Helpful Hints for Reading

A Guide for Those Helping Beginning or Struggling Readers

Summer 2017

Dear Reading Advocate:

Learning to read unlocks the door to a world of adventure, knowledge and wisdom. Yet, for some, learning to read proves to be incredibly difficult. The 26 letters of our alphabet represent over 40 speech sounds, and are used to spell more than one million English words – too many to memorize! Memorization may help at first, but it encourages guessing, not thinking. Many students struggle through the complex process of learning to read because they cannot figure out how the ‘alphabet code’ works. Beginning and struggling readers often need direct, explicit, structured, sequential, systematic, multisensory instruction in both the alphabet code and phonics (the sound that each letter makes) to become fluent readers. Th is manual is meant to provide you with a guide to the foundational reading skills that make up our written language. Learning the sounds, syllables and spelling rules of English encourages reasoning, and is essential for confident reading, spelling, and comprehension. We hope Helpful Hints for Reading will provide a useful ‘roadmap’ for family members, volunteers, librarians, teachers, and tutors helping students on their journey toward reading mastery, and a lifetime love of learning. This edition has undergone substantial revisions in hopes of giving you a resource that is easy to maneuver and understand. Please visit our Facebook page or email us at [email protected] to share your feedback! Sincerely,

Tracey A. Ely, Director Tutor Eau Claire Reading & Dyslexia Resource Center 628 Muller Ave., Columbia, SC 29203 www.tutorec.org

Acknowledgements

Tutor Eau Claire (TEC) is thankful for the many organizations and individuals who believe in our mission to encourage struggling readers. We are particularly indebted to the Academy of Columbia Foundation of the Central Carolina Community Foundation for commissioning the development of Helpful Hints for Reading. We also thank Heather Frierson, Georgia Brennecke, Associate/AOGPE, Janet Jones, Fellow/AOGPE, and numerous parents and TEC tutors for their helpful suggestions in creating this manual. Special thanks go to Michelle Keiffer, TEC Communications Coordinator, for proofreading and editing of this third edition. We hope this manual will become a handy reference for reading helpers throughout the Midlands community and beyond.

Copyright Tutor Eau Claire 2013, 2016, 2017. To obtain a copy of this manual contact Tutor Eau Claire at [email protected]

Table of Contents I. Speech Sounds ___ 1

II. Consonants ______2 Noisy or Quiet? Consonant Pairs 3 Combination qu 4 Consonant Digraphs 5 Consonant Blends 6 Sounds of s 7 Soft c and g ______8

III. Vowels ______9 Short Vowel Sounds 10 Long Vowel Sounds 11 Vowel – Y 12

IV. Family Units: -ng, -nk, -all, -igh 13 -ild, -ind, -old, -olt, -ost ___ 14

V. The Syllable: A Definition 15

VI. Six Types of Syllables 16 Closed 17 Open 18 Silent-e 19 Bossy-r 20 Vowel Team 21 Vowel Teams with More than One Sound 22 Advanced Vowel Teams 23 Consonant-le 24

VII. Syllable Division Patterns 25 Rabbit Words vc.cv ____ 26 Ostrich Words vc.ccv, vcc.cv ____ 27 Tiger Words v.cv 28 Camel Words vc.v ____ 29 Turtle Words v[cle, vc[cle 30 Lion Words v.v 31 Schwa 32

VIII. Spelling Rules: C or K -Which do I use before a vowel? 33 How do I spell /k/ at the end of a short word? 34 Floss Rule: -ff, -ll, -ss, -zz 35 Three Great Spelling Rules 36 Vowel Team Spellings: au/aw, oi/oy, ou/ow 37 Red Words (Irregular Words) 38

More Helpful Hints: Three Sounds of Suffix -ed 39 Plurals (Suffix -s and Suffix -es) 40 Articles: A, An, The 41 Did you know? 42

What Parents and Teachers Should Know About Dyslexia ___ 43 Recommendations for Helping Your Struggling Reader____44-45 About Tutor Eau Claire ___ 46 Resources 47 Word Lists 48-50

Speech Sounds There are two types of sounds:

Vowels (v) (Air flows freely = always voiced) a, e, i, o, u (and sometimes y)

Consonants (c) (Air flow is shaped with lips, tongue, or teeth; sometimes voiced/sometimes not voiced) b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z

Note: Throughout this manual, we will use these symbols: V = vowel, and C = consonant.

The Alphabet Principle Letters represent speech sounds.

Upper case letters: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Lower case letters: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Consonant Sounds Alphabet letters represent the sounds in words. To show the sound a letter makes, we put bars to either side of the letter (ex. /b/, /c/). The key word contains the letter’s sound, either at the beginning or end. Memorizing these basic letter/key word/sounds simplifies reading and spelling. Three consonants (c, g, s) have two sounds.

Letter Sound Key Word b /b/ boy c /k/ or /s/* cat, city *See p. 3 for c =/s/ d /d/ dog f /f/ fish g /g/ or /j/* goat, cage *See p. 3 for g =/j/ h /h/ hat j /j/ jam k /k/ kite l /l/ lamp m /m/ man n /n/ nut p /p/ pan qu /kw/ queen r /r/ rat s /s/ or /z/* snake, nose *See p. 4 for s =/z/ t /t/ top v /v/ van w /w/ wind x /ks/ box y /y/ yoyo z /z/ zebra ch /ch/ chin ck /k/ clock sh /sh/ ship th /th/ this/thin wh /wh/ whistle

Noisy or Quiet?

