Understanding the vowel team syllable can seem complex. There are many vowel teams in the English language, so how can we teach vowel teams to our students? Let’s look at what a vowel team is generally and how to introduce this syllable type in your classroom. This is post 20 in my series Phonics Rules for Teachers (and How the…
Y as a vowel in English is more common than you might think. In fact, y spells vowel sounds more than it spells a consonant sound. Y often spells the long i and long e sounds, and it can spell the short i sound as well. In fact, y spells a vowel sound in 2041 words while it spells the…
Getting started with the science of reading can feel overwhelming. It can be hard to know where to start with structured literacy or understanding phonics. While there is a lot of information out there, it can be a daunting task to choose the first phonics books for understanding systemic literacy instruction. Here are my top 3 science of reading books…
Teaching students when to use ch or tch can seem tricky. Is there a simple, clear phonics rule? Today we’ll look at how to know when to use tch vs ch and how to teach this to your students. This is post 17 in my series Phonics Rules for Teachers (and How the Heck to Teach ‘Em). If you’d like to…
Silent e does a lot more than making vowel sounds long. Silent e has 7 specific jobs in the English language. Here is everything you need to know about the silent e syllable and how to teach the jobs of silent e to your students. This is post 16 in my series Phonics Rules for Teachers (and How the Heck…