Although there are many variations due to dialect, individual speech patters, and so forth, for all practical purposes in the task of teaching reading, we can consider the American-English language to contain 44 separate and distinctive (a)   .

Out of the 44 separate and distinctive phonemes, 25 of those phonemes are ___________. Therefore, there are ______ vowel phonemes.

(a)  

The letters a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y are classified as (a)   .

How can you tell when y is a consonant and when it is a vowel? You have learned that the key symbol y (consonant) represents the phoneme heard in (a)   .

Y functions as a constant (a)   when it represents the phoneme heard in yo-yo.

The consonant y is always the (a)   letters in a word of syllable. It is always found before the vowel.

Study the word below. Which y(s) are consonants?

they yellow yet may very beyond

(a)  

The (a)   y is never a silent letter.

The (a)   y is often a silent letter.

Y represents no vowel sound on its own. When y is a (a)   , its pronunciation is shown by the key symbols we associate with the i or the e.

Identify which of these words have a y that is a consonant.

year gym my ready canyon

(a)  

List which of the following works have y as a vowel.

Year Gym My Ready Canyon

(a)  

In which word is the y the first letter in the second syllable?

year gym my ready canyon

(a)  

Now let us examine the w. You have learned that w as a consonant represents the phoneme heard in (a)   .

As a vowel, the w represents no distinct phoneme of its own. Therefore, it cannot be represented by a key (a)   . W is always used in combination with another vowel, as in few, cow, and grow. thaw, threw

Underline the ws that function as vowels in the following words: water which thaw threw dwarf (Be sure that they do not represent the phoneme you hear at the beginning of wagon.) follows The vowel w always (a)   another vowel. (precedes, follows)

Two of the seven vowels are not identified by distinctive key symbols because they do not represent sounds of their own. These are the vowels _______________ and _______________.

(a)  

These five vowels, alone and in combination with another vowel, represent the 19 vowel phonemes of our language. Therefore, there (a)   a one-to-one correspondence between phoneme and letter.

Study the words below. Pronounce the sound represented by the underlined vowel. same dare can arm about We can see that one vowel, the _______________, represents at least _______________ different phonemes.

(a)  

Each vowel letter represents more than one (a)   . If we meet an unfamiliar word, how will we know which sounds its vowels represent?

There are some patterns (with exceptions, of course) that will give us some help in determining the sounds represented by the (a)   in unknown words.

Our task, then, is twofold: (1) to identify the vowel _______________ of the American-English language and assign each a key symbol and (2) to become acquainted with the generalizations that will aid us in associating the correct phonemes with the _______________ letters in unknown words.

(a)  

For our study, we shall divide the vowel phonemes into two major groups: (1) those represented by single vowel letters and (2) those represented by combinations of vowel letters. Each of the single letters (as in group 1) and each of the combinations of (a)   represent one phoneme.

We shall begin our study of the vowel phonemes with group 1: those represented by a single vowel (a)   .

The key symbols that identify the vowels when they represent their short sounds are a ˘, e ˘, _______________, _______________, and _______________. Reading would be easier if five additional characters representing these _________________ (letters, phonemes) were added to our alphabet.

(a)  

It is important to note that various dictionaries indicate pronunciation in different ways. We must study the pronunciation key of the particular dictionary we use. For example, some dictionaries use the ä to represent the short o (˘o), key word _______________. Other dictionaries may use the symbol e to represent the short u (u˘). These dictionaries use b e s to represent the pronunciation of bus. You may find that your dictionary indicates the pronunciation of short vowel sounds with the letter and no diacritical mark. In this case, the pronunciation of map is written _______________.

(a)  

Pronounce the word map. Listen for three phonemes: the consonant phoneme represented by _______________, the vowel phoneme represented by _______________, and the _______________ phoneme represented by _______________. Pronounce the vowel sound alone. The same vowel sound is heard in _______________.

(a)  

Pronounce the vowel phoneme in map. Rewrite map using key symbols. (a)   Now pronounce the words below. Check those words in which the vowel phoneme is the same as that heard in map. ran all car above grab back paw

There are _______________ phonemes in hen. Listen for the vowel phoneme as you say hen aloud. Rewrite hen using key symbols to indicate its pronunciation. _______________

(a)  

Mark with a breve each of the vowels in the words below that represents the same vowel phoneme heard in the key word edge. feed met her hem end reward If you find this difficult, pronounce the first vowel phoneme heard in edge. Then pronounce each word, substituting that sound for each vowel phoneme.

