The Vowel Coach

Author: hoophugs313

  • Learn to Read and Spell: A Guide for Parents Who Want to Help

    Learn to Read and Spell: A Guide for Parents Who Want to Help

    • Does your child want to learn to read? Is your child struggling to learn to read? This post is dedicated to parents of little ones just starting their reading journey and to the parents of older kids who struggle to read and/or spell.

    Learn to Read: Step One:

    I want to help my child learn to read and learn to spell. Where do I start?

    • Learning to read and spell starts with the most important word in your child’s vocabulary: his or her name!

    Yes: Go to number 2.

    No: Start with Name Games

    • Check out the post below for some fun ways to help your child learn to recognize and spell his or her name.
    Name Spelling Games: How to Help Your Child Learn to Spell His/Her Name

    Step 2:

    My child can recognize and spell his/her name. What is next?

    • After your child has mastered his/her name, it is time to learn to read and spell with short vowel sounds.

    Yes: Go to number 3.

    No: Start with short vowel lessons:

    • Below is a link to short vowel songs, stories and activities.
    How to Teach Short Vowel Sounds

    Step 3:

    Short vowel sounds are easy, now what?

    • Once your child has the hang of short vowel sounds it is time to help your child learn to read and spell with word families. Word families include vowels and consonants.

    Yes: Go to number 4.

    No: Start with Letter sounds and Word Families:

    • Letter Sounds:
    • Below is a link to word family songs, stories and activities.
    Mat Man and Short Vowel Word Families

    Step 4:

    Basic word families are a cinch. Now what?

    • The next skill to address is one syllable short vowel words. Help your child learn to read and spell with CVC words. After practicing 2 letter word families, it’s time to put those word families into longer words.

    Yes: Go to number 5

    No: Work on word families:

    Mat Man and Short Vowel Word Families

    Step 5:

    My kid can read CVC words. What is the next challenge?

    • Hopefully your child is becoming a more confidant reader. Now is the time to help your child learn to read and spell with long vowel spelling patterns. Recognizing long vowel spelling patterns is key to accurate reading and spelling.

    Yes: Go to number 6.

    No: Work on long vowel spelling patterns.

    • Below are links to songs, stories, and activities for A, E, I, O and U.

    Vowel A: https://thevowelcoach.com/how-to-teach-long-vowel-a-different-ways-vowel-a-can-spell-its-name/

    Vowel E: https://thevowelcoach.com/how-to-teach-long-vowel-e-different-ways-vowel-e-can-spell-its-name/

    Vowel I: https://thevowelcoach.com/how-to-teach-long-vowel-i/

    Vowel O: https://thevowelcoach.com/how-to-teach-long-vowel-o/

    Vowel U: https://thevowelcoach.com/how-to-teach-long-vowel-u/

    Step 6:

    We’ve got long vowel spelling patterns down pat. Tell me the next step.

    • Reading long vowel spelling patterns is great. Now Help your child learn to read and spell by practicing writing words with long vowel spelling patterns.

    Yes: Go to number 7.

    No: Work on sound boxes.

    • Below is a link to sound box lessons:
    How to Improve Spelling-Sound Box Strategy for Beginning and Struggling Spellers

    Step 7:

    My kid understands long vowel patterns, but his/her spelling still needs help. Now what?

    • The Golden Rule of Spelling is that every syllable in every word has to have at least one vowel. This skill deserves a lot of attention.

    Yes: Go to number 8.

    No: Work on syllables.

    • Below is a link to syllable activities:
    How to Improve Spelling- The Connection Between Syllables, Vowels and Spelling

    My kid is doing great!

  • Name Spelling Games: How to Help Your Child Learn to Spell His/Her Name

    Name Spelling Games: How to Help Your Child Learn to Spell His/Her Name

    • It is important and exciting for a child to be able to recognize and write his or her name. Below are a few strategies I like to use to help a child learn to read and spell his or her name.

    Special request:

    • Please teach your child to only use a capital letter for the first letter in his or her name. Most of the text we come across while reading and writing is in lowercase.

    1. Letter Tracing

    I highly recommend starting early with three lined printing paper. If you don’t have access to dotted letters for tracing, using a highlighter is just as easy.

    2. Rainbow Words:

    Write your child’s name with a highlighter and let him or her use multiple colors to trace the letters.

    3. Letter Scramble:

    Write each letter of your child’s name on a sticky note and mix up the order then have your child rearrange them into the correct order.

    4. What’s missing?

    Write your child’s name but leave out a letter. Ask which letter is missing. Eventually remove two or three letters and ask what is missing.

    5. Sound Matching:

    Cut out pictures or use a program like Canva to generate images. Match the pictures to the correct letter sound.

    6.Banana Fana:

    Make this silly rhyme using your child’s name. Demonstrate rhyming with this video:

    7. Happy Birthday:

    Type “Happy Birthday _____” in a YouTube search and watch funny birthday songs featuring your child’s name.

