-. :;r di-,. -"'::~:: ;:r . __ __~ :t. : .. Word Recognition Skills Instruction by Ira E. Aaron College of- Education University of Georgia Division of Curriculum Services Office of Instructional Services Atlanta, Georgia 30334 1991 Georgia Department of Education. 1982 .J Contents Ch.pter 1 Word Recocnition - An Essenti.1 to Re.din.. . . . . . .. . .. . . .. .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. 7 The Place of Word Recognition Instruction in School Curriculum 8 Total School Responsibility for Word Recognition Instruction 9 The Word Recognition Skills Clusters 10 Ch.pter2 Word Recocnitlon Skills (Excludin. Phonics .nd Dicti~ry Use) II The Skills .................................................................... II Sight Vocabulary , 11 Picture Clues 13 Context Clues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. I 3 Compound Words 14 Contractions . . . . .. I5 Inflectional Endings Added to Roots - With and Without Root Changes 16 Prefixes and Suffixes 19 Instructional Activities 19 Sight Vocabulary ;9 Picture Clues ,'1 Context Clues .............................................................. ; 2 Compound Words ~3 Contractions ;'4 Inflectional Endings Added to Roots - With and Without Root Changes ,;5 Prefixes . ................................................................... ::2 Suffixes :\5 CNpter3 Phonics.nd ReI.ted Skills :;9 Phonics and the English Language '0 Specific Clusters of Skills " , " il Consonants 11 Consonant Digraphs ........................................................ 1 2 Consonant Blends I. 2 Initial and Final Consonant Substitutions . .................................... i3 Vowels ......................... .......................................... i3 Vowel Digraphs 15 Diphthongs .............................................................. "5 Phonics Principles . ......................................................... <16 Syllabication i7 Accent.................................................................. i8 Instructional Activities .1;9 Single Consonant Sounds ................................................ i, 9 Consonant Digraphs .................................................... ~l Consonant Blends . ...................................................... " !l2 Initial and Final Consonant SubstitutIons 54 Vowel Sounds . ....................................................... 55 Vowel Digraphs . ............................................................ 57 Diphthongs ............................................................... 58 Phonics Principles 58 Syllabication 65 Accent... ................................................................. 66 3 Chapter 4 Dictionary Use Skills 67 Skills 67 Location Sk.i/ls , 67 Pronunciation Sk.i/ls ........................................................ 70 Meaning Sk.ills 71 Instructional Activities " 73 Location Sk.i/ls ............................................................. 73 Meaning Sk.i/ls ............................................................. 74 Pronouncing Sk.iIIs 76 Chapter 5 ~itial Teaching Levels for Word Recognition Skills 77 Chapter 6 Word Reeoanition Inventory 81 Chapter 7 Summary Comments on Word Recop1ition Instruction 86 References 87 Glossary , 88 4 Preface Teaching Word Recognition Skills in Georgia Schools was published by the Georgia Department of Education 21 years ago. From 1960 to 1970 an estimated 50,000 copies of the guide were distributed, mainly to Georgia teachers and student teachers. The original publication underwent a major revision in 1970 and was reissued by the Georgia Department of Education under the title of Teaching Word Recognition Skills. More than 100,000 copies of the two versions have been distributed. Word Recognition Skill Instruction. with roots strongly embedded in the earlier publications. actually is completely rewritten. The organization has been modified considerably, information has been updated and an individual word recognition inventory has replaced the discussion of the traditional informal reading inventory which was included in the two previous editions. Suggested instructional activities either are new or have been completely reworked. Many people have assisted in firming up the manuscript for this guide. Several of the writer's colleagues in the Reading Department of the University of Georgia and students in their classes tried out a mimeographed version of the guide during the 1981 spring quarter. Members of the reading education doctoral seminar also assisted by reviewing sections of the manuscript. Modifications grew from suggestions made by these groups. Special appreciation is extended to Gaye Durand and Barbara Smith, Yvonne lvie and Teresa Hood, who assisted her in typing various versions of the manuscript. Special thanks also to Sutton Flynt. Bob Rickelman and Charlie Martin who read the manuscript. This guide is dedicated to the many teachers who have taught - and will continue to teach - these important word recognition skills to Georgia students. These teachers are ever mindful that there is more to reading than word recognition alone, but they also are keenly aware that skill in recognizing words is necessary for comprehension and appreciation to occur. Ira E. Aaron 5 Chapter 1 Word Recognition - An Essential to Reading Most fluent readers are unaware of howcomplexthe readCng process is, with its multiplicity of skills and understandings. Though ttle skills and understandings are packaged in many different ways by builders of teaching materials and curriculum guides, they almost always include categories of word recognition and comprehension. Teachers who have taught beginners to read, remedial reading teachers and those who have overcome deficiencies in reading are all aware of how essential word recognition is to reading. The mastery of word recognition skills is necessary for reading to occur. However, reading involves far more than recognizing individual words. It is also concerned with the verbal setting of the word, including its relationship to words around it. Further, it has meaning only in terms of the reader's purpose for reading, the writer's intended purpose for writing and the reader's informational background relative to the top:c under discussion. Some researchers and writers refer to these as the reader's schema - which determines the meaning he or she obtains from the material being read. Major attention here is given to recognizing words in sentences, and occasionally in isolation or in phrases. However, the reader is cautioned to remember that the use of word recognition skills. except In instructional settings. occurs in selections of one or more paragraphs. Occasionally the clues needed for extracting meaning may have occurred several sentences or paragraphs earlier. The follOWIng example illustrates this. Juanita looked out into the garden from her bedroom window. She could see her brother planting flowers down below. She thought to herself, "I'm surprised at how well he is making the bed." In the last sentence, it is obvious that Juanita is referring to aflower bed. Had you seen the sentence standing alone, you would more than likely guess that the bed referred to was one in which you sleep. If bed had been met in isolation, you would have no idea which of its many meanings was intpl1ded. Word recognition, before the process is complete, must inllolve use of context. A mature reader has a large sight vocabulary - that is. words recognized instantly. He or she may read a newspaper or book without encountering any unknown words, making the identification of words appear to be deceptively simple. Much learning on the part of the reader and much teaching on the part of teachers are necessary for building that stock of instantly recognized words. Further, the reader's initial 7 encounters with those words likely involve use of some combination of the clusters of word recognition skills that are discussed in this booklet. After repeated use in a variety of contexts, the words were mastered; they became a part ofthe reader's instant-recognition vocabulary. A few examples ~ help. The reader for the first time encounters the word sternutation in the sentence, "His sternutation startled me." By using a combination of phonics and syllabication, the reader has a high probability of pronouncing the word correctly. But does the reader know its meaning? Not unless he or she already knows a meaning for sternutation. However, if the next sentence is read, "That was the loudest sneeze I've ever heard," the reader will find the word defined. A descriptive sentence, such as "His sternutation occurred so rapidly that he didn't have time to cover his nose and mouth with his handkerchief," would also give the meaning. Pronunciation alone falls short of word recognition; meaning must be involved. A further example is the recognition of the word circus in the sentence "The girl rode an elephant in the circus." The reader, not knowing circus. could probably use the context and the initial consonant to get the meaning. In most countries, places where people ride elephants are usually limited to a circus or a parade. However, the reader could have used a variety of phonics skills (illustrated in Chapter 3) and checked the meaning by feeding it back into context. This latter approach would lead to wasted effort if the reader goes beyond the point where meaning is assured. A cardinal principle of word analysis is to get in and get out with the meanina as soon as possible. The Place of Word Recognition Instruction in the School Curriculum Most il"struction in word recognition occurs in basal and remedial reading classes. Considerable attention is also given by some teachers as part of spelling instruction. To a lesser extent, content area teachers will devote some instructional time to word recognition. Most basal reader instruction, especially in primary grades, revolves around the use of basal reader series. These series have built-in programs for word recognition instruction which are reflected in the lesson plans in teacher's manuals. In the typical lesson plan, word recognition instruction may be suggested at several different points. The initial phase, in which readiness for the reading of a given selection is usually built, may involve a reminder of some previous word recognition skill that has just been taught as an aid to students who are about to read a selection in which the skill will be helpful in recognizing unfamiliar words. In some programs, a few minutes of work on new words may be suggested. While students are reading a selection 8 silently, the teacher also gives individual aid when it is requested Following the silent reading of the selection, and usually after a comprehension discussion or reView, new word recognition skills may be introduced, and major reviews of previously introduced skills may be suggested. In a follow-up to the reading of a selection, additional practice on word recognition may be given. Basal series do vary in their suggestions, and thoughtful teachers will adapt the suggestions in the manuals to the needs of specific groups of students. If language experience is the major approach being used in a classroom to teach reading, word recognition instruction for individual students may be very similar to the overall pattern used in basal reader approaches. Students may also be pulled together into small groups for instruction in word recognition. Individualized reading approaches would likely follow a similar pattern. Total School Responsibility for Word Recognition Instruction Primary teachers have heavy responsibilities for teaching word recognition skills in accordance with the needs of their students. However, responsibility for teaching these skills goes beyond the primary grades. 'Even though all word recognition skill clusters have been introduced to average learners by the end of primary grades, much instruction is still necessary on advanced level dictionary skills and on prefixes and suffixes. Further, some students at fourth grade and higher levels will not have mastered some important word recognition skills or may be learning them at a slowerthan-average rate. They must be taught these skills even though they may be thought of as primary level skills. This need on the part of some students will persist into the secondary grades. To maintain skills previously learned, students need periodic reviews. Much of the needed review comes from applying the skills in reading. Occasional formal reviews on sE"!ected skills, however, will be necessary for some students to assure t11at they maintain the skills at a mastery level. Although content area teachers do not assign a high priority to word recognition skill instruction, SllCt! teachers could help their students improve word recognition skills and comprehension skiils by giving assistance where needed. For example, a science or social studies teacher may note in some students a weakness in dictionary skills or in interpreting words with prefixes or suffixes. With a limited amount of instruction, students could be helped considerably in their reading. The content area teacher, of course, should not be expected to give extensive remedial instruction In reading to students severely defiCient in word recognition skills. 