Eight pairs of consonants can be hard to tell apart. One consonant in each pair is “voiced,” or “noisy,” while the other is “unvoiced,” or “quiet.” Unless the sounds are spoken clearly, these pairs can be confused, because the sounds in each pair are produced in the same part of the mouth.

Pair # Quiet Sound Noisy Sound 1. /p/ = lap /b/ = lab 2. /t/ = mat /d/ = mad 3. /k/ = duck /g/ - dug 4. /f/ = off /v/ = have 5. /th/ = thin /th/ - this

6. /s/ - hiss, cats /z/ = his, dogs, nose 7. /sh/ - wish /zh/ = garage 8. /ch/ - rich /j/ = ridge

Try this: • Hold your hand over your throat as you say the sound of the bolded letter(s) in each pair above. Can you feel the difference? • Use a mirror to see what your mouth is doing as you produce the quiet and noisy sounds. Your mouth should be in the same position for each noisy/quiet pair. Feel your throat vibrate when you say a noisy sound.

• qu says /kw/, a combination of /k/ and /w/

• In English words, the letters q and u always go together.

• With qu, the u does not make a vowel sound.

• A vowel typically follows the u in qu words.

quiz quail quake squirt quit squeak square squirm quick queen quote quart quilt quite quest quack

Consonant Digraphs

Sometimes, two letters come together to make one sound. These are called “Digraphs”. Sometimes they are called the “h-brothers.”

Common Digraphs: sh ch wh th ph = /f/ ship chat whip thin phone shed chop whiz thumb graph shop chin whale thud phonics shell chill when math elephant cash church why Beth dish pinch white moth rush lunch whiskers with

Advanced: Trigraphs are three letters that make one sound. They are used only after a short vowel sound.

-tch = /ch/ -dge = /j/ fetch fudge crutch bridge

Catch the pitch. Judge the fudge.

Exceptions to -tch: much, such, rich, which, sandwich

Consonant Blends

Two or more consonants come together to form a consonant blend. The sound of each letter is heard, but they are “blended” together.

Examples of blends at the beginning of words:

bl (bled) br (brat) sc (scat) dw (dwell) cl (clip) cr (cram) sk (skim) tw (twin) fl (flat) dr (drop) sm (smell) gl (glad) gr (grip) sn (snap) pl (plot) pr (prop) sp (spot) sl (slit) tr (trot) st (step) sw (swim)

Examples of blends at the end of words:

-ld (held) -mp (bump) -nd (bend) -sk (mask) -lf (self) -nt (mint) -sp (wisp) -lk (milk) -st (list) -lm (film) -ln (kiln) -lt (belt) -lp (scalp)

Two SOUNDS of S

1) S says /s/ most of the time:

Sam acts so silly! Pass us the salt. Cats are good pets. Sit close to Jess. Stop slurping!

2) S can also say /z/:

A. when s comes between two vowels, as in: rise nose please close (as in, “Close the door.”)

B. when s is at the end of short words, as in: as has is his was

C. when a word ends in suffix -s, as in: cars dogs rivers padlocks radios

D. when a word ends in the suffix -es, as in: bushes catches foxes fries potatoes

(Also see Noisy or Quiet? on page 3)

Soft C and G

c and g make their “soft” sound when followed by e, i, or y:

c will say /s/ and g will say /j/.

Watch-Out Vowels e i y

Examples of Soft C and G:

Soft c = /s/ Soft g = /j/ cell ginger face magic city gym fancy George Soft g Exceptions: get, give, eager, girl

Powerful Vowels

Every word must have a vowel to be a real word. Even our smallest words, “a” and “I”, have vowels.

I have a book!

A single vowel in a word or syllable can say its short sound (p. 10) or its long sound (its ‘name;’ p. 11). We will introduce other vowel sounds and spellings later.

Short Long / ă / / ā / / ĕ / / ē / / ĭ / / ī / / ŏ / / ō / / ŭ / / ū /

Short Vowel Sounds

The breve above the vowel (ă) represents its short vowel sound. The short vowel sound occurs in closed syllables. (See Closed Syllables, p.17).

/ă/ as in: “apple”

/ĕ/ as in: “Eddie”

/ĭ/ as in: “itchy”

/ŏ/ as in: “olive”

/ŭ/ as in: “upper”

*Advanced concept: y – says / ĭ/ as in: “gym” (See p. 12)

Long Vowel Sounds

The macron above the vowel (ā) represents the long vowel sound, which means the vowel “says its name.” The long vowel sound can be heard in many syllable types. (More examples of Open, VCe, and Vowel Team Syllables: pages 18, 19, 21-23.)

/ā/ as in: baby, safe, wait, play, steak

/ē/ as in: me, recess, theme, seed, eat, chief

/ī/ as in: hi, spider, kite, pie, sigh

/ō/ as in: go, pony, rope, soap, row, toe

/ū/ as in: flu, music, flute, fruit, clue

Remember: When a vowel is “long,” it says its name.

Vowel – y When the letter “y” is not the first letter in a syllable, it acts like a vowel.