(a)  

Read this sentence aloud: I read a book yesterday. How many phonemes do you hear when you say read in the sentence above? _______________ Rewrite read using a key symbol to indicate each phoneme. _______________ You have written in code. Anyone who knows the code can pronounce read correctly without a sentence to clarify it.

(a)  

Pronounce igloo. Now say the first vowel phoneme. Rewrite the following words using key symbols to code each phoneme: pin _____________ drip _____________ lift _____________ thick _____________

(a)  

Pronounce hot. It contains _______________ phonemes. (How many?) The vowel phoneme sounds the same as that in _______________.

(a)  

Use a breve to indicate the short vowel in each word that contains a short vowel phoneme. lip top note pop lap glad pod home The vowel letters with the marks you placed above them are the (a)   for the phonemes they represent.

Pronounce umbrella. We use a (a)   to indicate that the u represents a short sound. Now pronounce the vowel sound alone. Rewrite the following words to show pronunciation. Place the correct diacritical marks above all the vowels in these words that represent the same sound as the first vowel phoneme in the key word umbrella. jump use us duck cup house tub

We have noted the sounds represented by a, e, i, o, and u. How about the y? gym sys tem sym bol Study the words above. Each contains a __________________ y within the (consonant, vowel) syllable. The y represents the _______________ sound of the letter _______________.

(a)  

The key words given at the beginning of this section will help us remember the phoneme for each vowel. A sentence that contains each of the short vowel phonemes may be easier to remember. Would the sentence below furnish a key word for each of the short vowel phonemes? (a)   (Check each word with the set at the beginning of this section.) Mark the vowels with breves. Dan kept his pop gun

Pronounce the vowel phoneme represented by the vowel letter in each of the words below. an fed pin hot cup Each vowel represents its (a)   phoneme. Now pronounce the vowel phoneme in each of the following words. Place a breve above each vowel in this set of words that represents its short sound. Check carefully. car fence pine cow dug

Say the words below. Listen carefully for the vowel phonemes. Rewrite each word, using the key symbols that indicate the sounds we associate with the vowel and consonant phonemes. head _______________ said _______________ cents _______________ end _______________

(a)  

The most common vowel-consonant pattern is that of VC (vowel-consonant), in which the V (vowel) represents its short sound. There are many one-syllable words and many syllables in multisyllable words that follow this pattern. These words and syllables consist of a _______________ followed by a _______________.

(a)  

The VC pattern gives clues to the pronunciation of unknown words. We would expect the vowel to represent the _______________ sound. To indicate the pronunciation of the vowel, we place a _______________ above it. Your teachers’ manual or curriculum guide may use CVC to identify the short vowel pattern. The CVC pattern indicates that a consonant precedes the vowel. You may use either VC or CVC in your answers.

(a)  

The C (consonant) in the VC pattern may represent a digraph or a blend. Check the syllables (or one-syllable words) that are spelled with the VC pattern. shop brick rab bit be side rain thrift

(a)  

Show the vowel-consonant pattern of the words below. Use a C to represent each consonant and a V for each vowel. shop _______________ hat _______________ chat _______________ fast _______________ trust _______________ in _______________

(a)  

Do all the words below have the VC pattern? _______________ Do all the vowels represent the short sound? _______________ Examine the words below. Mark the vowels that represent the short sounds with breves. Work carefully. far last set lot her

(a)  

To obtain a better understanding of the short vowels, we will consider them as they usually occur within the English syllable. A syllable is the smallest unit of speech that has one vowel phoneme. When you say the word mat, you hear _______________ vowel phoneme(s). (How many?) The word mat consists of _______________ syllable(s). When you pronounce (How many?) mattress, you hear _______________ vowel phoneme(s). Mattress has (How many?) _______________ syllable(s). A syllable in the English language has only one (How many?) vowel _______________.