9 The Word Recognition Skills Clusters What are the clusters of related and interwoven word recognition skills? Though there are many ways to package and label these skills clusters, a nine-category pattern is used in this bulletin. Perhaps the best known and most widely adopted pattern is a five-way breakdown used by Gray (1960).A nine-way breakdown is used here; it subdivides two of Gray's . five categories and uses slightly different labels in an effort to make the labels more descriptive of the skills. The nine categories include the following: (1) sight vocabulary, (2) picture clues, (3) context clues, (4) compound words, (5) contractions, (6) adding endings to roots - with and without root changes, (7) adding affixes (prefixes and suffixes) to roots, (8) phonics and (9) dictionary use. In Gray's five-category pattern, items four through seven above were called structural analysis skills, and there was no category for picture clues. These nine clusters of word recognition skills will be presented in three chapters, with the first seven clusters discussed in a single chapter. Because of the many subskills and understandings involved in phonics and in dictionary use, a chapter will be devoted to each of these. The remaining chapters will present a possible scope and sequence for teaching the word recognition skills, an informal word recognition inventory and summary statements about word recognition instruction. Word recognition is considered to be an important part of the process of comprehending printed materials; it is not an end in itself. The reader is asked to keep this idea in mind throughout the study of this booklet. Although the discussion on comprehension is minimal in this publication, it. along with appreciation, is considered by the writer to be the major goal of reading instruction. However, comprehension will not occur if the student possesses no word recognition skills, and comprehension will be interfered with if the student is deficient in needed word recognition skills. Throughout the guide, terms related to word recognition will be encountered by the reader. The glossary following the final chapter defines these terms. 10 Chapter 2 Word Recognition Skills j (Excluding Phonics and Dictionary Use) j j The teacher must have a firm understanding of the skills involved in j 'ecognizing words as a base for effective teaching of these skills. Yence. thi!' chapter and two that follow fot::us first on the skills j :hemselves and then upon suggested ways of teaching them. All word j 'ecognition skills, except those a part of or closely related to phonics j a'ld dictionary use, are discussed in this chapter. Phonics and dictionary use are treated in Chapters 3 and 4. The skills included in this j ::hapter are sight vocabulary. picture clues, context clues. compound j words. contractions, inflectional endings added to roots -with and j without root changes - and prefixes and suffixes. First, the skills will be discussed. and then activities for use in instruction will be presented. j j j The Skills j Sight Vocabulary j The term sight vocabulary refers to a person's stock of instantly recognized words - words recognized at sight without having to labor over decoding them. If a word is in a person's sight vocbulary. that word has been mastered by the reader. The person knows it whenever he or she meets it. The size of a typical first grader's sight vocabulary is Quite small. In contrast, a mature adult reader has an exceedingly large sight vocabulary and is able to read a book. magazine or newspaper with little or no attention to decoding unfamiliar words. However, initial decoding of words now in a person's sight vocabulary likely involved the use of a variety of word recognition skills. such as context cues, phonics and word structure. The word, stf'rnutation, used in Chapter 1. exemplifies this process. Ini~ially, you used structural elements, phonics and context to decode the word. Now it is in your sight vocabulary; that is, you recognize it instantly. j j j j j j j j j j j Sometimes a second meaning of sight vocabulary is used - teaching a j word as a whole. This additional meaning as presented by Gray refers to j teaching words as wholes with no use of other cues to word recognition. A first grade teacher shows the word pig and tells the student that the j word is pig. Or at higher levels. the student asks for help on a word, and j the teacher tells him that it is pneumonia. The student does not have the knowledge needed to decode pn as the n sound at that level. This j second meaning of sight vocabulary has been referred to by some j writers as a whole word method of teaching reading. j j 11 j j j j ----zJ There are times in reading instruction when it is appropriate for words to be introduced as wholes - such as the very beginning of reading instruction in remedial work with very limited readers or for more advanced readers when they do not have the background to figure out a word for themselves. However, most reading instructional materials suggest using other cues, such as context and initial consonants, along with telling what the word is. Accusations made about some instructional programs and materials that advocate whole word and look-say approaches seldom are justified. Most basal series in the beginning do suggest teaching some words as wholes and occasional words thereafter. Preprimers tend to have fairly well-controlled vocabularies in which a limited number of words are repeated over and over in different contexts. Through these repetitions a small stock of 50 or more words will be added to a student's sight vocabulary, i.e., instantly recognized. However, other word recognition skills are involved even though a few of these words might be taught initially as wholes. Furthermore, a base for phonics instruction has likely been laid through work in auditory and visual discrimination as a part of prereading readiness. Teachers use a number of techniques to assist students in building an initial stock of sight words. Perhaps the most widely used approach involves repetitive vocabularies in the beginning levels of basal reader series and in some high interest, low vocabulary materials. Most first grade teachers and many remedial reading teachers also use elements of a language experience approach in accomplishing this goal. Through recording actual experiences of the students who are to do the reading, teachers can add quickly to their instantly recognized words. Further, using lables on objects, such as on the door and chalkboard, combines the word with context to develop a sight vocabulary. Still another approach is preparing classroom activity notices (as "Jean will feed the fish.") for students to follow. Flash cards also are helpful, but they should be used with caution. Some suggestions to be remembered for developing students' sight vocabularies are listed below. 1. Select words and materials appropriate for the student's level of reading. 2. Utilize picture and verbal context from the beginning. 3. Encourage students to use word recognition skills that they know to help themselves rather than telling them what words are at the least hesitation on the student's part. (Students can become over- dependent upon teacher help. However, if a student is reading aloud to an audience - when the purpose is not instructional practice- tell the student the word immediately.) 12 4. Introduce no more words than the student can handle at one time. 5. Teach words from context; if they are pulled from context for emphasis, put them back into context before the close of the instructional session. (This suggestion also applies to use of flash cards.) 6. Guide the reader into noticing distinguishing characteristics of a word that may be causing difficulty. (General length - long word, short word; beginning - begins with th; ending - ends in ble. 7. Avoid early use of configuration as a cue unless the word has a distinct configuration not likely to be confused with other words. 8. Teach for mastery, but do not expect mastery in one session. (Mastery comes with repeated practice.) Picture Clues Pictures serve three purposes in reading instructional materials. They create interest in a selection, aid in building concepts and serve as clues to word recognition. In instructional materials at all levels, pictures are used to get readers interested in reading the selection. They also are used to add to the content ofthe story or article. These first two purposes are more important than the third, although attention will be given to that purpose - to serve as a clue to word recognition. At beginning reading levels, materials often include pictures as clues for new words that are included in the selection. For example, a picture of a horse may be included on the page where the word horse first is used, or a picture of an elephant may be placed just over the word elephant. Use of the rebus is fairly common in beginning materials, with the word replacing the picture at some later time. ~ome writers have challenged the use of pictures in beginning instructional materials, stating that they interfere with learning to read (Samuels, 1977; Fries, 1962). It seems that their effectiveness would depend upon several factors - how closely they are articulated with the material, how well teachers instruct students in their use and how uncluttered the picture is. A picture containing a horse, cow, goat and a house gives very little clearcut help in recognizing the word horse. Context Clues Context clues are among the most helpful clues in recognizing unfamiliar words. In fact, they are a necessary part of all attempts to extract meaning from unfamiliar words. Although roots, plus inflectional endings and phonics or any other combination of word recognition techniques, may be involved, context clues must be used before the intended meaning can be determined. 13 Two broad categories of contextclues are used. syntactic and semantic. A student may meet a sentence such as. "The XXXXXXX flew to the top of the tree." Familiarity with the English language cues the student that the unfamiliar word is a noun - which is a syntactic cue. This knowledge narrows the possibilities considerably. The unfamiliar word is not a verb. adverb. adjective or so on. The child knows from experience that the missing word cannot be elephant. giraffe or many other things that do' not fly. This is ~ semantic. or meaning clue. Using context clues alone rarely is sufficient to decode an unfamiliar word; they must be used in conjunction with other cues, such as recognition of initial and final consonant sounds. In the sentence cited in the paragraph above - even though the possibilities have been limited greatly by syntactic and semantic cues - literally dozens of words would make sense in the sentence. The unfamiliar word could be the name of anything that flies, bluejay. parrot, eagle. buzzard or the generic term bird. If the initial letter were b. then the correct pOSSibilities have been narrowed conSiderably. If it is a short word beginning with band ending with d, the word bird would be a very strong posslbittiy. If the student looks only at the initial consonant. with no attention to length and final consonant, then blackbird, bluebird, bobwhite, bullfinch, bumblebee or buzzard would fit logically in the sentence. Three of the above words, biackbird. bluebird and buzzard, would still be possible if beginning and ending consonant sounds were considered with no consideration for length. Obviously, using context alone only limits the possibilities, and It should be used in conjunction with other cues to word recognition. Context clues should be emphasized in reading instruction from the prereading readiness stage onward. In the beginning, the teacher works at a listenlllg level, with students completing statements or answering questions aloud in response to teacher comments or questions. Examples are. "What animal says, 'Meow'?" "Complete this sentence- Last night, we watched a movie on ." Instruction moves easily from listening into reading as the student begins to read. Context clues are extremely important and should be a part of reading instruction at all levels. Compound Words Almost from the beginning of reading instruction, students meet compound words (such as grandmother. cowboy, and birthday) in the instructional material. Initially, attention is not usually called to the fact that these words - already in the students' meaning and speaking vocabularies - are made up of two smaller words. However, usually by primer or first reader levels, students are taught to use the knowledge that two familiar words are sometimes put together to form what is to them an unfamiliar word. 14 There are three types of compound words, but instruction is usually confined to one type. In all types, two or more words are put together into a new word, and each of the smaller words keeps its own separate form. The most obvious form of compound word, one made up of two smaller words (henhouse, staircase, and airplane), is the type usually taught. Compound words also include hyphenated words (goodbye, brotherin-/aw, dry-clean) and compounds made up of two or more separate words (ice cream, dining room, fire engine). These last types, since the descriptive words are clearly separated, may be treated as separate words in reading instruction. Instruction in helping students recognize known parts in compound words is usually fairly simple and straightforward. If in reading instruction the student asks or needs help on an unfamiliar compound word that is made up of known smaller words, the only cue needed may be to cover the second part with a small card and ask the student what the word is. Repeat the process with the first word being covered, and finally ask the student to put the two parts together. One precaution needs to be kept in mind by teachers in selecting compound words to use in instruction. Words may on the surface appear to be compound words when they are not, and teachers must weed out these words lest they confuse the students. Examples of pseudo-compound words include candid, coinage, damage, chipmunk, downward and fearless. The first four words are root words, and the last two are derived forms of words having suffixes. To emphasize how seductive such words can be, one needs to think only of how easy it would be to think of chipmunk as being made up of chip and munk. It could not possibly be since there is no such English word as munk. Compound words also have one additional unique feature. In pronunciation, they have both a primary and a secondary accent. In the three words cited earlier, grandmother, cowboy and birthday, the primary accent is on the first syllable, the secondary on the second syllable. Contractions Contractions are encountered by students in reading instructional materials at least bv primer or first reader level. Further they use contracted forms of words very clearly in their speech. In fact, using