- In a closed syllable, y acting as a vowel will have: ▪ a short i sound (/ĭ/ as in gym)

- In an open syllable, y can have: ▪ a long i sound (/ī/ as in cry) ▪ long e sound (/ē/ as in baby)

Remember: “cry-baby” or “my candy”

- In a VCe syllable, y will have a long i sound (/ī/ as in type)

One Syllable Words

Closed Open VCe y = /ĭ/ y = /ī/ y = /ī/ gym cry type hymn my rhyme why

Two + Syllable Words Closed Open Open y = /ĭ/ y = /ē/ y = /ī/ Egypt baby reply mystic candy cycle symphony puppy hydrant biology intensify

“FAMILY UNITS” in Words

A “family unit” is a group of letters that stick together.

-nk and -ng -nk and –ng team up with all the vowels except “e” to make ending units for words. (Exceptions: length, strength)

-ank -ink -onk -unk -ang -ing -ong -ung

bank pink conk bunk bang king long hung drank sink honk junk hang sing song lung

sank stink sunk rang bring strong sung thank think trunk sang string wrong strung

Other Family Units:

-all: tall, ball, call, fall, wall, small, stall

-igh: high, sigh, sight, fight, light, bright, flight

In most Closed Syllables (See page 17) the vowel sound is short, but in these family units the o and i make the long vowel sound (o and i say their names). These family units BREAK the usual Closed Syllable pattern.

-ōst, -ōld, -ōlt, -īnd, -īld

“ The Most Kind Old Wild Colt” words.

-ōst -ōld -ōlt -īnd -īld most old colt kind wild host bold jolt find mild post gold bolt wind child ghost scold molt blind almost behold unkind

Syllables

A SYLLABLE is a word or part of a word with one vowel sound.

The sound a vowel makes depends on its position in the syllable.

There are six types of syllables.

Six Syllable Types

Syllable Type Examples Pattern

Closed cat, met, dog, math, p. 17 VC chin, bus, gym

Open she, hi, go, my, fly V p. 18

Silent-e Pete, hope, mule, gate, or VCe “Magic-e” mine, cake, type p. 19 R-controlled Vowel car, horn, her, bird, or Vr “Bossy-R” hurt p. 20 meat, sleep, say, Vowel Teams house, book VV p. 21-23

dazzle, kettle, fiddle, Consonant-le [Cle p. 24 turtle, cuddle

Closed Syllable (VC)

The closed syllable has one vowel that is closed in by a consonant, and the vowel makes its short sound.

a = /ă/ e = /ĕ/ i = /ĭ/ o= /ŏ/ u =/ŭ/

One Syllable Words

at Ed it on up

bag pet fin Tom cup

grab bled milk stop drum

track chest drift frost stunt

blasts drench sprint prompt sprung

Two Syllable Words

cac.tus les.son pic.nic gos.pel but.ton

mas.cot hel.met fit.ness pol.len sub.mit

hap.pen ten.nis in.fant bot.tom pub.lic

Open Syllable (V)

The open syllable ends in a single vowel and the vowel makes its long sound (says its name).

a = /ā/ e = /ē/ i = /ī/ o = /ō/ u =/ū/ “ba.by” “re.cess” “spi.der” “po.ny” “mu.sic” “tu.na”

One Syllable Words

a me hi go flu we so she no

Two Syllable Words

la.dy ze.ro ti.ny fo.cus u.nit A.pril e.qual pi.lot to.ken du.et ta.ble ve.to si.lent he.ro men.u ma.son re.make fun.gi no.tice ru.in

Silent-e Syllable “Magic-e” (VCe)

The Silent-e (VCe) syllable ends in a vowel-consonant-e, and the vowel makes its long sound (says its name).

a = /ā/ e = /ē/ i = /ī/ o = /ō/ u =/ū/ “safe” “Pete” “pine” “home” “mule”

One Syllable Words:

cake eve mile bone tube

grade theme slide drove rule

Two Syllable Words:

pan.cake com.pete in.side ex.plode ex.cuse

e.rase ex.treme sun.rise com.pose re.fuse

R-controlled Vowel Syllable “Bossy–R” (Vr)

The r-controlled syllable has a vowel followed by the letter r. The r controls the vowel sound.

ar = /ar/ or = /or/ er = /er/ ir = /er/ ur = /er/ “car” “horn” “her” “bird” “hurt”

One Syllable Words: star port term stir turn barn fork verse dirt surf scarf short herd birth church earn

Two Syllable Words: mar.ket cor.ner sis.ter cir.cle Thurs.day gar.den bor.der ser.mon birth.day cour.age

er, ir, and ur all make the sound /er/

er is the most common spelling for the /er/ sound, and often comes at the end of a word.

Vowel Team Syllable (VV)

Two vowels can stand together to form a Vowel Team. A vowel team can make a long vowel sound (vowel says its name), a short vowel sound, or a different sound.

(The dash before the letters means it usually comes at the end of a word.)

ai -ay ea ei -ey /ā/ sail tray steak vein they ea ee ie -ey ei /ē/ eat feet piece key ceiling ea /ĕ/ bread -ie igh /ī/ pie light oa -oe -ow /ō/ boat toe snow -ue -ew eu /ū/ true few feud

Vowel Teams with a Different Sound:

/au/ au -aw auto saw

/oi/ oi -oy boil toy /oo/ oo ou moon soup /ou/ ou -ow ouch cow

Beware: To avoid confusing your student, do not teach the following saying, since it is not always true: “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking and says its name.” This saying works only about 40% of the time. (Consider these exceptions: bread, steak, few, cousin, house, and all Vowel Teams on next page).