    .

    Have fun and be patient. Your child will probably also enjoy using these activities to learn how to spell the names of all of their favorite people and pets

  • Mat Man and Short Vowel Word Families

    Mat Man and Short Vowel Word Families

    Question #1:

    1. A word family is a group of words that all share a common root word. For example, the words bat, cat, hat and sat all share the root word “at.

    Question #2:

    2. Word families help your child sound out multisyllabic words more easily and improve rhyming and spelling skills.

    Question #3:

    3.Familiarity with short vowel sounds will make learning word families easier.

    Question #4:

    4. If you need more resources for teaching short vowel sounds, please check out this previous post:

    https://thevowelcoach.com/how-to-teach-short-vowel-sounds/

    Question #5:

    5. This video can help your child learn letter sounds:

    Mat Man

    I introduce word families with my friend Mat Man. Mat Man is a character from Handwriting/Reading without Tears, and he is assembled using the types of lines we use when we print letters.

    Kids love Mat Man. My students get very excited when we use Mat Man in a lesson.

    I teach online to kids across the country, so I must rely on drawing Mat Man. Here is the video I use:

    After we draw Mat Man, I give Mat Man some props. Then we make a list of those props:

    • hat
    • bat
    • rat
    • cat

    Mat, hat, bat, rat and cat all have “at” in common. They are all part of the “at” word family.

    • can
    • fan
    • pan
    • van

    Man, can, fan, pan, and van all have “an” in common. They are all part of the “an” word family.

    Here is a look at Man Man in the classroom:

    You can purchase a Mat Man kit here:

    https://shopping.lwtears.com/product/build-mat-man-kit/01t4V000007a32SQAQ

    You can learn more about Mat Man here:

    https://www.lwtears.com/blog/meet-mat-man?srsltid=AfmBOooEZ-GT4-ykIvHy0MtcWdfgj5SDcG4q_Bmf8zEO9p7EyLivq3DC

    Here is one more Mat Man song that my students really enjoy:

    After my kids meets Mat Man and have some fun with him, we move on to a word family rhyming activity. Do you remember this song from when you were in school?

    Banana Fana Rhyming

    After the song, we create some Banana Fana rhymes based on the word family of choice.

    Word Search

    Another fun activity is a root word word search. This type of activity gives the kids a chance to scan for little words inside strings of letters.

    Here is a link to the word search generator I use:

    https://www.education.com/worksheet-generator/reading/word-search/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-5a9BhCBARIsACwMkJ6gZ0-yme4rIJ_WDMqmZDYD6VoSS1emAv2EDd8D3raXKMGnKK0Rf8waApG0EALw_wcB

    My lessons always include songs and stories. Here are my word family favorites for short vowel word families:

  • Consonants and Vowels: Every Consonant Has a Vowel Sound in its Name.

    Consonants and Vowels: Every Consonant Has a Vowel Sound in its Name.

    • Today we are going to take a look at how consonants spell their names in words. When we say a consonant’s name, that name is the combination of at least two sounds. One is the letter’s sound, and the other is a long vowel sound or a short vowel sound.

    Say these consonant names out loud:

    They all contain the sound of long vowel e.

    Now say these consonant names out loud:

    They all contain the sound of short vowel e.

    .

    Understanding that vowels help consonants spell/say their names can be useful for children who struggle to spell.

    1. Say the word.

    • It’s important to have your child say the word out loud so that he or she can “feel” the sounds in his/her mouth.

    2. Stretch out the word sound by sound.

    3. If a consonant says its name, listen carefully for the sounds that make up that name.

    Your child might hear N say its name and think the word is spelled “snd.”

    If this happens, focus on the name of N and the sounds that are used to spell that name.

    4. Reinforce the golden rule of spelling:

    • Another thing we can do is ask the child if every syllable in the word has a vowel. When s/he notice “snd” is missing a vowel, we can help the child hear the vowel sound in the word.

    Below is a list of some of the common ways each letter can spell its name in a word:

    Learning to read can be fun. Be patient, give your child time to think, and turn learning into a game whenever you can.

  • How to Improve Spelling- The Connection Between Syllables, Vowels and Spelling

    How to Improve Spelling- The Connection Between Syllables, Vowels and Spelling

    Spending time on syllables can help a child:

    • Slow down
    • Hear sounds more accurately
    • Recognize common spelling patterns.
    • Strengthen decoding skills.
    • Break big words down into manageable parts

    When it comes to spelling, there are A LOT of rules.

    • magic e makes the vowel say its name
    • i before e except after c
    • when two vowels go walking the first one does the talking
    • /or/ is the “juicy sound” like in the word orange

    The problem is that all of those rules also have multiple rule breakers!