contracted forms of words is natural in speech. The typical speaker usually uses the informal don't rather than the more formal do not, unless the speaker wants to emphasize the not. Teaching students that a contraction is a shortened form of the word and that the apostrophe represents one or more missing letters is usually easy. In the early stages of instruction, attention is given to 15 contractions not likely to be confused with the possessive form. The word it's (meaning it is) is an exception, and at later stages, words like Mary's (which could be Mary is or Mary's house, the possessive form) may confuse some students initially. Context, however, should cue the reader to the intended meaning. Among the contractions used frequently and early are don't, didn't, I'm, I'll, can't, that's, let's, you've, couldn't, won't, he's, wasn't, I've, isn't, doesn't, there's, we'll, wouldn't and you'll. All of these words appear in the order listed in the first 1,000 words of the Carroll, et a/.list (1971). The word won't (meaning will not) is different from other contracted forms; the wo does not spell the word will. If students question why it is different, the teacher may suggest that the word origin accounts forthe difference. Inflectional Endings Added To Roots - With and Without Root Changes Very early in reading instruction, students are taught that endings like 5, ed, ing, es, '5, 5', er or est are added fo words to signify a change in their use. The basic meaning of the root remains the same. However, the ending signifies a word form variation to show number (singular or plural), tense (present, past, future and so on), comparison positive, comparative, superlative), case, gender or mood. Fox example, boys now means more than one boy, looked now means that it happened in the past and girl's now means that something belongs to the girl. These word structure elements are taught early. Inflected endings are first taught where no change occurs in the root when the ending is added, as in run/runs, call/calls, fly/flying, fox/foxes. Later, the same endings are taught in words where changes occur in the root as the ending is added. These changes are doubling the final consonant, dropping the final e, changing y to i and for fe to v. Inflectional endings are meaning elements; they carry meaning of their own. A sentence containing "nonsense words" with conventional inflectional endings will illustrate the point. "The grol's baik rilted the beps." The '5 tells us that the baik belongs tothegrol;theedtells us that the rUt occured in the past; and the 5 tells us that there is more than one bep. In linguistic terminology, such elements are called morphemes. Since the s, ed, or other infectional ending cannot stand alone (that is, it must be combined with another element), it is called a bound morpheme. The root (as boy in boys) is a free morpheme since it can . stand alone. One type of activity frequently used to review this group of skills is to have students locate the root and the ending that has been added. This type of exercise can be useful if instructions clearly indicate the elements within the words that students are identifying. Leading them 16 intentionally or unintentionally, to locate any little word or little element within the larger word should be avoided. Locating red, do, in and ate in predominate is of no value; in fact, it could interfere with learning the word since the little words cut across the sounds of syllables in the larger word. By early second grade reading level, attention is given to noting changes in roots that occur as inflectional endings are added. Ata latertime, the child is taught that these same root changes may occur when suffixes such as Iy, ness, able and ment are added to words. Knowing that word endings may be changed in certain ways before inflectional endings are added aids the reader in recognizing words. For example, the student who knows the word dry, the inflectional ending es, and the y-changeto-i principle has a base for decoding the word dries the first time the word is met in context. Four types of root changes are usually taught. An additional two generalizations, involving root changes but dealing with vowel sounds. are often taught. These six generalizations are the following. 1. A single consonant letter at the end of a root word may be doubled before an ending i~ added. (hitting, stopped, hopping.) 2. A final e may be dropped before an ending is added (giving, hoping. hoped.) (Actually, the e is dropped from the word hope before the ed ending is added.) 3. A final y may be changed to i before an ending is added. (cry/cries/ cried, city/cities, reply/replies/replied.) 4. The letter f (or fe) may be changed to v before an ending is added. (wolf/wolves, life/lives, hoof/hooves.) 5. The double consonant before an ending usually signals a short vowel sound. (hopping, hitting, stopped.) 6. The single consonant before an ending usually signals a long vowel sound. (hoping, roped, riding.) Generalizations five and six apply the root changes to phonics and appropriately might be placed under the discussion of phonics. Never theless, they are included here to emphasize that they are extensions of root change generalizations. Principle five is an extension of one; six is an extension of two. It is important to emphasize the usually in each statement since there are exceptions to all of the generalizations. For example, the word giving does not adhere to generalization six because the root word (which also does not adhere to two phonics principles) has a short ratherthan a long vowel sound. The student should know that sometimes these principles work, and that the principle should be applied if it seems appropriate and there is no better clue. 17 Irregular verbs, such as run/ran, give/gave/given, and see/saw/seen, may cause confusion for students who do not have good command of these verbs in oral language. However, instruction in English and spelling also focuses attention upon these words. Further, in reading the student will meet the words in context and will have no need to try a principle unless it has a known ending (which irregular verbs would not have) and the stem of the word looks familiar. That is, it looks like a known root with one of the four root changes. The stem, as used here, refers to the part of the word to which the ending was added. In the word looked, the root and stem are the same. In the word dries, the root is dry, the stem is dri and the ending is es. What the teacher hopes to accomplish is to teach students to use these principles in decoding unfamiliar words. 18 Prefixes and Suffixes At the second grade reading level instruction in using suffixes begins, with initial teaching of prefixes foliowing shortly. Prefixes are affixed to the beginning of words (unlike, preheat, retest) with suffixes affixed to the ends of words (lively, snowy, happiness). These meaning elements are bound morphemes (are not able to stand alone) and must be combined with a root word. A word to which a prefix or suffix has been added is called a derived form. Addinga prefix or suffix toa root word results in a meaningchange in the root. For example, the word farmer n"w means one who farms rather than farm; the word unhappy now means not happy; and the word lovely now means quality of love. The new word with a different mea ning has been derived by adding the prefix or suffix. This change of meaning in a derived form is in contrast to inflected forms of words, where the use rather than the basic meaning changes. Although instruction on these parts of word structure begins in primary grades, prefixes and suffixes are still taught in secondary school. Among the prefixes taught fairly early are un, re, dis, pre, in and fore. Suffixes introduced fairly soon include Iy, y, er, ful, able, less and ish. Root changes, discussed as a part of inflectional endings, also occurs sometimes when suffixes are added to words. These include doubling a final consonant (regrettable, concurrence, riddance), dropping the final e (lovable, location, debatable), changing final y to i (happiness, bodily, mysterious) and changing f to v (livable, thievery, elvish). Instructional Activities Sight Vocabulary Activity 1. With student help, write a short experience story on the chalkboard. Each sentence should be on a separate line. When it is finished, read it to the students and then have them read it to you. As they read, sweep your hand (or a pointer) under the line being read. later, ask for volunteers to read each line. Finally, have students take turns in pointing to and saying worde; that they know. Ar. example of an experience story follows. . Miriam had a birthday yesterday. Her mother brought a cake to school. It had six candles on it. We had a party in the room. We ate the cake. We had fun. 19 Activity 2. Ask each student to tell you a word he or she wants to learn to read. Print that word on a 3 x5 inch card and give the student the word to study. Have the student make up and say a sentence containing the word. Then you say the sentence, omitting the word and having the student hold up the card with the word at the point where it fits in the sentence. An example is one using Mother. (I was brought to school this morning by my My brought me to school this morning.) Continue this procedure. Have students keep the cards of their words. From time to time, review the words with them. Activity 3. Print daily activity notices on the chalkboard. Have students read them early in the day. Give as much help as they need. An example of a day's activities follows. Jake will feed the fish. Marcia will water the plants. Sally will greet our guests. Charles will pass out the crayons. Mike will pass out the paper. The activities will be similar each day, with the main changes being in the students' names. Activity 4. Write sentences containing words that student~ have found ttl . t~ difficult. Have the sentences read and the difficult word pointed Jut Use the same word in several different sentences. An example is thi<, "me. H&> ~ o;ked for this one. Is this your book? This is my book. Activity 5. Give each student a page from the newspaper. Ask them to draw a line around every the and and (or some other function words) in one column. Check to assure tl" dt they are drawing lines around the right words. To help, you may print the words on the chalkboard fortheir reference. Use this activity for words that appear frequently in newspapers and on which students need practice. Activity 6. Ask students to keep an individual word booklet or word file for hard-to-read words. These may be filed in envelopes. The teacher should review the words periodically with each student. When a word is mastered it is struck through on the booklet and rewritten in a section headed "Words I Know," or the card is moved to the "Words I Know" section of the file. When words are being reviewed, some of the review should involve the words in teacher-prepared or student-prepared sentences. The number of active words in the booklet or file should be kept to a manageable size to avoid discouragement. 20 Activity 7. label objects known to students with 3 x 5 inch cards such as table, chair, desk, door and window. After the labels have been on the objects for a day or two, ask students to read the words. Give help by calling attention to the object on which the word is placed. At a later time, use the words in sentences. Added practice may be given by using a duplicate set of cards and asking a student to go to the _ _ (the object named on the card). Still later, the same activity may be carried out after the labels have been removed from the objects. Activity 8. When a student has a great deal of difficulty in learning a particular word, print the word in large size on a pad. Ask the student to trace the word, letterby letter, with a finger, saying the word as he or she traces. Use this as a last resort. Activity 9. Use published materials or prepare your own in which words you want students to master are repeated in different contexts. Have them read the selection and then identify the important words. Picture Clues Activity 1. Cut pictures of five to 10 familiar animals (cat, dog, horse, cow, bird. elephant, goat, tiger or rabbit) from old magazines, newspapers or books. Mount the pictures on cardboard, and have students name each animal. Then spread the pictures out so all can be seen at once. Ask questions about characteristics of animals. Possible questions include: Which animal has a trunk? Which animals have horns? Which animal has a short tail and hops? Which animal is largest in real life? Which animal is smallest in real life? Next, the name of each animal may be printed on a 3 x 5 inch card. Using a small number of pictures with accompanying names (not more than three or four at a time), ask for volunteers to pronounce the words. Each time a word is pronounced correctly, place it under the picture it names. After students have had practice in naming the words, place the names under the correct pictures and have them name the word. The final step is to shuffle the name cards and then ask students to place the name under the correct picture. Provide sufficient practice over several days so students can name the words in the a.bsence of the pictures. Activity 2. Cut small pictures of familiar objects, animals or scenes from old magazines, newspapers or books. Mount them on cardboard. Write sentences on strips that include the names of what is pictured. Examples are: The squirrel ran up the tree. A car came down the road. There is snow on the ground. We went to the circus. Using one sentence strip and its matchinR picture at a time. ask students to read the sentences. Tell them any words other than the italicized words that they do not know. Call attention to the pictures when necessary to help students recognize the italicized words. 