Vowel Teams with More Than One Sound

ow – /ō/ (slow), /ow/ (cow) “Slow Cow”

ie- /ē/ (piece), /ī/ (pie) “I want a piece of pie.”

ou- /ou/ (ouch), /oo/ (soup) “Ouch! The soup is hot!”

ea- /ē/ (eat), /ĕ/ (bread), /ā/ (steak) “I eat bread and steak.”

ei- /ē/ (weird), /ā/ (vein) “Weird Vein”

More Advanced Vowel Teams

These Vowel Teams have two vowels together that make an unexpected sound.

(The dash before the letters means it usually comes at the end of a word.) Table 2

au -aw /au/ auto saw August drawing oi -oy /oi/ boil toy ointment enjoy oo ou /oo/ moon soup food group oo /oo/ book stood ou -ow /ou/ ouch cow mouth plow

*See page 37 for Vowel Team spelling rules

Consonant-le Syllable

The consonant-le syllable comes at the end of a word. It is coded with a bracket: [cle

bub [ble cra [dle tur [tle

“To unlock the sound of the first syllable, “find consonant-le, count back three.”

[ble [cle [dle [fle [gle table uncle cuddle sniffle bugle Bible bicycle handle ruffle gargle humble article spindle waffle wiggle

[kle [ple [sle [tle [zle chuckle purple hassle turtle puzzle sparkle ripple tousle whittle guzzle tackle topple tussle battle fizzle sprinkle maple gentle dazzle

Note: [stle has a silent letter t, and is pronounced /s’l/, as in castle, whistle.

Syllable Division Patterns There are six different ways to divide words into syllables…

1. Rabbit Words (VC.CV) 2.Ostrich Words (VC.CCV) p. 26 p. 27

3. Tiger Words (V.CV) 4. Camel Words (VC.V) p. 28 p. 29

5. Turtle Words ([Cle) 6. Lion Words (V.V) p. 30 p. 31

Rab.bit Words VC .CV

When there are two consonants between two vowels, divide between the consonants.

Examples: rabbit = răb.bĭt magnet = măg.nĕt reptile = rĕp.tīle robber = rŏb.ber tennis = tĕn.nĭs doctor = dŏc.tor tempo = tĕm.pō circus = cir.cŭs

Os.trich Words VC.CCV

When there are three consonants between two vowels, divide after the first consonant. If that doesn’t make a word, try dividing after the second consonant. Consonant blends are usually kept together.

VCC.CV VC.CCV snapshot = snap.shot windmill = wind.mill include = in.clude pumpkin = pump.kin subtract = sub.tract partner = part.ner drumstick = drum.stick trashcan = trash.can complete = com.plete handsome = hand.some pantry = pan.try empty = emp.ty umbrella = um.brel.la dumpling = dump.ling

Ti.ger Words V.CV

When there is one consonant between two vowels, usually you divide after the first vowel. The first syllable will be open and the vowel will make its long sound (says its name).

Examples: tiger = tī.ger bacon = bā.con frozen = frō.zen unit = ū.nit profile = prō.file paper = pā.per

Cam.el Words V C .V

Sometimes, when you have tried the v.cv (Tiger) pattern and it does not make a real word, then try dividing after the consonant, using the vc.v (Camel) pattern. The first syllable will be closed and the vowel will make its short sound.

Examples: camel = căm.el linen = lĭn.en robin = rŏb.in planet = plăn.et punish = pŭn.ĭsh

Tur[tle Words [cle

When a word ends in consonant-le the word is divided before the consonant-le. The consonant-le forms its own syllable.

It may help to bracket off the c-le like this: [cle

Examples: turtle = tur[tle dazzle = daz[zle bugle = bu[gle jingle = jin[gle kettle = ket[tle sprinkle = sprin[kle

Remember: “Consonant-le, count back three…”

Li.on Words V.V

When there are two vowels that are not a vowel team, divide between the vowels. The first syllable will be open and the vowel will make its long sound (says its name).

Examples: lion = l ī.ŏn neon = nē.ŏn reuse = rē.use

Sometimes, the two vowels will look like a vowel team:

Examples: poet = pō.ĕt diet = dī.ĕt fluid = flū.ĭd museum = mu.sē.ŭm

Schwa*

In the dictionary, the schwa sound is coded with the symbol /ə/ or /ŭ/.

A syllable can be “stressed” (accented), or “unstressed” (unaccented). In an unstressed syllable, a vowel often has neither a short nor a long vowel sound, but an “in-between” sound, similar to /ŭ/. This is called “schwa.”

a = /ə/ e = /ə/ i = /ə/ o = /ə/ u = /ə/ a the peril carrot upon ago ticket capital wagon until banana eleven testify kingdom museum final honest office cover diagram silence introduce

*Note: Schwa is an advanced concept. This page is included for the reading helper’s information only, in case you wonder about the times a vowel doesn’t have its expected short or long sound. Avoid using any words of this type with beginning readers, except as irregular words (See Red Words, page 41).

Which do I use: c or k?

It can be tricky to decide which letter to use because the letters c and k make the same /k/ sound. When the /k/ sound is at the beginning or middle of a word…

Remember:

Spell the /k/ sound with c whenever you can; (Usually before a, o, u and in blends with l and r)

Use k before e, i, and y.

So… when you hear the /k/ sound, identify the vowel following the /k/ sound before choosing c or k.

