

A Simple Sequence for Teaching Tricky Sound Spellings

For each new pattern or word:

1. Say the word

Make sure the child knows the spoken word and its meaning.

2. Segment the sounds

Listen for the phonemes in the word.

3. Show the spelling

Map the sounds to the graphemes.

4. Compare related words

Look for other words that share the same correspondence.

5. Add the memory anchor

Use Sarah's picture, story, or motion to reinforce the tricky part.

6. Read the word

Practice retrieving the pronunciation from ordinary print.

7. Spell the word

Dictate it and have the child retrieve the spelling.

8. Use it in context

Read or write the word in a meaningful sentence.

9. Review later

Return to the word or pattern after time has passed.

The goal is ultimately for the child to read and spell the word without needing the picture, story, or motion.

Practice Reading AUGH and OUGH Words

After teaching the relevant groups, mix some words together:

laugh
rough
though
tough
thought
through
enough
brought
cough

Have children read each word.

Then sort them according to pronunciation.

You can also dictate words for spelling.

This requires children to retrieve the correct spelling rather than simply recognize it.

Practice in Sentences

Move from isolated words into connected text.

They are rough and tough enough.

I laugh when the puppy is silly.

We walked through the tall grass.

I thought I brought my book.

The dough was soft, though it was cold.

His cough kept him awake.

Ask children to find the target spelling in each sentence.

Then choose one sentence for dictation.

Why Use Stories, Pictures, and Movement?

For some children, hearing an explanation once is enough.

Others benefit from additional ways to organize and retrieve the information.

A visual can make an unusual spelling stand out.

A story can connect several details into one memorable idea.

Movement can help a child rehearse a letter sequence.

But these supports work best when they're tied directly to the literacy skill being taught.

At Child1st, we use multisensory memory anchors alongside explicit sound-spelling instruction.

We aren't asking children to guess words from pictures.

We're helping them remember the sounds and spellings they've been explicitly taught.

The Goal Is Independent Reading and Spelling

The donuts are memorable.

The snake going through the word is memorable.

The OUGH body motions are memorable.

But none of those is the final goal.

The goal is that eventually a child sees:

enough

and simply reads:

enough.

Or hears:

thought

and writes:

thought.

The visual, story, and movement are temporary supports that help build the sound-spelling connection.

As children become secure, gradually fade those supports and practice with plain print.

Tricky Spellings Can Become Teachable Patterns

Words like laugh, enough, through, thought, and though show why English spelling can feel challenging.

But challenging doesn't mean unteachable.

Help children: 

hear the sounds

examine the spelling

compare related words

notice what changes

practice reading

practice spelling

and, when useful,

attach a memorable visual, story, or motion to the tricky part.

Instead of simply telling children, “That's an exception—memorize it,” we can help them investigate how the word works.

And that turns a confusing spelling into something much more understandable.

Continue the Sound-Spelling Patterns Series

Part 1: What Are Spelling Patterns? How to Teach Sound-Spelling Patterns
Learn how sound-spelling patterns work and how to teach them explicitly and memorably.

Part 3: How to Teach OW, OU, AR, and ARE Sound-Spelling Patterns
Continue with OW, OU, and R-related patterns using visual stories and multisensory connections.

Part 4: How to Teach the IGH Spelling Pattern and Other Sound Spellings
Explore IGH and additional sound-spelling patterns and ways to make them memorable.

Sound Spelling Teaching Cards
For ready-to-use instruction, Child1st's Sound Spelling Teaching Cards provide visual and multisensory memory anchors for 154 sound spellings.