21 Activity 3. locate pictures in old magazines, newspapers or books that match words that are likely to cause difficulty for students. Cut out the pictures and mount them on cardboard. Write sentences containing these wordson stri;:ls. Present a sentence and its matching word printed on a card, and have the sentence read by the students. Remove the pictures as they begin to recognize the words. Context Clues Activity t.'When the student asks for help in decoding a particular word where context clues are clear, direct the student's attention to the context. If the clue is in a later sentence, an earlier sentence or in the sentence containing the unfamiliar word, direct student's attention to the context clue. Examples: Read the rest of the sentence to see if that helps you. What was described in the paragraph above? Read the rest of the paragraph; it gives you a clue about this word. This type of onthe spot coaching helps students realize the effectiveness of context clues. Activity 2. Write several sentences on the board which include blanks for deleted words for which a context clue is given in the sentence. Examples are The old We saw them milk the Birds build their The girl is my The barked at me. (dog) . (cow) in trees. (nests) . (sister) struck nine. (clock) Sentences like the fourth one help students realize that context clues merely limit the meanings and that other clues must be used along with the context to assure correct meaning. The missing word was given as sister. However, it could correctly be completed with the words cousin, neighbor, friend, enemy, partner or many other words. Activity three combines initial consonant or vowel letter identification with context to narrow the possibilities. Activity 3. Prepare sentences as described in Activity two but give the initial letter ( or letters) of the missing word. Examples are He d the car down the street. (drove) She walked down the st . (steps) He th the football. (threw) My w , s h o w s 10 o'clock. (watch) I like to eat a . (apples) 22 Activity 4.Present short paragraphs in which several words have been omitted except for the first and last letters. An example is My dad is a p t . He flies jet p s. Sometimes m and I go on a t p with him. His f y gets to ride free. Omitted words: pilot, planes, mother, trip, family. Compound Words Activity 1. If a child asks for help on a compound word made of two known words (cowboy), the teacher may use a 3x5 inch card to cover the second part (boy) and then ask what the first word is. Next, cover the first word (cow) and ask what the second word is. Finally, ask that the entire word be pronounced. This activity is appropriate when the child encounters an unfamiliar. compound and asks for help. Activity 2. Place these two columns of words on the board. Then ask students to build as many new words as they can, using a word from column A as the first part and a word from column B as the second part. An alternate pattern is to duplicate the columns and have students draw lines connecting the two parts that make a compound. A B sun grand rail news moon basket mother paper shine ball road light Activity 3. Place these sentences on the be .1rd or duplicate for student use. Ask students to draw a line around the correct ending. The chickens went into the hen party house horse I want to play basket gold tall ball let's read the news _ paper taper pepper 23 Activity 4. Duplicate these sentences and have students write in the blanks the words from which the compound was made. Let's play volleyball. The housetop is high. My grandmother lives with us. The main highway runs nearby. She stood in the strawberry patch. When is your birthday? An airplane flew over us. He moved the bookcase. Other compound words that may be used are these. typewriter golfball grandstand schoolhouse billboard postman stoplight grandson birdcage newspaper snowplow goldfish Contractions Activity 1. Write sentences like these on the board. John cannot play now. John can't play now. I do not like cold weather. I don't like cold weather. We are now ready to go. We're now ready to go. Ask for a volunteer to read the first pair of sentences. If students have difficulty with can't, ask what they say instead of cannot. Continue with the other pairs of sentences. Explain that the apostrophe is used instead of one or more letters when the two words are put together to make one word. Write an apostrophe on the board as you explain. Activity 2. Write these sentences on the board or duplicate for student use. Have students write the contracted forms of the italicized words in the blanks provided. I do not know where she is. He will come back soon. They are my parents. She would not stop walking. What is she doing? 24 Activity 3. Duplicate these sentences for student use. Have them write the two words from which the contracted form was made. Jake couldn't come tonight. Isn't it time to go? Who's turn is it to play? I'd like to have a drink of water. Mary won't be here until tomorrow. That's not my book. It's time to go home. I'll be sure to write you. We can't play until recess. Let's sing a song. Activity 4. Duplicate these sentences and ask students to write on the line following each sentence the letter or letters that are omitted in each contracted form. Bill's playing baseball. , wouldn't want to eat that much. They aren't my pets. What's your favorite color? You'd make a good basketball player. _ I'll be back soon. We don't know the way to get there. You'll enjoy this story. , can't jump that high. He'd make a good teacher. Inflectional Endings Added to Roots - With and Without Root Changes Activity 1. (Adding s to noun to form plural) Write on the board a sentence containing a plural noun whose singular form is well known to students such as I have two dogs. The two preceding dogs should be sufficient to cause the student to add an s to dog when reading the sentence. Ask a volunteer to read the sentence. Supply whatever help is needed. Write the words dog and dogs on the board. Pointto dog and ask how many. Do the same for dogs. Emphasize that the s means more than one. Then have students read the following pairs of sentences. Joe has one cat. Mary has three cats. I have a television set in my room. We also have two more sets at home. The horse jumped the fence. All the other horses followed. 25 Activity 2. (Adding ed to verb to form past tense) Write in column form on the board the present (or future) and past tense of a regular verb, as call and called. Ask students to listen as you say these three sentences. I caff to you now. I will call you tomorrow. She caffed me yesterday. Emphasize slightly the italicized word and point to the word on the board as you say it in the sentence. Ask students if the first sentence says that the calling took place in the past, is happening now or will happen in the future. Reread each sentence and discuss the use of call in it before moving to the next sentence. Lead students into understanding that the ed added to call means that it happened in the past. Use other sentences like the following for further practice. Have them tell whether the action occurred in the past, is happening in the present or will happen in the future. I will watch him play ball. I watched her play ball this afternoon. He knocked at her door when he arrived. She shouted at the dog. Judy shovels snow and fusses. Give emphasis here to the "happened in the past" meaning of ed. At a later time, you may present sentences using the ing form of the same words (caffing, watching, knocking, shouting and shoveling). If the student uses the words correctly, all you need do is to help him recognize a known root with an ing ending. Activity 3. (Adding's to a noun to show possession) Write on the board in columns several phrases containing singular possessives, such as Mary's blue hat, mother's purse and the eat's fur. Ask for volunteers to read the phrases. If they have difficulty with one of the words showing possession, cover the's and ask what the word is. If a further clue is needed (as in the word Mary's), ask how they would say it if they wanted to say the blue hat belonged to Mary. Give as much help as needed. State that whenever people want to say that something belongs to a person or thing, they often do so by using an apostrophe and s. Point out the apostrophe and s in each of the phrases on the board. Next place sentences like the following on the board, using in each the possessive forms of known words. Kim's father called to me. The eat's leg was hurt. The squeak came from the car's hood. Have students locate the word in each sentence that tells that something belongs to someone or something. 26 Activity 4. (Adding es to verbs and nouns) Place the following sentences on the board or duplicate for student use. We saw a fox. Two foxes came over the hill. I'll go to school today. She goes to the country each summer. I brush my teeth. He brushes his teeth. She ate one potato. He ate two potatoes. Watch me climb the tree. Mary watches Bill climb the tree. Ask a volunteer to read the first sentence. Call attention to the two italicized words and ask how they differ. Explain that sometimes es rather than s is added to a word. Continue with the remaining sentences. Additional practice sentences may be made from these words. wish(es) catch(es) rush(es) flash(es) box(es) brush(es) dash(es) domino(es) dash(es) miss(es) latch(es) bench(es) church(es) wash(es) toss(es) boss(es) tomato(es) cross(es) ash(es) birch(es) Activity 5. (Adding ing to root) Place sentences similar to these on the board. Don't play in the house. They are playing football. I'll go home soon. Mary is going home later. Will you read to me? I'm reading a good book. Try not to fall down. John is falling down on every play. Watch me throw the ball. I'm throwing the ball to Sarah. Ask a volunteer to read the first pair of sentences, giving assistance on the ing word in the second sentence if it is needed. This help may be given by covering the ing and asking what the word is, then pronouncing the Nord. Use the same procedure for the remaining sentences. Additional pairs of practice sentences may be made from the following words. watch(ing) want(ing) shout(ing) pitch(ing) rush(ing) look(ing) see(ing) ask(ing) wish(ing) fly(ing) dry(ing) tell(ing) shoot(ing) meet(ing) throw(ing) climb(ing) show(ing) call(ing) feel(ing) fail(ing) 27 Activity 6. (Adding er or est to indicate comparative or superlative degree) Write several sentences like these on the board or duplicate for student use. Joe runs fast. Sam runs faster than Joe. Mary is the fastest runner of all. Bill is small. Susie is smaller than Bill. Jim is the smallest of the three. Kate is strong. She is stronger than Bill. She is the strongest pupil in her class. This is a hard problem. The next one is harder. The last one is the hardest of all. The lake is deep. The river is deeper. The ocean is the deepest of all. Have a volunteer read the first group of sentences. Then call attention to the er word in the second sentence and the est word in the third sentence. Explain that er on a word often means that one thing is greater than another (Sam is faster than Joe), and that est means that something is greatest of all (Mary is the fastest runner of all). Comparative er is used when two things are compared; superlative est is used when three or more things are compared. Using volunteers, continue through the remaining groups of sentences, having students explain the meaning of er and est words. Other words that may be used in groups of sentences are listed below. high(er,est) warm(er, est) low(er est) light (er, est) great (er, est) cold (er, est) loud (er, est) tall (er, est) bright (er, est) quick (er, est) green (er, est) rough (er, est) slow (er, est) warm (er, est) dark (er, est) Avoid confusing er nouns, such as farmer, caller or painter with comparison er where words are adjectives or adverbs. 28 Activity 7. (Locating root) Place these words on the board or duplicate for student use. drying highest girls' coldest looks Jim's darker dressed watched foxes lifted reading played tighter makes bird's catches throwing brightest teaches Have students draw a line around the root in each word. tell the ending added in each and then use the word in a sentence. If necessary, remind them that the root is the word from which the longer word is made. Activity 8. (Locating roots and endings) Duplicate the following paragraph for student use. Ask them to locate each word to which an ending has been added, decide what the root is, determine what. if anything,happened to the root as the ending was added and decide what the added ending is. Three rabbits hopped into Mr. Johnson's garden. They began to eat the leaves of the plants. Mr. Johnson cried out, "Get out, you thieves!" Then Ruff, my dog, saw the animals and chased them away. I tried to stop him but couldn't. It was an exciting morning. Activity 9. (Doubling consonant before ed or ing ending) Place sentences like these on the board. Don't drop your glass. He dropped his glass. Everybody is dropping glasses. Stop talking. She stopped talking. She is stopping now. He cut his finger. I'm cutting the paper now. 29 -----~------------- - Have a volunteer read the first group of sentences. Call attention to the ending on dropped and dropping and that the final consonant was doubled when the ending was added. Follow the same process with the remaining groups of sentences. Tell students that sometimes a known word may have the final consonant doubled before an ed or ingending. Emphasize also that a root word that doubles the final consonant before ing may not have an ed ending (as cut, hit or dig). These are irregular forms of verbs. (Past tense of cut is cut, of hit is hit, of dig is dug) Other words that may be used in sentences for further practice are listed below. hop/hopped/hopping spot/spotted/spotti ng run/running beg/begged/begging sl ip/ slipped/ slipping wrap/wrapped/wrapping hug/hugged/hugging admit/admitted/admitting bat/batted / batti ng bet/betting brag/bragged/bragging swim/swimming plan/planned/planning grab/grabbed/grabbing Activity 10. (Dropping e before adding ending) Place sentences similar to these on the board or duplicate for student use. Let's ride the bus. We are riding the train. We save stamps. Dad is saving his old letters for us. Place it here. She is placing the book on the table. Have a student read the first pair of sentences. Then ask what ending was added to ride in the second sentence, and finally, what change was made in the root when the ending was added. Follow the same procedure for the remaining sentences. The following words may be used in sentences for practice. hope/hoping hire/hiring care/caring drive/driving invite/inviting rake/raking hide/hiding face/facing bite/biting fire/firing excite/exciting hike/hiking chase/chasing close/closing bake/baking At a later time, students should be taught that in words like hoped and chased, the e is dropped and the ed is added. 