C - cat, corn, cut, coat, rescue, bacon K- kiss, skip, keep, kettle, kite, donkey, turkey

How do I spell the /k/ sound at the end of a one-syllable word?

• Remember: Spell /k/ with -ck at the end of a short word right after a short vowel sound

• All other times, spell /k/ with the letter -k or -ke.

-ck -k -ke clock mask bike back pink smoke check dusk lake pick desk eke duck mark fluke

Floss Rule: -ff,-ll,-ss,-zz

Think: “F L O S S” or “Four Little Silly Zebras”

If a short word ends in f, l, s, or z, double the final consonant when it is at the end of a short word right after a short vowel sound.

-ff -ll -ss -zz

off Bill bass buzz Jeff dull hiss fizz muff well kiss fuzz

bluff yell moss jazz cliff drill bless

sniff grill class staff shell cross

whiff dress

Exceptions: is, if, of, as, this, us, yes, gas, bus, pal, quiz

-ff -ll -ss -zz

The Three GREAT Spelling Rules

Usually a suffix is simply added to a word without any changes. But sometimes you have to follow these three rules:

Doubling Rule When a word ends in one vowel followed by one consonant (CVC) you must DOUBLE the final consonant when adding a suffix that begins with a VOWEL.

Double: mad + est = maddest thin + ed = thinned Double: mad + er = madder thin + ing = thinning No change: mad + ly = madly thin + ly = thinly

Remember: In English words the letters h, j, k, v, w, x, y are never doubled.

DROP E Rule When a word ends in silent-e, DROP THE -E before adding a suffix that begins with a VOWEL.

Silent-e Word + Vowel Suffix = Drop e spice y spicy like able likable take ing taking

CHANGE Y Rule

When a consonant comes before the y, CHANGE THE Y TO i before adding a suffix.

Change: carry + ed = carried carry + er = carrier

No change: When the suffix begins with i, then keep the y: carry + ing = carrying

Vowel Team Spellings

Rules to help you make good choices for spelling these sounds: au/aw

• When you hear the /au/ sound at the beginning or middle of a word, spell it “au” (August, cause). • When you hear the /au/ sound at the end of a word, spell it “-aw” (saw, flaw). • aw can be used in the middle of a word when followed by k, l and n (hawk, lawn and crawl)

oi/oy

• When you hear the /oi/ sound at the beginning or middle of a word or syllable, spell it “oi” (oil, point, ointment). • When you hear the /oi/ sound at the end of a word, spell it “-oy” (toy, enjoy). • Sometimes the /oi/ sound can be spelled "-oy” at the end of a syllable (loy.al, voy.age, oy.ster). ou/ow

• When you hear the /ou/ sound at the beginning or middle of a word, spell it “ou” (ouch, sound, mouse). • When you hear the /ou/ sound at the end of a word, spell it “-ow” (plow). • ow can be used in the middle of a word when followed by l, n, or er. (brown, growl, shower)

Three Sounds of Suffix -ed

1. /ĕd/ after d and t: landed

2. /d/ after a voiced sound: played

3. /t/ after an unvoiced sound: jumped

When you add suffix -ed to a verb, you show that the action happened in the past.

-ed = /ĕd/ -ed = /d/ -ed = /t/ landed played jumped

rented hugged kissed hunted spurred checked grated charmed matched wilted grinned talked accepted received attacked landed drilled puffed guarded returned raked welded supposed mixed faded followed splashed avoided urged blinked pretended agreed finished

Note: Only when -ed says /ĕd/ does it create a separate syllable. Landed is a two-syllable word, but played and jumped are one-syllable words. The -ed suffix can be difficult for students, especially when spelling. They may write “playd” for played or “jumpt” for jumped, because that is how it sounds.

Activity: To help students master the suffix -ed for spelling, have them read lists of -ed words, noting the different sounds of the -ed ending. Then try sorting word cards into 3 separate stacks by pronunciation. When students can confidently sort these words by pronunciation, have them divide paper into three columns labeled “/ĕd/,” “/d/,” and “/t/.” Dictate a mixture of words with the -ed ending for the students to write in the appropriate columns. 38

PLURAL FORMS (“More than One”)

Plural: -s • Usually words are made plural by adding the suffix -s. Suffix -s can make the /s/ sounds as in cats or the /z/ sound as in dogs. cats lamps candles friends dogs books plans bugs

• Words ending in Vowel + O = add s as in: radio/radios shampoo/shampoos rodeo/rodeos

• Words ending in Vowel + Y= add s as in: toy/toys monkey/monkeys

Plural:-es • Words ending in s, x, z, sh, ch, or tch add suffix –es as in: buses foxes fizzes dishes churches catches

• Consonant + o = add suffix -es as in: potato/potatoes veto/vetoes

• Consonant + Y = change the y to i and add suffix -es as in: fly/flies baby/babies

Articles: A, An, The

The words ‘a,’ ‘an,’ and ‘the,’ are called articles. They are commonly used before nouns (words that name a person, place, thing or idea) and adjectives (words that describe a noun).

A The word ‘a’ can be pronounced ā or /ə/, depending on whether it is: 1) stressed (for emphasis): “You made ā spectacular dive!” or 2) unstressed: “Once upon a time….”

An The word ‘an’ is substituted for ‘a’ before a word beginning with a vowel sound. “He ate an apple.”

