What are phonograms?

Phonograms are often defined as high frequency rimes. A phonogram is a letter or a group of letters representing a sound or a combination of sounds that typically appear at the end of words. For instance, in phonics instruction, "ack" in "back," "ick" in "kick," and "ean" in "bean" are considered phonograms. They form the rime part of syllables and help learners understand word patterns and improve their decoding skills. By recognizing these rimes, students can read and spell a wide range of words more effectively, making phonograms essential in early literacy and phonics education.

The other options, while related to reading skills, do not accurately represent what phonograms are. For instance, decoding words involves understanding phonics and can include understanding phonograms, but that definition is broader and doesn't specifically capture the essence of phonograms as high frequency rime patterns. Common sight words and high frequency irregular words refer to words that do not follow typical phonetic rules, which is a different aspect of reading that focuses on memorization rather than phonogram patterns.