30 -.L... Activity 11. (Changing y to i before adding ending) Write sentences similar to the following on the board. The teacher read us a story. I like stories. Jay had a birthday party. Parties are fun. I have to look after the baby. Babies sometimes cry a lot. Have a volunteer read the first pair of sentences. Then write story on the board. Next, write stories directly under story. Ask what story means. Then ask what stories means. Call attention to how the plural was made. Illustrate by erasing the y on story and then add ies. Follow the same procedure for the other two pairs of sentences. Conclude by stating or asking a volunteer to state that sometimes y at the end of a word is changed to i before an ending is added. Next, students may be shown that the same principle applies to adding es or ed to verbs. as in cry/cries/cried, fly/flies, try/tries/tried. The examples in the sentences above involve plurals of nouns. Other words that may be used for further practice are these. studyI stud ieslstud ied dry/dries/dried body/bodies pity/ pities/pitied city/cities trophy/trophies carry/ carries/ ca rried kitty/ kitties lady/ladies worry/ worries/ worried Activity 12. (Changing fto v before adding ending) Write the following pairs of sentences on the board. I ate half of an apple. We divided the apple into halves. Sue fed the calf. It was one of three calves. A single leaf fell. Then other leaves began to fall. 31 Ask someone to read the first pair of sentences. Then write half and halves on the board. Lead students to see that f is changed to v before es is added. Follow the same procedure for the other two pairs of sentences. Additional words that may be used for further practice are listed below. self/selves sheaf/ sheaves wolf / wolves h o o f ! hooves shelf / shelves beef/beeves elf/elves thief/thieves wife/wives scarf/scarves life/lives loaf/Ioaves knife/knives Activity 13. (Identify root words in words where root has been changed) Write these words on the board or duplicate for student use. dried calves hoping cities hopping setting riding selves cried goes loving knives cutting shelves leaves Ask students to identify the root of each word and to tell what happened to the root before the added ending. In goes. no change occurs in the root. Additional words for practice may be taken from the previous activities Involving inflectional endings with changes in the root. Prefixes Activity 1. Write three to five words that have the same prefix In a column on the board. Have volunteers pronounce the words, identify the prefix and tell its meaning. The following words may be used. unable rearrange dislike unequal refill disobey unlike rename dissatisfied untrue reopen dishonest unwise refit discontinue Make certain that the prefixes mean the same in each word selected in this activity. For instance, un does not always mean not, as in undress and untie; dis does not always mean not, as in disappear and dislodge 32 ~tivity2. Place sentences like the following on the board or duplicate --fcJr students. Have them read the sentences. locate the words with prefixes. then tell what the prefixes mean. The man was unkind to us. We had to rebuild the birdhouse. She is disloyal to the team. The meat has been precooked. I was forewarned about it. This is an impossible job. The volcano is inactive. Activity 3.Duplicate or place on the board appropriate parts of this activity for use with students. Be sure they have been given instruction on prefixes before this exercise is used for review. Have students write the meaning of the prefix on the line beneath the column of words. unfair reload disappear preview unfit renew disarm prepay unhappy repay disband prewar unknown reread disprove preschool unpaid retest disrepair prejudge imperfect imbalance impatient impossible immovable inactive incomplete incorrect indirect inexact illogical illegal illegible illiterate illiberal irregular irrelevant irrational irreversi ble irreducible misapply miscast miscount mislead misstate television telegraph telephone telescope telephoto defrost deice deactiv.jte decontrol dehumidify foreground foresee foresight foretell forenoon 33 Activity 4. Duplicate the following sentences for student use. Ask them to rewrite each sentence to show that they know the meaning of the italicized word. He can foretell future happenings. He IS inactive during the summer. It is a prehistoric animal. The salesperson misrepresented the facts. They filed a counterclaim. Activity 5. Place these sentences on the board or duplicate for student use. Have students answer yes or no to each question. On questions answered no, ask what the word with the prefix means. Does intrastate mean between states? Is an inanimate object alive? Is an impolite person courteous to others? Is a pretest given before something is taught? Is a countermarch a march in a foreward direction? Is a dog's forepaw on its front leg? Does a person who misrepresents tell the truth? Is an antinoise rule against making noise? Does deactivate mean to make active. Is a telephoto lens one used to photograph closeup objects? Activity 6. Have students locate words with prefixes in sections of old newspdpers. After giving them enough time to locate and determine meanings of words with prefixes, have students share their findings. Encourage them to use the dictionary for meanings when needed. A list of words may be kept for future reference. This activity is most effective with those who read at sixth or higher grade level. Examples of words found on one front page are reinforce, antibusing, override, desegregate, unprecedented, renew, forecast, impossible pre-existing, inadequate and misinformation. Care must be taken to eliminate words that appear to have prefixes but are base words, such as involve, prohibit, prevent and repeat. 34 Suffixes Activity 1. Write three to five words with the same suffix in a column on the board. Have students pronounce the words, identify the suffix and tell the meaning of the suffix. The words below may be used. sadly careful teacher needless lovely hateful fighter fearless lately cheerful farmer careless madly fearful reader ageless slowly tearful talker cheerless In selecting words, care must be taken to eliminate words that look like suffixed words but actually are root words, such as early, awful, theater and bless. . Activity 2. Write these or similar sentences on the board. Have students read the sentences, locate the words with suffixes and tell what the suffixes mean. She galdly gave up her place in line. The carpet is dirty. Yesterday was a rainy day. Today is a beautiful day. The taxi driver waved to Joe. We have a lot of illness at school. Don't be a careless person. 35 Activity 3. Duplicate or place on the board appropriate parts of this activity for use by students. Be sure they have been given instruction on suffixes before this exercise is used for review. Have students write the meaning of the suffix on the line beneath the column of words. badly greatly quietly swiftly quickly hopeful truthful playful colorful faithful washer dryer painter maker baker colorless treeless sleepless restless rainless rainy snowy chewy cloudy dusty movement statement development equipment excitement wooden golden woolen oaken earthen northern southern eastern western northeastern dangerous mysterious poisonous joyous rapturous comfortable enjoyable workable suitable movable courtship horsemam,hip friendship partnership workmanship childhood neighborhood boyhood knighthood falsehood Activity 4. Duplicate the following sentences for student use. Ask students to rewrite each sentence to show that they know the meaning of the italicized word. The children were homeword bound. Her childhood was an interesting one. What he did was senseless. His action was tasteful. We watched the golden sunset. 36 Activity 5. Place these sentences on the board or duplicate for student .. X' Have students answer yes or no to each question. When they a~swer no, ask what the word with the suffix means. J...'5 cheerful mean full of cheer? Is a fearless person one who shows a lot of fear? 15 a poIsonous snake one without poison? 15 kmghthood a knight's hat? Is a maker one who makes? Is courtship the name of a ship used for courting? Is a chewy piece of candy hard to chew? Is a workable solution one that works? Is a mulish person one who looks like a mule? 15 a wooden chair made of wood? Activity 6. Have students locate words with suffixes in sections of old 'It'wspapers. Give students 10 to 15 minutes to locate and determine meanings of words with suffixes. Then have them share their findings. DictIOnaries should be used for meanings when needed. Keeping a g'OUP list of words may be useful as a basis for additional practice. This a:trvlty should be used with students reading at sixth grade level or h,gher. 5vme words found on one front page are generally, administrators, teachers. regularly, toddlers, polarized, youthful, terrifying, rider, ifaders. conference, amendment, vigorous. imagination, endless, Questionable. investigation, gullible, medical, ailment. Activity 7. (Identifying root words and suffixes) Write these words on the t>card or duplicate for students. Ask them to write the root and suffix on :"',e line to the right of each word. Have volunteers tell what each suffix ~an5 Later, have students tell what change (if any) occurred in the root when the ending was added. government amendment ,udgment poisonous capability rnulish happiness ',der imagination investigation 37 Chapter 3 Phonics and Related Skills Phonics and clo5ely related skills are separated for discusslcr. from the other word recognition skilis bec2use phonics Includes clusters of subskills, and because more questions are raised about this area than any other part of word recognition. These skills are important. but no more important than other word recognition skills. Instruction must be given in the vanous subskills of phonics, along with context clues, word structure and dictionary use. The relationship of sounds to written symbols is called phonics. In contrast, phonetics is concerned only with sounds. Linguists and others use the term phonemics instead of phonetics and also the terms phoneme-grapheme correspondences, grapheme-phoneme correspondences and graphophonics instead of phonics. Definiticns of these terms may be found in the glossary. In phonics instruction, the assumption is made that sound-symbol relationships follow a set of rules that can be .stated. Considerable evidence exists, as in studies by Hanna and Moore (1955) and Hanna, Hanna, Hodges and Rudorf (1966), that a high percentage of the soundsymbol relationships follow rules that can be stated. Hanna and Moore (1955), in investigating the regularity of spelling of 3,000 words, found that single consonant phonemes had regular spellings in approximately 90 percent of the cases, consonant blends in about 82 percent of the cases, and vowels in a much lower percentage of the cases. In their 1966 study, Hanna, Hanna, Hodges and Rudorf came to the conclusion that 200 rules could be used to describe the sound-symbol relationships of 80 percent of the phonemes in the more than 17',000 words they studied. If relationships can be described in 80 percent of the cases, then using sound-symbol relationships as one group of techniques certainly should be useful in decoding words. According to Smith (1978), letter clusters rather than individual letters offer more help in a phonics attack upon a word. He feels that a focus on individual letters is of limited use in describing sound-symbol relationships. Phonics assists the reader in obtaining meaning from unfamiliarwords provided the reader's listening/meaning vocabulary already contains those words. That is, phonics works in deriving meaning only if the meaning exists in the reader's mind. Otherwise, the value is limited to approximating a pronunciation. If the pronunciation of the word circus is figured out through phonics, a second grader almost certainly will know the meaning. On the other hand, a second grader getting the correct pronunciation for arcane is certainly no assurance that the 39 student knows the meaning. Context, of course, could possibly supply the meaning. For helping students obtain meaning, phonics is most useful if they are reading at intermediate or lower grade levels. When readers at high levels meet unfamiliar words, they are not likely to know meanings for those words; they must use the context or dictionary for the meaning. Though using phonics alone definitely has limitations, very few people question the use of phonics as a part of word recognition instruction. Disagreements arise about the particular elements to be taught, how much time to spend in teaching phonics, how the skills should be sequenced and whether to use a predominantly synthetic or analytic approach. Usually. a phonics approach is predominantly synthetic or analytic, but not totally one orthe other. Word recognition programs ofthe majority of the basal reader series being used in teaching reading are mainly analytic. In an analytic approach to teaching and use of phonics. the student begins with the whole word and moves to the parts. "The sound you hear at the beginning of the word bird is represented by the letter b.n is illustrative of an analytic approach - starting with the whole and moving to the parts. On the other hand, a synthetic approach moves from the part to the whole. Blend ing the b sound with ird to decode bird would be ill ustrative of a synthetic approach. The word parts are synthesized into a whole. The initial and final consonant substitutions mentioned later will illustrate one use of synthetic phonics, where parts are blended mentally or orally into a whole. These substitution subskills frequently are included as parts of programs that are mainly analytic, though they move from word parts to the whole. Phonics and the English Language The 26 letters in the alphabet must represent individually or in various combinations the more than 40 phonemes in the English language. Dictionaries vary from about 40 to more than 50 different sounds they recognize in their pronunciation keys. For instance, one recent school dictionary (Scott, Foresman, 1979) uses 41 symbols whereas a widely used adult dictionary (Webster's New Collegiate, 1973) uses 55. Of the 26 letters of the alphabet. three consonant letters (c. q and x) represent sounds usually associated with other letters. Of the remaining consonant letters. about half usually represent only one sound, and the others are usually associated with not more than two sounds. The more variable vowel letters must represent the remaining sounds. 