HOW TO TEA C H VOW EL S A ND C ONSONA NTS

Have you ever asked your students the difference between a vowel and a consonant?
Did they answer vowels are red?
UGH. This is the answer that I kept getting from my students last year.
WHY? Because every commercial made product I bought the vowels were all in red.
Students picked up on this pretty quick and could identify vowels (YAY!), but they could not
actually tell me why a vowel is different than a consonant.
Do you know why?
Of course we know, a word has to have a vowel in it to be vowel, but I wanted to know more.
Through my Orton-Gillingham training this year, I learned more.

Vowels actually open your mouth when you say them. Consonants close your mouth.
Try it. Say the short a sound like in cat. /a/. mouth open right? Try all the short and long vowels
sounds. Your mouth is open right?

Now try the consonants. B, C, D, F, G, your mouth is blocked by your teeth tongue or lips. Some
consonants are easier to tell than others. Pretty cool right. This will help your students a TON.

Now you will tell your students this and they will try it out and you will have one Miss Smartie Pants
say what about H? This is what happened to me, and honestly I was stumped. Your mouth is very
much opened. So I went to my speech teacher because she knows all, and explained that it is
blocked way in the back of your throat by your tongue, but used very technical terms. So if you
need a better explanation ask your speech teacher.

Anyway, I started doing this activity with all of my intervention groups last year. I was surprised
at how many of my second and third graders did not know this, and were very interested in it. It
really makes the concept of a vowel and consonant more concrete, rather than abstract.

Give it a try with your students.

First introduce this concept whole group: Put all the letters on sticky notes. As a class say each
letter sound and decided if your mouth is open or blocked by your teeth tongue or lips. Sort them
by vowels and consonants.

Then give them a chance to practice more at small groups and centers. You could use the same
sticky note idea, or have them write the consonants and vowels into two columns.

I made this quick little product to help you out if you need it.

There is a colored bug center activity, and a black and white sorting activity that could be done as
just a sorting activity or students can cut, paste and sort with it.
 Here are some of my students working on the sort at my small group intervention.

Give it a try. Come back and let me know how it goes with your students, or shoot me an email at
180daysofreading@gmail.com

Amy

NEXT Read about how I teach syllables to my students: Why I Used to HATE Teaching Syllables!

You might be interested in this post about teaching the alphabet.

Do you build a strong foundation in reading?
 MY NEW SYLLABLE LESSON

I had already taught my students that vowels open the mouth and consonants close the mouth.
So I started by reviewing this.
I asked my students, what do vowels do with your mouth? open.
I am going to teach you today about syllables.
Each syllable has one vowel sound in it.
Watch as I say these one syllable words.
dog, cat, fish.
How many times did my mouth open? one time.
Watch me say these two syllable words.
cupcake, doghouse, robot
How many times did my mouth open? twice.
Watch me say this word.
fantastic
How many times did my mouth open? Three times
Very good. So we know that vowels open your mouth. We know that each syllable has one vowel in it. So how can
we tell how many syllables are in a word just by saying it? We can see how many times our mouth opens!

Guided your students then to practice counting syllables in words using this method. Some students will be able to say
the word themselves and tell how many times their mouth opens. Some will need to use a mirror to watch their mouths
open, or feel with their hand how many times it opens. Be careful using words with lip poppers at the end (p,b) they
may mistake the pop that their mouth makes with another syllable/vowel sound. Just bring this to their attention when
they are ready.

Here is a free list of words by syllable. I really only go to three syllables right now. They will come up with super crazy
words to try...LET THEM, then they will own this skill. Have fun with words!

GET IT HERE!

But seriously this really helped make connections for my students. Then later they used their knowledge of syllables
(one vowel sound in each syllable) to "see" syllables in the words they are reading.

Give it a try! Let me know how it goes! Comment below or shoot me an email at 180daysofreading@gmail.com.

Amy

Next, see how I introduce Open and Closed syllables! HERE

You might also like to read:

How to use read and write the room to increase reading in your classroom.
How I build a strong foundation in reading.
Five sight word games you can play right now!
Do the word wall

You might like these resources to help you. Click on the product to read more.
 The Ultimate ABC Learning
Program That Really Works
At last! Effectively teach the alphabet and help your
child build a strong reading and writing foundation.
Are you tired of using incomplete teaching resources that show limited results?

