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This kit includes fifty-six weekly spelling and phonics lessons ranging from short, long, -r controlled, and diphthong vowels (Within Word Pattern) to complex two-syllable words (Syllable Juncture) for first through third grade levels. These five-day lessons begin with teacher-directed activities, then slowly-release students to practice their new spelling and decoding concepts utilizing independent seatwork, homework, and centers.
In this program, students “visit” four different Vowel Towns where unique characters use their vowel patterns to make words in Word Family Houses and Wiggle-Jiggle Word Factories. Short stories, charts, and chants introduce the characters, and then key words are posted on the different Vowel Towns’ phonics bulletin boards to use as reference tools.
After learning all the vowel patterns for single syllable words, the lessons then move to the next level of spelling, two-syllable words that include compound words, open and closed syllables, two-syllable words with le endings (i.e., middle), and two-syllable words with y endings (i.e., happy). In this section, kid-friendly stories and charts are also used to introduce all the different types of two-syllable words. Additionally, prefixes and suffixes, contractions and possessives, and homophones, as well as parts of speech are added bonus lessons to complete this binder.
Suggested Grade-Levels: This program includes introductory lessons to teach consonants, vowels, blends and digraphs for students at the letter-name stage as well as fifty-six weekly lessons ranging from simple short vowel words (within word pattern) to complex two-syllable words (syllable juncture). The target grades for this kit range from late kinder levels to early third grade levels. Typically, students in these grades have wide-ranges of abilities in spelling. This kit should provide lessons for all the spelling levels in the primary grades.
Words: Three different types of words are taught in this program:
High Frequency Sight Words: The high frequency words chosen in this program were referenced from the Fry List of Sight Words (Fry, B. E., Kress, J.E. & Fountoukidis, D.L. (2000) The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists (4th ed.) Paramus, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 47-49). In written language, the first 100 words on the Fry list make up about one-half of all printed material.
Words were specifically chosen from this list only if they met the following criteria:
A word with a vowel pattern not yet learned. For example, the short vowel words as and in are near the top of Fry’s list. Since short vowels are the first vowel patterns introduced in this program, then only a few were chosen for sight words. The rest are expected to be learned from the short vowel patterns. On the other hand, my was selected as a sight word because its vowel pattern is not taught until much later in the program.
Teaching High Frequency Sight Words: In each weekly lesson, two highly effective activities, Build and Sort, are included to teach students their new sight words. In addition to the Build and Sort activities, use chants, visuals, mnemonic devices, or tactile tracing. Below are two examples of the many clever ways to introduce a word to students before they build and sort them. Additional ideas for the first forty high frequency words (in this program) are in the Appendix E2-E5. To teach the word look, draw eyes in the two “O’s “. Now the word look is easy to remember because it’s looking at you!
To teach the word look, draw eyes in the two “O’s “. Now the word look is easy to remember because it’s looking at you!
Teach the friend pledge to help students remember how to write the word friend. Say the following: “When I write friend, I hear the /fr/ sound, so I write fr quickly. Next I say the friend pledge to write the rest: ‘I (write i) would go to the end (write end) of the world for a friend.’”
Vowel Patterns:
In this program, five categories of vowel patterns:
– short vowels
– long vowels
– r controlled vowels
– diphthong vowels
– complex short vowels
that are introduced to students in a magical land of words. Unlike the high frequency words that are memorized, students learn the different vowel patterns to spell and decode many different words.
See this example of a chart of the vowel patterns as well as the word families taught is lessons 1-43.
Description: Students learn how to spell and decode these vowel patterns in the Magical Land of Words. In this magical land consonants and vowels make words in four different vowel towns: Short Vowel, Long Vowel, Noisy “r”, and Silly “o” towns. In these towns, unique characters make words in their word family houses and at their wiggle-jiggle word factories.
Phonics and Spelling Characters: The unique characters used in this program (see next page) live in four different vowel towns where they make short vowels, long vowels, -r controlled, or diphthongs vowel patterns. In their four different towns, the vowel characters make words in their word family houses and at their wigglejiggle word factories. These characters and their vowel patterns are introduced through little books, charts, and chants. Key words, learned during the lessons, are then posted on the interactive phonics and spelling bulletin board.
Below is a brief description of the four towns in the magical land of words and the characters that live in them. Each character tells their rule and their sign-post words.
Short Vowel Town! This town is full of babies, so they can only make the vowel sounds. They say the sounds: a, e, i, o, u.
Short Vowel’s Rule: “I make my eyes glue together the beginning chunk (consonants) of a word, then I glue the vowel word family together.”