40 Each syllable contains at least one vowel letter and one vowel sound. How that vowel sound is spelled may vary considerably. The long a sound may be spelled in at least seven different ways: a (baby), a-e (date), ay (say), ai (mail), ey (grey), eigh (eight) and ei (rein) The short e may be spelled in at least eight different ways: e (red), ea (head), ai (said), a (any), ei (heifer), eo (leopard), ie (friend) and u (bury). All vowel sounds have several possible spelling patterns, though some spellings are much more likely to be met than others. Some consonant sounds may also be represented in a variety of ways. For example, the f sound may be represented by f, ph or gh (in final positon.) Other examples are presented in the next section. People sometimes conclude incorrectly that in English sound-symbol associations are too irregular for phonics to be of much help in word recognition. However, enough regularity does exist in sound-symbol associations to warrant including phonics as an important part of word recognition instruction. Specific Clusters of Skills Consonants A consonant sound is one in which the flow of the breath is obstructed by the tongue, teeth, lips or some combination of these. They include all except the five vowel letters (a, e, i, 0 and u). Of the 21 consonant letters, three (c, q, and x) rtpresent sounds borrowed from other letters: c with k or s sound (can or city); q, which always is followed by u in English words, with kw or k sounds (queen or quay); and x with eks. egz, or z sounds (xray, exit and xylophone). Approximately half of the remaining consonant letters usually represent only one sound, and for the most part, the others are associated with not more than two sounds. Most instructional materials designed for use in teaching reading introduce consonant letter-sound relationships before vowel lettersound relationships. Among the reasons offered for this are that consonant letters are more regular in the sounds they represent, and most words begin with consonant letters. The latter contention ties in with teaching initial elements first as well as progressing from left to right. Published instructional materials are generally consistent in their suggested sequence for teaching letter-sound relationships of consonants. At first, readiness is established by practicing auditory discrimination of initial, then final, consonant sounds in words. The next step is to give instruction in visual discrimination of consonant letters in initial position in words then final. The auditory and the visual aspects of discrimination are then brought together. Conceivably, a 41 teacher could intermingle these steps in one instructional session, especially if remedial work is being done. Further, a suggested sequence such as this may mislead an inexperienced person into thinking that work at one step should be completed with all 21 consonant letters before moving on to the next level. Such a conclusion would ignore that certain consonant letters are more confusing than others (such as q, v, w, x, rand z). Therefore, a rough hierarchy is formed on the basis of difficulty and frequency, with instruction on a few letters coming much later - perhaps as much as one or two years later for typical pupils. Consonant digraphs Two consonant letters representing one speech sound is a consonant digraph. Among the consonant digraphs to be taught are ch (chair, chord), ck (deck), gn (gnaw), ph (phone), gh (cough), sh (shall, dish), th (that, smooth), th (think, sixth), wr (write) and ng (sing). The special consonant symbol wh clearly is a digraph in words like who and whole, having an h sound. However, in words like which and where, the dictionary phonetic respelling is hw (or both hw and w). If a person pronounces which ~s /hwich/, the classification probably should be a consonant blend; if a person pronounces it as /wich/, the classification should be a consonant digraph. Double consonant letters (in words like watt and waddle) also are consonant digraphs since only one sound is involved. At least three types of consonant digraphs exist. In sh, th and ch the single sound the two letters represent is unlike that ordinarily associated with either letter. In ck, gn, kn and wr the sound is that common Iy associated with one of the letters. Usua Ily it is stated that one letter is silent, but in actuality, the two letters (as gn in gnat) represent the sound heard (the n sound in gnat). The teaching of sh, th and ch begins as early as the preprimer or primer level; the more difficult -and p:, less frequently encountered - consonant digraphs, such asgn, and may be delayed until late second or third grade levels. Consonant blends Two or more consonant sounds blended together rapidly is a consonant blend. Traces of the sounds of the two (or more) consonants are maintained when a word containing the blend is pronounced. Among the frequently encountered consonant blends are these: bl (blue), br (brown), cl (clear), cr (cry), dr (draw), dw (dwarf), fl (fly), fr (freeze), gl (glass), gr (green), nk (think), pi (play), pr (prize), qu (quick), sc (scat), sk (skip), sl (sleep), sm (smooth), sn (snap)," sp (spin), st (stick), sw (swing), tr (try), tw (twice), chr (Christmas), shr (shrink), scr (scream), str (string) and thr (three). Three of the blends listed here - chr, shr 42 ar.d thr - contain a consonant digraph blended with a consonant, and two - scr and str - represent three consonant sounds blended IOge~her. The letters r, I and s show up so frequently in consonant blends that reference sometimes is made to the "r, I and s blends," Consonant biend instruction begins at primer or first grade reading :e.el and continues throughout the primary grades, with the more dYtcult and less frequently used consonant blends coming at third grade level. Initial and final consonant substitutions Rt'cognizing that an unfamiliar word is the same as a known word flcept for the initial or final consonant is a useful technique for rE-:ognizing words. By thinking or saying the sound representing the In'tlal letter of the word and blending it mentally with the part in common with the known word, the reader decodes the word. For Instance, if the student meets the word tack and recognizes that with the exception of the initial letter t it is like the known word back, he or she can blend the sounds of t with ack, thus coming up with tack. Attent,on is begun first on initial substitutions, and at a later time, Instruction includes final consonant substitutions (as root/roof, feet/feel and stool/stoop). Consonant digraphs and consonant blends also are involved in initial and final substitutions. Examples of situations in which consonant digraphs could be involved are tape/shape, wit/wish and thank/shank. Consonant blend examples include stop/slop, but/bust and back/black. To a lesser extent, initial and final omissions and additions are also taught Examples of consonant omissions are band/and, band/ban and stop/top. Examples of consonant additions are and/band, toplstop and bow/bowl. Vowels An open, unobstructed sound is called a vowel. The five vowel letters are a e. I. 0 and u. The letters wand y also represent vowel sounds in some words. as w combined with 0 and e in now and few and y (representing the I or e sound in city or dry). School dictionaries list 15 or more vowel sounds to be represented by t~ five vowel letters. For example, a has three sounds, as in at, may, tather and so on. Further, under irregular circumstances, a vowel letter (a!one or in combination with another letter) may represent a vowel ~nd not ordinarily associated with it. Examples are the short e sound represented by a and u in any and bury and the short i sound represented by 0 in women. As previolJsly stated, the vowel letters are I'"\Jre variable in the sounds they represent than are the 21 consonant l(O!ters 43 Because of the variability of the sounds that vowel letters represent, some writers (Goodman, 1970; Smith, 1978) feel that instruction on vowel sounds should receive low priority. Another possible reason for giving a much higher priority to consonant sound-symbol relationship is that dialectical differences often are most prevalent in the area of vowel sounds. Vow~unds should be taught to children since knowing them has potential for helping in word recognition. However, students' dialects should dictate modifications in what is taught. For phonics to aid in decoding unfamiliar words, the understandings developed must match the language of the reader. Many natives of the southeastern part of the United States make no distinction between short e and short i sounds, especially in words in which the vowel is followed by m or n. Attempting to teach students a distinction in pronunciation between pin and pen is wasted effort if it is natural forthem to pronounce the words the sameas pin with the short i. There may be a need to work on language modification, but if it is done, it should not be a major objective in phonics instruction. Phonics instruction should be aimed toward associating words and word elements with the existing language. The remedial teacher would be well advised to give low priority to teaching vowel sound-symbol relationships to upper elementary or secondary students who are reading at first through third grade levels. Single consonant letters are highly regular in the sounds they represent, whereas vowel letters are not. For instance, in the study of Hanna, et al. (1966), the short; sound was found spelled in 22 different ways, though only a few of the spellings occur frequently. Most vowel sounds are short sounds, with the long sounds being next most frequent. In the Hanna, et al. research, a little less than 50 percent of the vowel sounds were short and about 25 percent were long. Therefore, guessing the short sound first and then the long if the first try doesn't work is not a bad strategy. One complicating factor is that long and short vowel sounds are sometimes represented by letters seldom associated with those sounds, as the short e in any or bury. The typical instructional reading program includes short vowels, long vowels, the schwa, the rcontrolled vowels, and a followed by /, u or Vi Instruction begins in first grade for typical learners and may continue into high second or third grade reading levels. The short sound of a vowel, in most programs, is taught before the long sound of that samE vowel, though a few programs begin with the long sound or teach the long and short vowel sound together. Words the student encounters more frequently contain the short sounds, thus making it easier to fHld words for teaching the short sounds in primary materials. 44 --._~ The long sounds of vowels are the same as saying the letter - as a, e, i, 0 and u. Thus, teaching the long sounds is not very difficult. Teachers often teach that the long vowels say themselves. Learning the short sounds involves learning to associate with each vowel letter a sound different from the pronunciation of the letter. The short vowel sounds are a as in at, e as in elk, i as in it, 0 as in odd and u as in up. A key word may be taught to aid students in remembering the short vowel sounds. Care must be taken to select words that the children pronounce as the sound being taught. Using umbrella for the short u, pen (often pronounced with a short i sound) and egg (sometimes pronounced in one region as longa) forthe short e would be inappropriate for some students. In phonics, long vowel and short vowel refer to sound quality or characteristic, not to duration of the vowel sound. For instance, the long a sound is the same as saying the letter a, the short a sound is the same sound as the vowel sound in the word add, and long and short a mean nothing more; these are just names for the sounds heard. In contrast, the terms long vowel and short vowel do refer to duration of sound in phonetics, which is concerned only with the sounds of speech - not with the relationships of letters to the sounds that they represent. A few vowel principles, involving long and short sounds, rcontrolled vowels, and the influence of I, u and won a will be discussed later. These principles should be taught at first or second grade difficulty level. Vowel digraphs A combination of two vowel letters that represent a single vowel sound is a vowel digraph. Vowel digraphs include ai (sail), ay (say), ea (beat), ee (creep), ie (yield), oa (boat), oe (toe), ue (blue), 00 (foot or choose), ou (tough or cough), ow (blow), au (hau!), aw (crawl) and ew (flew). Two of these - ou and ow - are diphthongs in some words. Associating two vowel letters with the one sound they represent usually begins at primer or first reader level and continues into third grade difficulty level. Diphthongs Two vowel sounds blended together in one syllable is a diphthong. Examples are oi (boi!), oy (toy), OU (our) and ow (cow).Though most diphthongs are represented by two vowel letters, the long i and the long u sounds (often represented by the single luters i, y and u) are pronounced as diphthongs by many English speakers. For some speakers in some sections of the United States, though typically such words as boy, out, now and long i and long u words are pronounced as vowel digraphs. Instruction needs to be adjusted to these dialectical differences. The teaching of sound-letter association of diphthongs may begin as early as first grade, but it usually is delayed until second grade difficulty level. 