Does the thought of your student falling behind, worry you sick?

Have you given up on finding a program that uses a common sense order
to maximize your student's potential?

Specifically - do you want your student to have a learning advantage built on effective
communication skills while skipping the endless search for quality learning
resources?

If you answered "YES" to any of these questions, then take great comfort in knowing
that you are NOTalone.

IN FACT, parents and teachers everywhere are faced with the pressing need to find
quality resources for their students that help increase effective early childhood
development AND eliminate common alphabet learning mistakes.

The TRUTH is - good educators are often unaware of the flawed alphabet
teaching methods and materials that slow down a child's understanding and
retention - HOWEVER you can now easily correct this.

Yes! You can enjoy teaching the alphabet with confidence and
give your student a strong reading and writing foundation.
Watch your student effortlessly learn the alphabet with fun, clear and concise
activities in as short as 10 minutes per session.

And the best part is?

 Your student will learn how to learn, a vital skill in education that shapes lifelong
habits and abilities.

At this early stage, it is essential to focus on the development of the student's

phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, identify and arrange phonemes (individual
sounds), instead of routine memorization exercises.

By training your student to identify individual letter sounds instead of the limited
memorization techniques & exercises, you equip them to decode words along with
their sounds even if they have not seen the words beforehand.

This teaching method lays the strong foundation for learning any language and
develops important universal communications skills.

So you might be asking yourself:

How can I get my student to develop these

fundamental skills?

That's exactly what the brand-new Learning the Alphabet

Program is all about.
This program equips you with necessary methods and materials to transform your
student into a confident, skilled communicator and thinker.

The activities, games, and worksheets are specifically designed to impart curiosity
and a passion for learning while leading the way to learn the alphabet correctly.

What essential skills and concepts will my student learn

in the program?
Boost your child's success in school by learning how to:

Understand that
each alphabet
letter has a
distinct shape and
name.

Correctly identify
each letter of the
alphabet.

Recognize
uppercase and
lowercase letters.

Demonstrate
correct letter
formation using the
continuous stroke
method to
help prevent
letter reversals.

Develop correct
letter sound
recognition
through connecting
individual letters
to their spoken
sounds - phonics.

Develop phonemic
awareness - the
ability to hear,
identify and
arrange phonemes
(individual
sounds).

Recognize
the starting,
middle and ending
sounds of words.

Understand that
letters are the
building blocks of
words.
Demonstrate
correct
handwriting
techniques through
tracing and letter
writing exercises.

Develop
observation,
awareness and
attention skill
sets through
interactive sound
exercises.

Understand and
recognize rhyming
words.

Identify vowels and

consonants to
understand word
formation.

Confidently write
letters in
alphabetical
order.

Gain order and

understanding of
their emerging
vocabulary.

Increase their
desire for learning
and accelerated
academic progress.

Who is this program for?

 The Learning the Alphabet program is designed for children ready to begin learning
the alphabet.
In general, children between the ages of 3 to 6 years old who are in preschool
or kindergarten.

In addition, consider the program if your student is:

Having
problems
with letter
reversals.

Often
disengaged,
distracted
or
uninterested
in learning.

Confused or
frustrated
with the
current
learning
materials.

Intimidated
by the idea
of learning
or lesson
time.

when choosing
10 BIG mistakes that you can't afford to make
your teaching materials
Mistake #1: Confusing graphics for children.
"Hmmm, is that a hat or cap?" - "Is that a cat? It looks like
a cat. Oh, it's a lion. On the previous page, they used the same
picture for a tiger." The truth is, children are brilliant with
association and memorization of images related to sounds. Avoid
the confusion and utilize correct images to imprint consistent word
relationships.
Mistake #2: Flawed directions for letter formation.
The real reason that many children fail to learn correct letter
formation is because they lack proper direction from the start.
Each time you teach letter formation using arrows and directions
that promote incorrect positioning or the problematic
ball-and-stick method, you reinforce possible letter reversal
issues and difficulties.