(a)  

We often find the vowel phoneme in a closed syllable to be short. A closed syllable ends with a consonant phoneme. Pronounce the words below. Check the closed syllables, including closed onesyllable words. chim ney tree can wish men sun win dow begin

(a)  

One vowel in a closed syllable (or in a closed one-syllable word) usually represents its (a)   sound. With your key sentence in mind (frame 14), check the vowel phonemes in the following words. Which words do not have the short vowel phoneme? clap don’t skin sick trust fed bend bird

Syllables with the VC pattern (such as ant) are _______________ syllables; those (closed, open) with the CVC pattern (such as chant) are _______________ syllables.

(a)  

Chicken and pencil are _______________ -syllable words. Is each syllable a (How many?) closed syllable? _______________ Write the closed syllables here: _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ Is there a single vowel in each syllable? _______________

(a)  

The accented syllable in a multisyllable word receives greater stress than other syllables. Say chicken and pencil. Listen for the syllable that receives the greater emphasis. If you do not “hear” the accented syllable, pronounce each word twice. Emphasize the first syllable and then the last syllable: CHICK en or chick EN; PEN cil or pen CIL. The _______________ syllable receives the greater stress. (first, second) The vowel phoneme in an accented syllable is easier to hear. Your dictionary may use ‘ to indicate the accented syllable. We can show the syllable and accent for chicken: chick’ en. Show the syllable and accent for pencil. _______________

(a)  

We might expect that we can properly indicate the pronunciation of each of the vowels in chicken and pencil with a breve. If you pronounce the words too carefully—that is, artificially—you might indicate their pronunciations that way. Say a sentence aloud containing the word chicken and then one with pencil. You will notice that the vowel in the (a)   syllable represents (accented, unaccented) more of an “uh” sound and not the phonemes you hear in the words edge and igloo. le˘m ba˘n ho˘p

The generalization for the short vowel phoneme is most useful when it is stated as follows: A single vowel in a closed accented syllable usually represents the short sound of the vowel. Indicate the pronunciation of the syllables that follow this generalization: re pay lem on ban jo hop per

(a)  

Let us review the short sounds of the vowels. Check the words below against the key words you have learned. Place a breve above each of the vowels that represents the short sound of that vowel. date wet pan peg truck fit stop cute

(a)  

We can expect that single vowels in closed accented syllables will usually represent (a)   sounds. Remember that all one-syllable words are considered accented syllables

There are many words in which the vowel is followed by two consonants and a final e (VCCe). Note that in words ending with a vowel that is followed by two consonants and a final e, the first vowel phoneme is usually (a)   . (short, long) Which words have the VCCe pattern? shelve glance fence ride rinse smile

Study the words below. dance wedge rinse fence bronze lapse bridge smudge We can make a generalization concerning these words. When a word (or a syllable) has two vowels, one of which is a final _______________, and the two vowels are separated by two _______________, the first vowel often represents its _______________ sound and the final e is _______________.

(a)  

The generalization is applied to words that have the ending pattern of VCCe (with exceptions, of course!). The word lapse is an example of the VCCe pattern: vowel–consonant–consonant–final e. When a word (or a syllable) has two vowels, one of which is a final e, and the two vowels are separated by two consonants, the first vowel often represents its short sound and the final e is silent. Since and judge end with the (a)   pattern.

Check the words below that end with the VCCe pattern. chance ridge telephone since could shape tree sense toy prince

(a)  

Study the words below. bridge dodge smudge wedge Note that in words ending with dge, the first vowel phoneme is usually (a)   .

Now consider the following words. fence range paste hinge prance Is the VCCe pattern completely reliable? (a)   The VC and VCCe patterns give clues to pronunciation. These patterns are helpful, but they do not apply to all words (and syllables) spelled with the VC and VCCe patterns

Write the key symbols we are using in this text to represent the short vowel phonemes. _______________, _______________, _______________, _______________, _______________ Write the key word for each short vowel. Mark the initial vowel in each key word. _______________, _______________, _______________, _______________, _______________ Pronounce the short vowel phonemes. Can you say them rapidly? Practice them. Since they are so common, you should be familiar with them.

(a)  

Now let us turn our attention to the vowels that do represent phonemes and can be assigned key symbols to distinguish them from each other. The vowel phonemes are represented by five letters. They are _______________, _______________, _______________, _______________, and _______________.

(a)