45 j Some two-letter vowel combinations represent diphthongs in some j words and vowel digraphs in others. Examples are now and bowtie, bough and though. Such words should cause little or no confusion for j children because of context clues. j Phonics principles A few phonics generalizations that deal with vowel sounds are useful in word recognition. Only those generalizations that apply to many words, without excessive exceptions. should be taught. These generalizations concern the variation in vowel sound resuaing from the position of a vowel letter in a word or syllable and the position of one letter in relation to another. In teaching these generalizations. emphasis should be placed upon the "usually" which is a part of each. These principles are good cues but do not always work. These principles are usually taught at first and second grade levels Knowledge about consonant and vowel sounds must be developed before these principles are taught. Eight generalizations suggested for teaching are presented here. The first six deal with vowel sounds; the last two deal with the influence vowel letters have upon consonant sounds. Following each generalization are examples of illustrative words and a short title often associated with the principle. 1. In short words or accented syllables containing a vowel letter followed by a consonant and final e, the vowel usually is the long sound generally associated with the first vowel letter. (make. bflde. role) (final e principle) j j j j j j j j j j j j 2. In short words or accented syllables containing a vowel digraph. the vowel sound usually is the long sound generally associated with the j first of the two letters. (coat, treat. main) (vowel digraph principle) j 3. In a short word or accented syllable having a single vowel letter followed by a con~onant. the vowel usually has the short sound (rar. j shop, up) (consonant ending principle) 4. In a short word or accented syllable ending with a single vowellette~. j the vowel sound usually is long. (be, try, go) (vowel ending principle: j 5. In a short word or accented syllable in which a vowel letter 1$ followed by r, the vowel sound is neither long nor short; it has lht j vowel sound of ir, ar or or. (sir, dark, nor) (r-control principle) j 6. When the letter a is followed by /, u or w, the vowel sound usua"> IS aw as in crawl. (raw, all, haul) (a followed by /, u or w principle) j 7. When c is followed bye, i or y, the c usually takes the soft sound (5); in other cases, it usually takes the hard sound (k). (cent City. c)'C1t j (soft c principle) j 46 j I 8. When g is followed bye, i or y, the g usually takes the soft sound j; in . othel cases, it usually takes the hard sound (g). (gem, giant. gym) (soft g principle) Clymer (1963), Bailey (1967) and Emans (1967) studied the extent to which generalizations apply to words. Clymer studied words in eight basal series in grades one through three; Baily studied eight series in grades one through six; and Emans studied words above fourth grade level. Though their findings differed because of different materials, all three concluded that many generalizations suggested forteaching have too many exceptions or occur too infrequently to warrant their being taught. Though their statements of generalizations were not exactly as those given above, the percentages of utility of each of the three researchers for the generalizations cited above are given here. Generalization Clymer Bailey Emans Final e 63 57 63 Vowel digraph 45 34 18 Consonant ending 62 71 73 Vowel ending 74 76 33 r control 78 86 82 a followed by /, U, W 48 34 24 c followed bye, i, 96 92 90 g followed bye, i, 64 78 80 Based upon these data, the usefulness of the vowel digraph and the a followed by /, U, W generalizations - and, to a lesser extent, the final e generalization - may be questioned. What has been discussed here as vowel principles is very similarto what Fries (1962) and others called spelling patterns. The sequence of letters in a written word that represents the sounds in the spoken word is aspelling pattern. Fries' three spelling patterns are similar to the final e generalization, the consonant ending generalization and a vowel digraph generalization (two vowels together - expect long sound of first). Fries and other linguists, however, emphasize to a great extent contrasting spelling patterns (hat add e at end for hate; cat add 0 and get coat). They also frequently separate word recognition from meaning In the beginning of reading instruction. Syllabication If a reader is using phonics to identify an unfamiliar word of more than one syllable, knowledge of syllabication principles is needed. Because of Its helpfulness in phonics, syllabication is included here. 47 Syllabication instruction takes place mainly in second and third grade levels. The first understanding developed is what a syllable is - an uninterrupted unit in pronunciation. Students learn first to hear syllables in spoken words. Later they are taught to identify syllables in written words. They learn that each syllable contains at least one vowel letter and one vowel sound. Much later, they learn that phonics principles used in identifying one-syllable words also work in accented syllables of multisyllable words. Only a few generalizations of syllabication need be taught. Two pr~nciples that have a fairly good percentage of utility are below. I: In words in which two consonant letters are located between vowel fetters, the division usually is made between the consonants. (citrus, party, tablet) (two consonant principle) 2. In words in which the last three letters contain a single consonant followed by Ie, the consonant and the Ie form the final syllable. (cable. uncle, sample) (fe principle) (The "pickle" exception may also be taught. If ck precedes the Ie. the Ie forms the final syllable, as in pickle. tickle, and tackle.) A third principle often suggested for teaching has a low percentage of utility. That principle says, in words In which a single consonant lette( is located between vowel letters, the division usually is made before the consonant. (cocoon, open, motor) (single consonant principle) Two syllabication principles with good levels of utility and the third principle with a low utility level were among the generalizations investigated by Clymer (1963), Bailey (1967) and Emans (1967). The in percentage of utility found the three studies are given below. Principle Clymer Bailey Emans Two consonant 77 78 80 Consonant plus Ie 97 93 78 One consonant 44 50 47 Based upon the percentages of utility, the two consonant and the consonant plus Ie principles are worth teaching. However, the single consonant principle, with only about 50 percent utility is hardly worth teaching. Accent Instruction on accent sometimes is reserved for dictionary use, though it also is useful in conjunction with phonics in attacking an unfamiliar word. Vowel principles that students have used in one-syllable words also apply to accented syllables in multisyllabic words. 48 Five oftentaught accent principles are given below. 1. In words of two or three syllables, the first syllable usually is accented. (basket, cabinet, player) 2. The root or stem is usually accented in a word. (lively, regain, stressful) 3. In two or threesyllable words with a prefix, the prefix usually is not accented. (review, unlike, inept) 4. The accent may vary in words spelled alike but used as different parts of speech. (PROGress/proGRESS, inVALid/INvalid. MINute/miNUTE) 5. In words ending in sion or tion, the next to last syllable is usually accented. (intention, revision, expulsion) Instructional Actlvltie. 51nlle Consonant Sound. Activity 1. (Hearing initial consonants) Ask students to listen carefully as you say five or six words that begin with the same consonant sound as Tommy, tap, ten, tip, tent, two. Space the words with about a second between words. Ask students if they hear the same sound at the beginning of each word. Repeat the words if someone says that they are diffferent. Next, say another group of words, but this time include one word with a different beginning - as teach, team, help, tan, take, toy. When it is clear that students can hearthe initial sound and distinguish the exception, ask them to tell you other words that begin with the same sound. Use similar activities with other initial consonant sounds. Activity 2. (Hearing initial consonants) Collect pictures from newspapers, old magazines and discarded books that contain objects known to students. Have them say the word for each picture, as top, dog, cat. Then have students group all of the pictures whose names begin with the same consonant sound. In selecting pictures, be sure that pictures are uncluttered and that the object pictured would be obvious to students. Build a collection of pictures so you have at least two for each initial consonant (except the less frequently encountered x, y, z and q). Place the pictures in five or six cardboard boxes just large enough to hold them. Attach a picture that represents a different initial consonant sound to all except one box. Have students place pictures that begin with the same sound as one of the key pictures in the correct boxes as they say the picture names. Have them place all other pictures in the unlabeled box. Shuffle pictures and go through the same procedure until all students who need this practice have had a turn. 49 Activity 3. (Associating letters with initial consonant sounds). Write on the board in column form four or five words that have the same initial consonant letter and sound. Ask students to listen carefully as they pronounce the words in unison. Then ask if the words all begin alike. Finally, ask what letter stands forthe sound they hear in the initial part of each word. Possible words are these. boy dog fan got hat pull big did fight go here pan but don't fear give hope pay by do far get hit push bus dig farm gone have put Activity 4. (Associating letters with initial consonant sounds) Ask students to listen carefully as you say four or five words in which all except one begins with the same consonant sound and letter. Ask which word begins with a different sound. Then ask what letter stands for the initial sound in the other three or four words. Possible groups of words are these. ball fire keep make past bear fear man mail party hike four key milk pig bell nine kite mule pillow been full kick girl river Activity 5. (Associating letters with initial consonant sounds) Duplicate columns of words similar to those below. Have students draw a line around the words that begin with the same sound as the sound of the word you say. . read say toy lamp go right five ball rat game girl said pig love pirate road kite test low get big six teach let color Activity 6. (Hearing final consonant sounds) Ask students to listen carefully as you say five or six words that end with the same consonant sound, as stop, tip, cup, flip, gulp, tap. Pause about one second between words. Ask students if they hear the same sound at the end of each word. Repeat the string of words if necessary to help them hear the 50 ---.~2.:. similar ending sound. Next, say another group of words, but this time include one word with a different ending - as top, up, cat, sip trap, snap. Ask students to tell which word has a different ending sound. When it becomes clear that they can hear the initial sound and distinguish the exception, ask them to tell you other words thatend with the same sound. Use similar activities with other final consonant sounds. Activity 7. (Associating letters with final consonant sounds) Write on tt,e board in column form four or five words that have the same fin~1 consonant letter and sound. Ask students to listen carefully as they pronounce the words in unison. Then ask if the words all end alike. Finally, ask what letter stands for the sound they hear at the end of each word. Possible words are these. big hat mad win car him tag hurt sad man her slim rug plot bid can for ham leg it bed pen star gum log but mud run stir sum Activity 8. (Associating letters with final consonant sounds) Duplicate columns of words similar to those below for student use. Have them draw a line around the words that end with the same sound as the final sound of the word you say. pig cat thin had fur dim rag for been for man jam sat nut lot sum sir Tom beg foot hid did plot bid ton slim pan nod bar log Consonant Digraphs Activity 1. (Associating digraphs with initial consonant sounds) Pull from a selection students are reading two words beginning with tile same consonant digraph, as the-this, think-thick, chair-chick or sheshall. Present them in written form to the students. Have a volunteer pronounce the two words. Call attention to the fact that the two words begin with the same sound and that the first two letters (th, ch, or sh) stand for that sound. 51 ---.~2... Activity 2. (Associating digraphs with initial consonant sounds) Write on the board or duplicate the following columns of words for students. Ask them to pronounce each word aloud if words are written onthe board, in a low whisper if words are duplicated. Then have them underline the two letters that represent the initial sound in the words. thick she them chick wrist gnaw thief shall then child write gnat thin shoe there chin wrong gnome thing shade they check wren gnash think sheep the chair wreck gnarl Activity 3. (Associating digraphs with final consonant sounds) Write the following columns of words on the board or duplicate. Have students pronounce each word aloud if written on the board, in a low whisper if words are duplicated. Then have them underline the two letters that represent the final sound in the words. wish path sang black wash with ring track cash worth wrong clock splash both hang trick rush math string back Consonant Blends Activity 1. (Associating blends with initial sounds) Extract from class reading material two words beginning with the same consonant blend, as blue-black, try-tree, star-stuck or green-group. Place words on the board and have a volunteer pronounce them. Guide students to see that the two words sound alike in the beginning and start with the same two letters (bl. tr. st or gr). 