Mistake #3: Difficult font styles and improper font

selections.
Learning is challenging enough at times, why make it more difficult?
Using difficult to read font styles will drain a student's
attention and adds unnecessary mental work. For the best results,
font styles need to clearly differentiate similar letters and
provide a natural letter formation.

Mistake #4: Confusing direction and instructions.

The absolute best way of getting started is to have confidence in
what you are teaching with clear instructions. How many times have
you read a resource only to stop and scratch your head
saying, "Hmmm, let me figure this out, what am I supposed to do
next?" In every case, clear directions lead to clear action and
learning.

Mistake #5: Improper lesson progression.

Nature provides the fundamental insight of crawl before you walk.
The appropriate order and progression of skills and concepts are
essential for children to learn, adapt and maximize their efforts.
As an example, teaching the long vowel sound together with the short
sound before students understand the rules for using each sound
creates confusion and overwhelm.

Mistake #6: Inadequate materials.

Students need sufficient activities and adequate practice in one
area at a time to reinforce patterns and concepts to prevent
materials from being forgotten.

Mistake #7: No Answer Key.

Teaching without a worksheet answer key can be time-consuming and
frustrating. Teachers already have multiple tasks to accomplish
during lessons, so having an answer key provides a fast and
convenient way to check the student's work and help save on lesson
time.

Mistake #8: Lack of consistency.

Consistency in activities, instructions, and concept
introductions provide easy to understand and complete direction.

Mistake #9: Incorrect word examples.

An often overlooked mistake is to teach words that begin with
a letter different from the correct beginning sound. As an
example, using the words arm or airplane to teach
the letter A sound, when in fact these words begin with a
different phoneme sound.

Mistake #10: Introducing advanced words prematurely.

Teaching the letter X by using words like Xylophone, which does
not use the most common sound of the letter, introduces the advanced
sound before the student is ready. Starting with the most common
sounds of each letter allow students to become comfortable and
familiar before learning additional, advanced sounds.

The Learning the Alphabet program was designed to

address each item above to ensure you have the optimal
teaching materials for your student – they deserve it.

in the Learning the

What is included
Alphabet program?
The program is broken down into two levels:

Level 1 Includes

26 complete workbooks specifically designed to help teach each letter of the

alphabet - starting from the most basic concept of the letter shape to the introduction
of the most common sound.

Each letter workbook contains the following sections:

1. Letter Identification - including uppercase and lowercase.

2. Letter Formation - including uppercase and lowercase.
3. Beginning Letter Sound - except for the letter X, which is discussed in
the FAQs.
4. Writing Practice
5. Letter Styles
6. Letter Review

Level 2 Includes

A 367-page workbook that builds on the skills and concepts introduced in Level 1,
providing a review to enable students to improve these skills and learn more
advanced skills to set the ultimate pre-reading foundation.

Level 2 includes the following topics:

1. Letter Recognition
2. Alphabet Letter Sequence
3. Beginning Letter Sounds
4. Ending Consonant Sounds
5. Vowels and Consonants
6. Middle Vowel Sounds
7. Rhyming

In addition, each level includes:

A clear teacher's
manual that guides
you on how to teach
each skill and
concept.

Easy to understand
instructions for
worksheets and
suggestions for
implementing the
program activities.

Answer keys for

applicable
worksheets.

Modern,
eye-catching
graphics designed
for an elementary
student.
 Fun and practical
activities
including puzzles,
mazes and games.

Over 2,000 pages

of practical tools and activities for maximum retention and a
stress-free learning experience.

And the best part, you can download the Learning the
Alphabet program INSTANTLY!

Can I see a sample of the program lessons?

Yes, of course! Download the complete Learning the Alphabet

Level 1: Letter B Workbook as a FREE gift!

Jump in and see for yourself by downloading the Letter B workbook in full
detail or get started with the 3-day, 100% Money-Back Guarantee complete
program at no risk.

Download Letter B Workbook ~ for FREE!

(In Color)
 Download Letter B Workbook ~ for FREE!
(Black-and-White)

Can I see a sample of the font used to teach each letter shape?

The Learning the Alphabet program uses the MTS Clear Manuscript Font. This
handwriting style has been carefully designed to effectively teach emerging readers
the most simplified version of each letter shape.

MTS Clear Manuscript Font Example: