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…
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…
When teaching a new phonics skill, you don’t need to have 500 strategies up your sleeve. Instead, you need a handful of simple, engaging, effective activities. Here are 12 phonics based strategies to use when you’re practicing any new spelling pattern or syllable type with your students. This is post 15 in my series Phonics Rules for Teachers (and How…
Knowing how to teach open syllables is an important phonics skill for teachers. You also need simple, engaging, and effective strategies to practice open syllables with your students. Let’s take a look at the characteristics of an open syllable, where we find them, and how to teach the open syllable to your students. This is post 14 in my series…