52 Activity 2. (Associating blends with initial sounds) Write the following columns of words on the board or duplicate. A single column may be used to review a particular consonant blend, or multiple columns may be used to review several different consonant blends. Ask students to pronounce each word aloud if written on the board, or in a low whisper if words are duplicated. Finally, have them underline the two letters that represent the initial sounds in words. try brown green sleep place start tree bread great slip plant step trick brother grow slide play still train brave ground slow please stop track bring grade sleigh plane story Activity 3. (Associating blends with final consonant sounds) Write the following columns of words on the board or duplicate. Have students pronounce each word aloud if written on the board or in a low whisper if duplicated. Then have them underline the two letters that representthe final sound in the words. fast word thank grasp mask first bird drank gasp task fist herd think clasp desk coast guard drink lisp risk burst heard ink wisp brisk Activity 4. (Associating blends with initial consonant sounds) Duplicate' sentences like those below for student use. Have them read each sentence and select the correct word that completes the sentence. Write the word in the blank. We made the trip by _ He had a We ate a loaf of on his face. _ The flew over us. She came up the _ She has hair. His eyes are _ tack train drain trend ground twin win grin thread bread brad broad plane plan pane lane prayer stairs star rare brand bond brown round blue rue blow blend 53 Intital and Final Consonant Substitutions Activity 1. (Initial consonant substitution) When a student needs help on an unfamiliar word that is identical to a known word except for the initial consonant (or consonant digraph or blend), write the unknown word on a sheet of paper. Then write the known word directly below itso the common letters will be easy to detect, as in the following examples. mat bar man shut brown cat car fan cut gown Have the known word pronounced and then point out that except for the beginning, the unfamiliar word is like the known word. Give whatever he-Ip is needed to assist the students in pronouncing the unfamiliar word. Activity 2. (Initial consonant substitution) Duplicate the following exercise for students. Ask them to answer each question on the line provided. Replace 5 in sing with k. What is the new word? _ Replace f in fast with I. What is the new word? Replace w in witch with p. What is the new word? Replace b in bank with r. What is the new word? Replace 5 in sand with b. What is the new word? Replace m in money with h. What is the new word? Replace m in match with c. What is the new word? _ Activity 3. (Initial consonant substitution) Write a cplumn of words on ttte board. Ask students to make as many words as they can by substituting another letter for the initial consonant. Possibilities for words are given in parentheses. cat (bat, fat, hat, mat, pat, rat, sat) ring (king, sing, wing) hot (cot, dot, lot, not, pot, rot) band (hand, land, sand) find (bind, hind, wind, kind, mind) 54 . _._------------.---- Activity 4. (Final consonant substitution) When students need help on an unfamiliar word that is identical with a known word except for the final consonant (or consonant digraph or blend), write the unknown word on a sheet of paper. Then write the known word directly below itso the common letters will be easy to detect. as below. tap mad rub flap bet tag man run flag bed Have the known word pronounced and then point out that except for the ending, the unfamiliar word is like the known word. Give whatever help is needed in pronouncing the unfamiliar word. Vowel Sounds Activity 1. (Short vowels) Present in columnar form on the board four or five familiar words containing the same short vowel sound. Pronounce the words, with a brief pause between words. Ask students if the vowel sounds in the words are the same or different. Then call attention tothe same vowel letter standing for that sound. Tell students that the sound is called the short sound of that vowel. Finally. ask for other words that contain the same vowel sound. Examples of columns of words are listed below. cat bet lid stop cup mad fled flip log rug flag red lick lock up tap pep in mop cut fast rest tin not rust 55 -. ---2.: Activity 2. (Short Vowels) Tell students that you are going to ask them questions that can be answered with a short a sound or some other short vowel sound. Examples of sentences are given below. What animal purrs? (cat) What do you wear on your head? (cap or hat) What do you wipe your feet on? (mat) What is a tame animal that belongs to someone? (pet) What do we sleep in? (bed) What does a hen lay? (egg) What do we do with a shovel? (dig) What is a young hog called? (pig) What is in an aquarium? (fish) What sign tells us to halt? (stop) What do we call a policeman? (cop) What animal hops? (frog) What do we drink from? (cup) What do we ride to school in? (bus) What is a carpet called? (rug) Activity 3. (long vowels) Present in columnar form on the board fov C' five familiar words containing the same long vowel sound. Pronoun~e the words, with a brief pause between words. Ask students if the liowe' sounds in the words are the same or different. Then call attention to the same vowel letter standing for that sound. Tell students that the SOiJn~ is called the long sound of that vowel. Finally, ask for other words tha~ contain the same vowel sound. Examples of columns of words are below. nail meat tie old use age feet by oak cute day he five coat mule rain see ice grow tube cake need lie go cue 56 , ACtlvity 4. (Long vowels) Tell students that you are goin'g'to ask them questions that can be answered with a long a or some other long vowel sound. Examples of sentences are below. What do we eat for dessert? (cake) What is the opposite of night? (day) What month follows April? (May) What do we do at mealtime? (eat) What do we put shoes on? (feet) What do leaves grow on? (tree) What do we cool drinks with? (ice) What is a measure of distance? (mile) What do we fly on a windy day? (kite) What is the opposite of hot? (cold) What is the opposite of young? (old) What bread do we eat at breakfast? (toast) What is the opposite of false? (true) What farm animal pulls a plow? (mule) What is another name for paste? (glue) Activity 5. (Long and short vowels) Make a key chart for long and short vowel sounds by using a picture or an object that illustrates each long and short vowel sound. Write the words long a, short a, and so on under each picture. Examples of pictures that might be used are below. Short a - apple Long a - ape Short e - elephant long e . eagle Short i . Indian Long i-ice Short 0 - octopus Short u - umpire long 0 . oboe Long u - ukulele Vowel Digraphs Activity 1. (Learning that two letters may represent one vowel sound) Place on the board in columnar form four or five words containing the same vowel digraph. Ask students to pronounce the words. Then ask if they hear one or two vowel sounds. lead them to see that two vowel letters represent one vowel sound. Words that may be used are listed below. sail seat boat glow day mail heat float blow stay main cream goat show lay trail mean load row tray train leap road low pay 57 Activity 2. (Associating two letters with one vowel sound) Pull from a selection students are reading two words containing the same vowel digraph, as nail-tail, feet-seed, boat-road, show-tow or stray-may. Present them in written form to students. Have a volunteer pronounce the two words. Emphasize the fact that the two words contain the same "ound and that the same two vowel letters represent that sound. Diphthongs Activity 1. (Associating diphthongs with letters representing them) Extract from class material two words containing the same diphthong, as oil-join, boy-toy, out-found or how-cow. Write the words on the board and have a volunteer pronounce them. Emphasize that the vowel sounds in the two words are the same and that they are represented by the same two letters (oi. oy, au or ow). If it appears appropriate, exaggerate the pronunciation of the diphthongto illustrate thattraces of two vowel sounds are blended together within the same syllable. Activity 2. (Associating diphthongs with letters representing them) Write the following columns of words on the board or duplicate. A single column may be used to review a particular diphthong, or multiple columns may be used to review several different ones. Ask students to pronounce each "Yord aloud if on the board or in a low whisper if words are duplicated. Finally, have pupils underline the two letters that represent the diphthong. coin toy out how few noise boy trout bow new join joy our crowd mew toil coy loud crown drew "oil Roy found cow crew Phonics Principles Activity 1. Place four or five familiar words that adhere to a particular phonics principle in columnar form on the board. Ask students to pronounce each word. Next, ask them what they notice about the sounds in each word - and then what they notice about the spelling Lead them into discovering the principle and stating it in their own words. Finally, have them apply the principle to several other words. Examples for each principle follow. 58 Final e principle. In short words or accented syllables containing a vowel letter followed by a consonant and final e, the vowel sound usually is the long sound generally associated with the first vowel letter. Words in column: cake, mine, cute, ate, hose How are words alike in spelling? All have a single vowel followed by a consonant and final e. How are words alike in sound? All have long sound of first vowel; no sound for e. State the principle that you can use when you see similar words that you don't know. If I meet a short word ending in e that has another vowel followed by a consonant, only the long sound of the first vowel is heard. Other words to which principle applies. bake Pete write note rule make mete time stove use name eve line close fuse Vowel digraph principle In short words oraccented syllables containing a vowel digraph, the vowel sound usually is the long sound generally associated with the first of the two letters. Words in column: boat. meat. rain. pie. clean How are words alike in spelling? All have a vowel digraph (two vowel letters in sequence). How are words alike in sound? All have long sound of first vowel; no sound for second vowel. State the principle that you can use when you see similar words that you don't know. In a short word that has two vowel letters together, usually the first vowel says its name. Other words to which principle applies. coat beat train tie feed float treat tail die seed oak team aid lie creed 59 Consonant ending principle. In a short word or accented syllable having a single vowel letter followed by a consonant, the vowel usually has the short sound. Words in column: cat, red, cup, sit, top How are words alike in spelling? All end with a consonant letter and have a single vowel letter. How are words alike in sound? All have a short vowel sound. State the principle that you can use when you see similarwords that you don't know. In a single vowel, consonant ending word, the vowel sound usually is short. Other words to which principle applies. as bed fix stop up ask get win cot cut bat let sit hot but Vowel ending principle. In a short word or accented syllable ending with a single vowel letter, the vowel sound usually is long. Words in column: he, cry, she, go, hi How are words alike in spelling? All words end with a vowel letter. How are words alike in sound? All vowel sounds are long. State the principle that you can use when you see similar words that yOIJ don't know. In a syllable or a short word that ends with a vowel letter. the vowel sound is usually long. Other words to which principle applies. be fly paper over even me dry able open ago we try table clover also 60 ----~~ r control principle. In a short word or accented syllable in which a vowel letter is followed by r, the vowel sound is neither long nor short: it has the vowel sound of ir (as in fir), ar (as in far) or or (as in for). Words in column: her, fur, dirt, hurt, sir. How are words alike in spelling? All words contain a single vowel letter followed by r. How are words alike in sound? All words have er (as in fir) sound. State the principle that you can use when you see similar words that you don't know. In a short word or accented syllable that contains a single vowel letter followed by r, the sound unsually is er, as in fir. Other words to which principle applies. bird girl were turtle lurch burst hurt person birth perch first urge perfect church mirth NOTE: The same pattern may be followed for ar or or words. Words to which the principle applies are these. bar hard start or order car large part for cord far mark warm nor border B followed by /, u or w principle. When the letter a is followed by I, u, orw, the vowel sound usually is aw as in crawl. Words in column: paw, tall, saw, talk, caught How are words alike in spelling? All words contain the vowel letter a followed by J, u or w. How are words alike in sound? All vowel sounds are aw as in crawl. State the principle that you can use when you see similar words that you don't know. In words that contain a followed by I, u or w, the vowel sound usually is aw as in crawl. Other words to which principle applies. saw walk. draw almost audience small all fall already balk talk ball fault always Paul 61