LumiraWhat is a soft consonant?
Some consonants take a second, softer sound in particular positions — usually before e, i or y. Teaching the rule explicitly turns a source of guessing into something predictable.
Soft g words — word list
Every word below appears in the decodable book on this page, so a reader who practises the list will meet the same words again in context.
- cage
- gel
- gem
- giant
- gym
- huge
- large
- magic
- page
- stage
- wage
Free decodable book: Decodable Soft G
This is an original Lumira decodable reader, written so that a child can sound out nearly every word using patterns they have already been taught. The full text is below — read it here, or open it in the app to read it together with the words highlighting as you speak.
Mia had a gem. Leo had a gem too. They like it.
Leo went to the gym. Mia went to the gym too.
Mia and Leo saw a cage. The cage is huge.
Leo had a page. Mia had a page too. They like it.
A giant is on the stage. Mia and Leo saw the giant.
Mia and Leo like magic. The magic is large. They like it.
Gem gym cage page huge stage large wage gel giant magic.
How to teach it
- Say the sound on its own first, several times, before showing any letters.
- Show the spelling and name it explicitly — tell the reader what it says rather than asking them to work it out.
- Blend two or three words from the list together, out loud, slowly.
- Read the decodable book above, where the pattern repeats in real sentences.
- Come back to it two or three days later. Cumulative review is what makes it stick.
Lessons that practise this pattern
Soft g (gem, cage)
Read g as /j/ when followed by e, i, or y
Word sort: soft g vs hard g
Sort words by whether g says /j/ (before e/i/y) or /g/ (elsewhere)