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It’s Phonics Friday with Your Friends on the Safari!
It’s mysterious and wonderful!
One-syllable words that have silent “e” at the end follow the Two Vowel Rule, even though the “e” isn’t sitting next to the first vowel. The Two Vowel Rule (track #10 of our CD) says that “When there are two vowels in a small word the first vowel says its name. The second vowel says not one thing – it just listens to the first vowel sing!” Good examples of the Two Vowel Rule are the words, “team, roam, loaf, dear, rain, suit, seed, and read”. Teaching the Two Vowel Rule is the perfect pre-requisite for teaching the silent “e” concept. The reader gets used to identifying vowels in small words and can count them: one vowel usually means a short vowel sound, such as in the words “hat, bet, cut, rim and not”. Sometimes, the whole idea of a silent letter can be confusing to a child. If you follow the methods introduced in Expeditions to Excellence, however, your reader will first master the idea of counting vowels and learning the One Vowel Rule and the Two Vowel Rule. When the concept of a Silent “e” is introduced afterward, it becomes much, much easier!
It’s Fun!
You see, one-syllable words (small words) that have a silent “e” are simply two-vowel words that have the vowels separated. Particularly children who are visual learners begin to see that words like “made, tape, kite, hope and bite” are words that transform into the long sound of the vowel because the silent “e” sneaks in at the end and changes it from a short sound word to a long sound word. Listen to the one-Vowel Rule Song and the Two-Vowel Rule Song and then listen to the mysterious sound of the Silent “e” Song. Watching these rules in their video formats visually presents these concepts in ways your child will quickly understand.
It’s Friendly!
Teaching your safari mate to count the vowels is easy, once he or she has mastered each of the Reading Expeditions concerning vowels. Follow these simple steps:
LOOK at the word and count: (Can you tell me how many vowels are in this word? Is there one vowel or two?)
IDENTIFY the vowels: (What are the vowels? Can you point to it -or them – and say their names?)
SAY the vowel sounds: (What will the vowel sound be? Remember… one vowel = a short sound and two vowels = a long sound.)
TELL me the word: (Can you tell me what the word is? You’re such a good reader!)
You can remember these steps by the acronym “L-I-S-T”)
Click the image to the left for a print-out of a great Funsheet that teaches this concept!
It’s Fabulous!
Sneaking in so quietly,
Learn to spot the silent “e”.
While it sleeps, it doesn’t snore;
Changing vowel sounds is its chore!
(Silent “e” sleeps at the end of a word and makes the first vowel sound long.)
You can access all of the words and learning activities in the Reading Place by signing up for free at www.BeExcellent.com . Once you’ve signed in, look for it in the left menu on the Treehouse page.
It’s Free!
Our program is always free. Why do we provide our exclusive literacy system to millions of children around the globe at no cost? Because literacy is the foundation of all education and is critical to the future of our nation. How do we do it? With the help of people like you who call on us to help with all of your real estate needs, anywhere across America and especially in Colorado! We personally fund 100% of the costs associated with the Expeditions to Excellence – Fun and Friendly Phonics Safari!