Teaching Letters qu: Systematic Phonics for Beginning Readers | Kindergarten Series

Learn how to teach the QU sound with proven phonics techniques. This video demonstrates phonemic awareness, mirror work, and letter recognition activities that help early readers master the /kw/ sound.

Teaching the QU consonant digraph doesn't have to be complicated. This step-by-step phonics lesson shows you exactly how to help students hear, identify, and read the /kw/ sound using multisensory instruction aligned with the science of reading.

In this lesson, we use "Can Anna Be Queen Be" from the Piney Pals decodable book series, but you can apply these techniques with any decodable book that focuses on the QU unit. The lesson walks through phonemic awareness activities where students listen for the /kw/ sound in words like "queen" and "quick," then use mirrors to observe how their mouths form the sound.

One of the most important concepts covered is understanding that Q is always followed by U in English words. Students learn to recognize this consistent pattern and understand that the QU combination makes the /kw/ sound, which is actually two sounds blended together: the unvoiced /k/ and the voiced /w/.

The mirror work portion helps students see that when they make the /kw/ sound, their mouth performs two distinct actions: the /k/ sound starts in the back of the throat with a small puff of air, while the /w/ sound requires rounded lips with the voice turned on. This multisensory approach reinforces learning through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic pathways.

Whether you're a classroom teacher introducing the QU sound for the first time, a reading specialist working with struggling readers, or a parent supporting literacy at home, this lesson provides clear, practical instruction you can implement immediately.

KEY TOPICS COVERED:

Phonemic awareness activities for identifying the /kw/ sound
Mirror work to visualize mouth formation and articulation
Understanding voiced versus unvoiced components of the sound
The "Q and U are stuck like glue" rule for spelling patterns
Letter recognition and visual identification of QU
Using decodable books to practice the QU sound in context
Multisensory phonics techniques for early readers

CALLS TO ACTION:

Subscribe to the Piney Pals channel for more science of reading phonics lessons that make early literacy instruction clear, effective, and engaging for all students.

Visit Bookworm Pages to explore our complete collection of decodable books designed to support systematic phonics instruction in your classroom or at home.

Drop a comment below if you have questions about teaching the QU sound or want to share how you use multisensory techniques in your phonics lessons.

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