Sign-Post Words: cat, red, win, stop, fun.
Complex Short Vowel Sign-Post Words: dance, give, bridge, bought, bread, come, salt, chalk, ball, saw, caught.
Long Vowel Town! When the Short Vowels grow-up, they move out to live in Long Vowel Town. Now that the Long Vowels are grown up, they can say their names. They say their names: a, e, i, o, u.
Long Vowel’s Rule: “I make my eyes glue together the different long vowel patterns.”
Sign-Post Words: name, here, like, home, cute, play, rain, boat, see, eat.
Tricky Long Vowel Sign-Post Words: bank, eight, she, thief, my, light, kind, sold, most, go, sew, to, truth, whose, you, new, zoo, juice, through.
Noisy “r” Town! This town is full of loud kids screaming the “r” sound. The Noisy “r” kids always stand next to vowels, so they change the vowels’ sounds. They say: ar, er, ir, or, ur.
Noisy “r” Vowel’s Rule: “When I see Noisy “r” next to a vowel, I know it changes the short and long vowel sounds. I make my eyes glue together the different Noisy “r” patterns.”
Sign-Post Words: car, her, girl, for, turn.
Tricky Noisy “r” Sign-Post Words: care, air, more
Silly “o” Town! This town is full of clowns making silly sounds with the vowel “o”. They say: ou, ow (like a person hitting their thumb with a hammer). They say: oi, oy (like the pig who couldn’t say oink, only “oi”).
Silly “o” Vowel’s Rule: “I use words I already know (boy, oil, cow, out) to remember the “o” vowels pairs.”
Sign-Post Words: boy, oil, how, out, house.
Vowel Town Words Student Booklet: This booklet is highly suggested to make for each student
for weekly Lessons 1-43. (See Appendix P1 for directions.)
Word Family Houses and Wiggle-Jiggle Word Factories Student Mats: In this program, students
learn how to spell and decode words like a good reader and speller. They learn to generate words using word families and vowel patterns. These words are then recorded on their Word Family and Wiggle-Jiggle Houses pages.
Cut-up Letter Activities: Every weekly lesson includes three cut-up letter pages with the exact letters necessary to generate words for the weekly lesson’s word families and vowel patterns. The pages should be duplicated on overhead transparencies for the teacher to cut-out, and then to demonstrate to students (on the overhead projector) how to make words. Simultaneously, students record these words in their word family houses and wiggle-jiggle word factories.
Word Family Houses: In the example, the student recorded the focus word family at in the roof of the first word family house, and then recorded words below as his teacher moved cut-up letters demonstrating how to make many different words with the at word family. In this example, many consonants visited the world family house to make words. The letters r and b visited and helped make the words rat and bat, respectively. The blend fl (a married couple so they stick together) visited and made the word flat. Finally, the letters spl visited. These three letters stick together because they are a married couple with a baby. They made the word splat. This same activity was repeated the next day for the focus word an.
Wiggle-Jiggle Word Factories: In the example above, the student recorded cat in the box at the top of the wiggle-jiggle factory. This wiggle-giggle factory is for students to make new words, not using the word family strategy, but instead the short vowel pattern. As the teacher moved cut-up letters (on the overhead projector) to demonstrate how to change the final and initial consonants to make new words, as well as changing the vowel, the student then recorded new short vowel words in the wiggle-jiggle factory.
Phonics Bulletin Boards: Appendices F-K provides ideas and blackline masters to create an interactive phonics and spelling bulletin board that displays all the vowel towns. (See Appendix F4 for a completed, end-of-the-year Bulletin Board.) Post the key words (learned from the weekly lessons) onto the bulletin board. Utilize the board as an interactive tool for students to organize the different word families and vowel patterns into their vowel towns, and also to easily retrieve the words to help them decode or spell other words.
Long Vowel Phonics and Spelling Bulletin Board: Above is an example of the Long Vowel Town section of the bulletin board. Posted under the different long vowel letters are key words for different long vowel patterns. Next to different groups of words are Long Vowel’s four different roommates from Long Vowel Town: 1) Bossy “e”, 2) VowPals, 3) Tricky Long Vowel, and 4) Ooh Girl. These roommates represent the different types of long vowel patterns (i.e., Bossy “e” roomate for silent e long vowel words) with their key words representing patterns learned from the weekly lessons.
Refer to this board when spelling words with these patterns. For example, the teacher may be writing the word right. She then points to the word light and states, “I can write right because I know the long vowel i tricky word pattern in light.”