    • Finding rule breakers can be a fun activity. Of course, kids need to understand basic spelling rules in order to identify a rule breaker.

    One rule that is very difficult to find a rule breaker for is, “Every syllable in every word has to have at least one vowel.”

    I am a reading tutor. The first thing I usually do after greeting a student is ask “What are the most important letters in the alphabet?” Hopefully the response is “A E I O U and Y.”

    The next question I ask is, “Why are vowels so important?” Hopefully the response is, “Because every syllable in every word has to have at least one vowel.”

    If you want to know more about why vowels are the most important letters, check out this post:

    Counting Syllables:

    1. Say the word and have the child repeat it.
    2. Ask the child how many syllables s/he hears in the word.
    3. Make a line for the corresponding number of syllables.
    4. Have the child write down the sounds s/he hears in each syllable.
    5. Have the child mark the vowels and make sure there is a vowel in each syllable.
    • After a child writes the letters for each sound, it is time to ask, “Does every syllable in your word have at least one vowel?” If a syllable is missing a vowel, help the child “hear” what the vowel is saying.

    Here are some great videos you can use with your kids:

  • How to Improve Spelling-Sound Box Strategy for Beginning and Struggling Spellers

    How to Improve Spelling-Sound Box Strategy for Beginning and Struggling Spellers

    • In this post you will learn how to use sound boxes to stretch out words and practice long vowel spelling patterns.

    Sound boxes are a helpful strategy for students who are just starting to spell words and for more experienced kids who still make a lot of spelling errors. I find them extremely helpful for practicing long vowel spelling patterns, or, as I like to say, the different ways a vowel spells its name in a word. Remember to reinforce the fact that every syllable in every word has to have at least one vowel.

    What does it mean to stretch out sounds? Take a listen!

    I tutor kids online, so I rely on a simple box and circle template that looks like this:

    Here are the basic steps:

    1. Say the word.
    • “cat”

    2. Say the word slowly and count on your fingers how many sounds you hear.

    • c-a-t

    3. Color in a circle for each sound you hear.

    4. Write the letter (or letters) that correspond to each sound.

    Words with blends and/or long vowel spelling patterns are a little more complicated. For example, the word “cape” has a magic e. The magic e does not have a sound, so it does not get a colored dot. However, we still need to write the magic e.

    When it comes to vowel teams, we put both letters in the team in the same box because we need both letters to make that one sound.

    Whenever a sound is spelled using multiple letters (sh, ch, wh, etc), all the letters for that sound go in the same box.

    Here are some additional resources for your review:

  • How to Teach the Long Vowel U Sound

    How to Teach the Long Vowel U Sound

    • In this post you will find:

    -long vowel u spelling patterns

    -long vowel u stories

    -long vowel u songs

    -long vowel u worksheets

    -long vowel u activity ideas

    When I begin teaching the long Vowel U sound, I start with a video that shows a few ways that long Vowel U can spell its name:

    After watching and discussing the long vowel u song, students can complete a long vowel u sorting activity. This long vowel u worksheet below can be found in my Long Vowel Packet linked below.

    • Listen to the long vowel u song: u-e

    • Read long vowel u-e words from my Long Vowel Packet or your own list.
    1. Listen to the long vowel u story. (u-e)
    2. Mute the story and allow your child to read it.

    Bonus u-e story:

    • Spell Long vowel u (u-e )words using finger counting and sound box method.
    • Play the u-e memory game from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • Extend with MULE.
    • Listen to the ue song.
    • Read the ue words from the Long Vowel Packet.
    1. Listen to the ue story.
    2. Mute the ue story and allow your child a chance to read it.
    • Spell ue words using the finger counting and sound box method.
    • Play the ue memory game.
    • Extend with GLUE.
    • Listen to the ew song.
    • Read the ew words from the packet.
    • I do not have a story for ew.

    • Spell ew words using the finger counting and sound box method.
    • Play the ew memory game.
    • Extend with STEW.

  • How to Teach Long Vowel O

    How to Teach Long Vowel O

    • When I begin teaching Long Vowel O, I start with a video that shows a few ways that Vowel O can spell its name:

    Long O song:

    Follow this with my Long O word sort from the Long Vowel Packet.

    • Listen to the o-e song.
    • Read the o-e words from the Long Vowel Packet.
    1. Listen to the o-e story.
    2. Mute the story and give your child a chance to read it.
    • Have your child spell o-e words using the finger counting and sound box method.
    • Play the o-e memory game from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • Extend with BONES.
    • Listen to the oa and ow songs.
    • Read the oa and ow words from the Long Vowel Packet.
    1. Listen to the oa/ow story.
    2. Mute the story and give your child a chance to read it.