The The word ‘the’ can be pronounced thē or thə, depending on the situation: 1) Usually, ‘the’ before a consonant is pronounced thə, but, thē is acceptable:

Thə/Thē boy ran. He has thə/thē best manners.

2) However, use thē if the next word starts with a vowel: thē apple thē extra piece

RED WORDS

Red words are words that do not have predictable spellings! They are often common words, but they should not be “sounded out.”

Students must memorize these words for reading and spelling, using multisensory strategies, such as looking for familiar letter patterns, then tracing, copying, reading and spelling aloud until mastered/over-learned.

Group Group Group Group Group Group 1 2 3 4 5 6 the one as who from around of do they what does through to has were why done other is two because where more people you come your there any again was some have how many friend are said been could put should only would know

Did you know….?

• 85% of English words follow the spelling rules of our language.

• The other 15% are words with irregular spellings that must be memorized. (See “RED Words,” next page.)

• When the letter e comes at the end of a word it is almost always silent (Exception: recipē).

• The letters j and v never end an English word.

• We never double the letters h, j, k, v, w, x, or y.

• Suffix -ed can make three sounds: /t/ as in picked/dressed (after an unvoiced sound) /d/ as in paved/rained (after a voiced sound) /ed/ as in rented/landed (after the letters t or d)

• When the letter Y acts like a vowel, it can make three sounds: /ī/ as in cry or type /ē/ as in candy /ĭ/ as in gym

• Few English words end in the vowel i, (exceptions: hi, I, wi-fi, sci-fi). If you hear the long i / ī / sound at the end of a word, it is usually spelled with: -y (my, by, try, spry), -ie (pie, lie, die, tie) -ye (bye, dye, eye).

• The letter “w” can also act like a vowel when it comes after a, e, or o in a Vowel Team. (aw-saw, drawn, ew-grew, threw, ow-snow, bowl, grown)

• Consonant letters never say their names.… If you hear the consonant ‘saying its name,’ there is a vowel hiding either before or after it.

What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about Dyslexia

Facts • Dyslexia means “difficulty with reading and spelling.” It is neurological (medical) in origin.

• Dyslexia affects 1 out of 5 people, and tends to run in families.

• Dyslexia is NOT related to IQ.

• Dyslexia accounts for 80-85% of students in special education.

• Diagnosis of dyslexia is medical. The treatment is educational. Early intervention is critical.

• Multisensory language instruction is the only approach that is proven to be effective.

Ways to Help

• If possible, make sure your child receives help beginning in Pre-K and Kindergarten. Seek help as soon as possible, don’t wait!

• Dyslexic students need direct instruction in phonics to be successful.

• Special teacher training is available to help dyslexic students. (See Resources)

• Parents who struggle with reading should get help for themselves. It’s never too late! (See Resources)

• Model good reading habits. This will encourage your child to read, too.

• Use audiobooks to expose your child to age appropriate literature and vocabulary.

• Be patient! These children are not being lazy. They are working much harder than typical learners.

• Consistent practice brings rewards. Don’t give up!

• Never stop reading aloud to your child! As you read with your child, talk about the author’s humor, ideas, and feelings. This will build your child’s vocabulary, enhancing his/her ability to understand the more advanced texts he/she will read in the upper grades.

NOTE: https://dyslexiaida.org offers FACT SHEETS with convenient, professionally reviewed materials for educators and parents (including Homeschool families). Most materials are also available in Spanish. 43

Recommendations for Helping Your Struggling Reader

Do This! Why? How? Request a formal • Identifies underlying issues Contact your child’s school, psycho-educational affecting academic functioning the USC Speech and Hearing evaluation • Helps to obtain accommodations Clinic or a Private Practice through an IEP (Individualized Educational Psychologist. Education Plan) or 504 Plan • Required to receive accommodations for college entrance exams (ACT/ SAT) Find a tutor that is • Instruction should be Tutor Eau Claire offers trained in the personalized, multisensory, Reading Clinics that use the structured literacy diagnostic and prescriptive, OG approach & provides (Orton-Gillingham) explicit, systematic and referrals to private tutors approach cumulative. that are trained in the OG • Concepts must be taught to approach. mastery for reading and spelling OG accredited private • Intervention should be schools specialize in intensive (2-5 days/week) dyslexic and ADD learners. • Sandhills School, Columbia • Camperdown Academy, Greenville • Trident Academy, Mt. Pleasant Teach multisensory Maximizes the kinesthetic link to Examples of Curriculum: cursive handwriting letter sound/symbol mastery • Cursive Writing Skills by Diana Hanbury King • Project Read Handwriting www.projectread.com

Do This! Why? How? Enroll in Lexia® A web based tutorial that Subscriptions available through TEC. Core 5 offers targeted practice in www.tutorec.org/lexia-core-5/ basic phonemic awareness, alphabet and phonics skills Explore Assistive Minimizes working memory • Audiobooks Technology overload during reading and • Intel Reader – text to speech writing tasks • Speech recognition software/apps • Dr. Carol Page at the SC Assistive Technology Resource Center offers free consultations (803) 935-5301 Learn about dyslexia Gain understanding of how International Dyslexia Association & ADD/ADHD the brain works and how www.dyslexiaida.org dyslexia/ADD/ADHD impact Learning Ally www.learningally.org your child and family unit Understood www.understood.org Richland Main Library Children’s Room http://www.richlandlibrary.com/check- it-out/children/childrens-room-main Visit the TEC website • Download a free PDF copy of Helpful Hints for Reading www.tutorec.org • Learn about upcoming training, workshops & programs • Links to valuable resources

Tutor Eau Claire Reading & Dyslexia Resource Center 628 Muller Avenue, Columbia, SC 29203 www.tutorec.org / [email protected]

About Tutor Eau Claire Reading & Dyslexia Resource Center

Tutor Eau Claire (TEC) is the literacy outreach program of Eau Claire Shalom Ministries. TEC provides effective resources for struggling readers and accredited Orton-Gillingham training for volunteers, tutors, parents and educators. By using a direct, explicit, sequential, structured, systematic, multisensory approach, our tutors have helped many overcome reading failure. Services: ▪ Dyslexia Information and Referrals ▪ Informal Reading Assessments ▪ Workshops and Professional Development ▪ Lexia® Reading’s Core5 Web-based Reading Tutorial Program

Individualized Tutoring Programs: ▪ Home School ▪ After School ▪ Summer

Training: ▪ Accredited Orton-Gillingham Training

Publication: ▪ Helpful Hints for Reading, TEC 2013, 2016, 2017.

www.tutorec.org [email protected]

@ TutorEauClaire

Resources Websites: https://dyslexiaida.org International Dyslexia Association Fact Sheets about dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD; dyslexia advocacy, suggested readings for parents and teachers www.learningally.org Learning Ally --Provides dyslexia support through audiobooks & parent support service www.richlandlibrary.com Richland Library – Books on dyslexia for children and adults. Children’s Room offers many dyslexia resources and workshops that are free to the public www.ldaamerica.org , www.ldonline.org – Information and resources on learning disabilities www.understood.org Understood – Online community for learning and attention issues www.ortonacademy.org The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (Official OG site) - Information about OG Approach, Directory of training programs, certified tutors and schools www.readingrockets.org Information about learning to read, helping struggling readers, book lists

www.BrightSolutions.us Information about dyslexia, intervention www.literacycolumbia.org Turning Pages, a non-profit adult literacy organization serving Greater Columbia www.statelibrary.sc.gov Free audio book services for those qualified w/ reading disability www.bookshare.org Free audio book services for those qualified w/ reading disability www.moosematerials.com Source for multisensory games following the OG sequence www.theliteracynest.com Resources following the OG sequence, blog for parents and educators of struggling readers

Books: A Guide to Helping Your Child at Home: Developing Foundational Skills in Reading & Writing – Provides strategies and an initial teaching plan for a variety of foundational reading and writing skills. Diana Hanbury King, WVCEd, 2016.

Readiness for Reading – A Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Approach – Great resource for skillfully guiding at-risk and dyslexic preschoolers (or older struggling readers) on their way to reading success. Beth Moore, 2017.

Basic Facts About Dyslexia & Other Reading Problems – An excellent, yet brief, introduction to dyslexia. Louisa Cook Moats, Karen Daken, The International Dyslexia Association, 2008.

Overcoming Dyslexia – Classic introduction to dyslexia diagnosis and remediation. Sally Shaywitz, M.D., Vintage, 2003. 47

Word Lists for Reference

Words with short vowel sound a- bad, can, cat, dad, fan, fat, gas, had, ham, lap, mad, man, map, pal, ran, sad, sat, tap, van, e- bed, bet, fed, get, jet, led, leg, let, met, net, pen, pet, red, set, ten, vet, web, wet, yes, yet i- bib, big, did, dig, dip, fit, hid, him, hip, hit, kid, lid, lip, pig, pin, pit, rib, rip, sit, six, wig, win, zip o- box, cot, dot, fog, fox, got, hog, hot, hop, job, jog, log, lot, mom, mop, not, pot, rod, sob, top u-bug, bus, cub, cup, cut, dug, fun, gum, hug, hut, jug, mud, nut, pup, rub, rug, run, sun, tub,

Short vowel sound in words with more than three letters a- band, branch, camp, cast, catch, class, drag, flag, fast, glad, hand, jack, land, latch, mask, math, pack, plant, ramp, stamp, task, trap, e- bell, best, bled, cell, check, chest, deck, dress, fled, help, kept, less, mess, neck, press, sell, shed, smell, test, vest, well, wept, yell i- blink, chick, clip, crib, dish, drink, fish, flip, gift, hiss, kick, lift, list, milk, miss, pick, rich, ship, skin, slid, stick, swim, thin, trick, twig, wink o- blob, block, chop, clock, crop, dock, drop, flock, flog, frog, lock, plot, plop, pond, rock, shock, shot, shop, sock, spot, stop, tock, trot u- blush, brush, bump, bunch, buzz, chunk, crust, crush, drum, duck, dump, dust, fluff, hunt, just, luck, much, pluck, rust, snug, truck

H Brothers (sh, ch, th, wh) shut, why, that, chat, ship, whiz, thumb, chin, shed, whale, this, chip, shark, white, thin, chart, shop, what, think, chest, shell, whip, thick, child, shot

Four Little Silly Zebras (-ff,-ll,-ss,-zz) puff, bell, miss, buzz, off, fell, kiss, fuzz, stiff, kill, mess, jazz stuff, will, grass, staff, spell, cross, sniff, will, dress, Jeff, class, chill, glass

Final-e (Magic-e as in cake) hope, robe, pine, cute, made, cube, time, cape, cane, kite, rode, plane, slide, rate, dime, mope, tape, hide, pale, ride, note, mane, pane, scrape, hate

-y (as in cry) try, fly, shy, my, why, by, sky, spy, dry

-y (as in baby) happy, daddy, frosty, sandy, candy, pony, dusty, windy, puppy, lazy, lady, shady, chilly, rainy ar (as in car) star, card, part, dark, sharp, mark, harm, shark, chart, arm, yard, jar, scar, start, barn or (as in storm) fork, born, orbit, north, pork, torch, corn, sport, short, stork, thorn, orbit er (as in her) herd, jerk, verb, fern, perch, sister, hunter, timber, thunder, permit, number, silver ir (as in bird) stir, sir, dirt, swirl, third, girl, shirt, chirp, first, skirt, birth, stir, thirst ur (as in hurt) fur, burn, curl, church, burp, turn, churn, burst, hurl, lurk, curb, ai (as in sail) aid, paid, bail, jail, rail, pain, snail, nail, chain, drain, fail, train, brain, tail, claim, paint, saint, strain, daily, restrain, detail

-ay (as in play) hay, stay, pay, clay, stray, tray, crayfish, spray, pray, way, bay, fray, display, birthday, subway. ea (as in eat) peach, flea, sea, meat, tea, heal, team, cream, beach, weak, sneak, east, leaf, seat, stream, cheap, bean, reach ea (as in bread) deaf, ready, bread, steady, sweater, thread, sweat, lead, pleasant, weapon, head, wealth, breath, heaven, dead, instead, dread, spread, read, leather, heavy, weather, health, death, ea (as in great) break, steak, yea ee (as in jeep) see, keep, weed, feel, deep, feet, tree, green, bee, meet, need, peep, bleed, steep, queen, speech, eel, ie (as in piece) chief, retrieve, field, diesel, belief, grieve, piece, yield, frontier, relief, niece, shield, thief, priest, shriek, believe, pier, fierce, cashier, wield, tier, siege, achieve, fiend, relieve ie (as in pie) die, lie, tie,

-igh (as in night) sight, flight, right, fight, high, sigh, delight, bright, tight, flashlight, twilight, mighty, oa (as in boat) goat, roam, road, soak, coat, toad, soap, cloak, float, toast, coach, roast, boast, throat

-oe (as in toe) Joe, hoe, Moe, doe, woe, foe ow (as in snow) low, row, show, blow, grow, crow, throw, bowl, yellow, willow, blown, thrown, window, elbow, shadow, slowly, pillow

-ue (as in true) blue, clue, glue, tissue, value, argue, virtue, statue, avenue

-ew (as in few) chew, stew, new, pew, drew, grew, blew, flew, mildew, nephew, threw, curfew 49

ui (as in fruit) juice, recruit, bruise, cruise oo (as in zoo) zoo, food, shampoo, soon, tooth, broom, troop, boot, smooth, goose, spoon, roof, shoot, cool, scoop, igloo, pool, cartoon, gloom, kangaroo, rooster, boost, moose, tattoo, choose oo (as in book) book, hood, took, wood, brook, cook, wool, shook, good, stood, fishhook, checkbook, football, hook, foot, bookstore, look, understood, crook, manhood, nook, cookout, rookie, footprint, unhook aw (as in claw) claw, saw, thaw, hawk, flaw, straw, dawn, shawl, crawl, drawn, brawl, squawk, law, yawn, draw, lawn, raw, awful, slaw, outlaw, crawfish, chainsaw, brawl, jigsaw, squaw au (as in August) fault, cause, pause, vault, haunt, sausage, laundry, autumn, faucet, August, sauce, because, caution, gauze, Paul, auto, fraud, author, applaud, faulty, audition, exhaust, saucer, automatic, autograph

-oy (as in boy) joy, toy, Roy, soy, enjoy, voyage, oyster, decoy oi (as in oil) boil, point, toilet, oil, coin, foil, joint, soil, noise, spoil, poison, decoy, moist, choice, coil, avoid, ointment, rejoice, turmoil, convoy soft c says /s/ (as in Cindy in the City) cent, race, twice, face, ice, place, rice, cell, brace, mice, center, ulcer, Nancy, city, fence, prince, cement, cinder, acid, dance, cider, Cindy, circus, cereal, dice ou (as in out) found, shout, mouth, surround, ground, ouch, sound, round, thousand, pout, house, loud, count, south, cloud, mouse, proud, trout, spout, blouse, trousers, flounder, pound, out, sour ow (as in how) now, crowd, owl, allow, town, flower, how, powder, fowl, crown, growl, tower, bow, drown, shower, down, cow, power, brown, glow, frown, gown, scowl, clown, towel

-tch (as in catch) pitch, etch, match, sketch, crutch, scratch, witch, fetch, stretch, Dutch, stitch, patch

-dge (fudge) edge, smudge, bridge, wedge, badge, dodge, lodge, ridge, smudge

Most Kind Old Wild Words: Old, child, hold, find, jolt, most, mild, bold, grind, post, colt, wild, gold, kind, bind, fold, scold, wind, told, cold, told, molt, host, sold, blind eu (as in feud) neutral, Europe, neuron ei (as in ceiling) weird, deceit, neither, leisure, conceit ei (as in vein) reindeer, veil, rein,

-ey (as in they) obey eigh (as in eight) weigh, sleigh, neighbor, eighty