Student Phonics Mats: Duplicate the blackline masters (Appendices F5, G2, H2, I2, J2, K2) of all the different phonics bulletin boards to make student flip books. These books provide each student with a small book as a resource to flip through to find the different vowel towns. This tool is a great resource for students to use for spelling and decoding help.
Two-Syllable Words: After learning all the vowel patterns for single syllable words, this program moves to the next level of spelling, two-syllable words (Lessons 44-56). These words include compound words, open and closed syllables, two-syllable words with le endings (i.e., middle), and two-syllable words with y endings (i.e., happy). Unique stories and charts are used in this section to teach the different types of two-syllable words
Bonus Lessons: Prefixes and suffixes, contractions and possessives, and homophones, as well as parts of speech are added bonus lessons to complete this spelling kit.
Advanced Word-Building Student Booklet: This booklet is highly suggested to make for each student for weekly Lessons 44-56. Students record higher-level words on thirteen different Student Pages. These pages include two-syllable words (compound words, open and closed syllables, le endings and y endings); adding suffixes that change spellings and meanings; suffixes ly, ful, ion, less and ness; the most commonly occurring affixes; and also contractions, possessives, and homophones.
For each student booklet, use the Advanced Word-Building Booklet Cover (Appendix P-4), and then staple together the thirteen different Student Pages. Each of Lessons 44-56 has its own Student Page for the type of advance word-building learned. For example, below is the Student Page for the Compound Words’ Lesson. Students record words learned during these lessons.
Word-Building Activities: Each weekly lesson includes at least two word building activities. The teacher duplicates the word-building pages onto overhead transparency pages, cuts-out the word parts, and then demonstrates making words. Simultaneously, students record these words in their student pages.
Assessment: Administer this program’s assessment to determine where to start (see Assessment section).
Introductory Lessons: The introductory lessons require two weeks to complete. The skills learned in these lessons prepare students for the weekly phonics and spelling lessons. These skills include patterns, consonants, vowels, and beginning blending. If these skills are already know by students, then skip this section.
Weekly Phonics and Spelling Lessons: There are fifty-six weekly lessons. Since this program’s lessons range from late kinder to early third grade levels, teachers now have all the resources they need to meet the wide range of abilities in their classes. These five-day lessons include teacher-directed activities with follow-up student practice for independent seatwork or homework, as well as center suggestions. Each lesson requires five days of instruction. (Sometimes teachers repeat a week when students need more practice.)
The five-day teacher-directed lessons include cut-up letters to teach word families and word patterns, a poem to practice reading the focus words in meaningful text, and occasionally a story or chart to introduce a new spelling concept. Each week the lessons follow the following format:
Monday: Spelling Pre-test and Phonics Poems
Tuesday: Cut-up Letters Word Family House Activity
Wednesday: Cut-up Letters Word Family House Activity
Thursday: Cut-up Letters Wiggle-Jiggle Word Factory Activity
Friday: Spelling Test
These practice activities connect the isolated spelling and decoding work from the teacher-directed lessons to reading and writing application. The goal of spelling and phonics is for students to read words fluently and spell words correctly in the reading and writing process.
Monday: Phonics Poem Activity.
Tuesday: Storybook: Beginning.
Wednesday: Storybook: Middle.
Thursday: Storybook: Ending.
Spelling Corrections: Correct the storybook pages with the Spelling Corrections Chart
This chart displays the three ways to correct spelling:
1) sight words
2) in-range spelling words
3) out-of-range words
Sight words are expert words that should always be spelled correctly. In-range spelling words are expected to be correctly spelled or very close approximations. Out-of-range words are words or spelling patterns that are not expected to be spelled correctly. Many times these are sophisticated vocabulary words that will enhance students’ writing. (See Appendix Q for blackline master of the Spelling Corrections Chart.)
Two centers are suggested for students to practice their sight words and spelling patterns
Make copies of the sight word worksheets and place them in a center.
Students first learn sight words by building them. This is done by cutting each sight word’s letters, mixing them on the table, then building the word again.
After repeatedly building the sight words, students then sort them. This is done by laying many cards with the two new words on them across the table. Quickly students slide the cards into to separate piles while reading them. For example, sight word cards of the and my are laid across the table, then students sort them into two piles while simultaneously reading them.
Make copies of the cut-up word worksheets and place them in a center. Students practice making different spelling words utilizing the cut-up letters. The Word Family Houses are for making new words using the word families, and the Wiggle-Giggle Houses are to make words using the vowel patterns.
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