    Bonus oa/ow story

    • Spell oa and ow words using the finger counting and sound box method.
    • Play the oa and ow memory games.
    • Extend with Row your Boat.

    song #1

    Song #2

    How to draw a boat

  • How to Teach Long Vowel I

    How to Teach Long Vowel I

    • When I begin teaching Long Vowel I, I start with a video that shows a few ways that Vowel I can spell its name:

    After watching this video, have your student complete the long i word sort.

    Lets dive deeper into the ways that the vowel i can spell its name. I teach long vowel i in this order:

    i-e

    ie

    igh

    -y

    Here are the steps I use to teach long vowel I:

    1. Listen to the song
    2. Read the word cards from the packet.
    3. Watch and read the story.
    4. Spell words for that skill using the fingers/boxes method.
    5. Play the memory game.
    6. Extend the fun with the extension activities.
    • Listen to the i-e song.
    • Read the i-e words from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • First, listen to the i-e story. After that, mute the story and replay it while giving your student a chance to read it to you.
    • Have your child spell i-e words using the finger counting and sound box method.
    • Play the i-e memory game from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • Extend with KITE activities.
    • Listen to the ie song.
    • Read the ie words from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • This time we have a song to listen to one time then mute and read.
    • Spell ie word using the finger counting and word box method.
    • Play the ie memory game from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • Extend with PIE.

    Alligator Pie song

    • Listen to the igh song.
    • Read the igh words from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • First, listen to the igh story. Second, mute the story and let your child read it.

    Bonus igh story:

    • Have your child spell igh words using the finger counting and sound box method.
    • Play the igh memory game from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • Extend with LIGHT BRIGHT activities.
    • Listen to the -y song.
    • Read the -y words from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • Listen to the -y story and give your child a chance to read it. It is that same story we used for igh.
    • Spell -y words using the finger counting and sound box method.
    • Play the -y memory game from the Long Vowel Packet.
    • Extend with FLY activities.

  • How to Teach Long Vowel E: Different Ways Vowel E Can Spell Its Name

    How to Teach Long Vowel E: Different Ways Vowel E Can Spell Its Name

    • In this post you will find:

    -long e spelling patterns

    -long e stories

    -long e songs

    -long e worksheets

    -long e activities

    Have you ever asked a small child the question, “What does a cat say?” or “What does a cow say?” Of course you have! It’s fun, and it’s pretty adorable to hear little kids meow or moo.

    Learning to identify letters and their sounds isn’t that much different from learning to identify an animal and reproducing the sound that the animal makes.

    Your child has a name, and your child has a way to spell that name. The same is true for letters. Because long vowels usually “spell” their name in a word, I prefer to ask kids to tell me if a letter is saying its name or saying its sound.

    How a vowel spells its name can be tricky. Just like the name Kayden might be spelled Kayden, Caden, Kadyn, or Cayden, there can be multiple ways for a vowel to spell its name in a word.

    Let’s look at how the Vowel E can spell its name!

    When I begin teaching Long Vowel E, I start with a video that shows a couple ways that Vowel E can spell its name:

    After this video, I let my students know that ee and ea are just two of the ways Vowel E can spell its name. I let them know that there are more including ey, and -y, ie and sometimes just e. I then have my students complete the long e sorting sheet in the Long Vowel E packet.

    Now it is time to dive deeper into different ways Vowel E can spell its name in a word. I teach long vowel E in this order:

    ee

    ea

    ey

    y

    Here are the steps I use to teach long vowel E:

    1. Listen to the song
    2. Read the word cards from the packet.
    3. Watch and read the story.
    4. Spell words for that skill using the fingers/boxes method.
    5. Play the memory game.
    6. Extend the fun with the extension activities.
    • Listen to the ee song.
    • Read the ee word cards from the Long E packet.
    • First, watch and listen to the ee story. Next, mute the story and replay it giving your student a chance to read the words.
    • Have your child spell some EE words using the sound counting and box method.

    example:

    • Play the EE memory game.
    • Extend the fun with BEE activities.

    Draw a bee:

    • Listen to the EA song.
    • Read the word cards from the Long E packet.
    • First, watch and listen to the EA story. Next, mute the story and replay it giving your student a chance to read the words.

    Bonus ee/ea story:

    • Have your child spell EA words using the sound counting and boxes method.

    Example:

    • Extend with eagle activities.

    How to draw an eagle:

    • Listen to the EY song.
    • Read the EY words from the Long E packet.
    • Listen to the ey/y story. Mute the story and play it again. Have your student read it if possible.
    • Have your student spell EY words using the sound counting and boxes method.
    • Play the EY memory game from the packet.
    • Let’s learn about turkeys!
    • Listen to the Y song
    • Read the word cards from the Long E packet.
    • Listen to the ey/y story. Mute the story and play it again. Have your student read it if possible.
    • Have your student spell -Y words using the sound counting and boxes method.
    • Play the -Y memory game.
    • Extend with BUNNY activities.