Cycle 2
Last updated
Last updated
This task reviews reading the sound /ă/ as in trap.
Correcting the student:
If the student says the letter’s name (/ā/) or a wrong sound (like /ŏ/), say: “This sound is /ăăă/. Let’s read it together. Get ready: /ăăă/. Good. Your turn…”
If the student doesn’t hold the sound for two seconds, say: “Read this sound slowly like this: /ăăă/. Let’s read it together. Get ready: /ăăă/. Good. Your turn…”
If the student says the sound at the wrong time, say: “Only read this sound when my finger is on this dot, like this: /ăăă/. Let’s read it together. Get ready: /ăăă/. Good. Your turn…”
This task introduces students to saying (not reading yet) the /th/ phoneme which some students find tricky. That sound occurs in the second and third words in this task: the and they.
There are, of course, two acceptable ways to pronounce the: /thē/ and /thŭh/. The reason instructors should segment /thē/ instead of /thŭh/ in this case is that students will be able to read /thē/ soon in the curriculum. At that time, the script will have you teach students that this word can also be pronounced /thŭh/. But the curriculum will represent the word the with an ē at the end of it until
the curriculum phases out the specialized orthography. That makes this word decodable without having to teach an unaccented schwa sound that isn't represented by a consistent letter in our language. The curriculum takes the same approach to the word a (which can be pronounced /ā/ or /ŭh/) in later cycles.
Correcting the student:
If the student struggles to produce the /z/ sound, say: “Make the /sss/ sound… Good, now watch how I change from /s/ to /z/ without moving my mouth: /ssszzz/. Let’s try it together: /ssszzz/.”
If the student pauses between the sounds, say: “Don’t pause between the /zzz/ and the /ထထထ/. Listen: /zzzထထထ/. Let’s say it together… Now by yourself…”
If the student shortens a sound, say: “Say both sounds slowly. Listen: /zzzထထထ/. Let’s say it together… Now by yourself…”
If the student struggles to produce the /th/ sound, say: “Put the tip of your tongue between your teeth, like this… Good. When I make this sound, it tickles my tongue. Watch: /ththth/. Now, let’s try it together: /ththth/.”
Note that they should be segmented as two sounds: /thththāāā/. The diphthong /ā/ should be treated as one sound.
Count each sound on your fingers as you say a word slowly.
This task introduces students to blending words (still consisting of two continuous phonemes) without the instructor telling the student the word before saying it slowly. This task does that with the final two words: off and you.
A note on the /y/ sound:
The letter y regularly makes one consonant sound and three vowel sounds. It can be /ĭ/ in the middle of a word like system, /ē/ at the end of a word like party, and /ī/ at the end of some verbs and all single-syllable words like fly. But it only makes one consonant sound, and that’s the sound that’s relevant to this task, like in the word yes. It is a continuous sound. When you hold it, you may feel like you are saying something close to /ēēē/, and that’s fine. As with all other consonant sounds, be careful not to add a vowel sound after it. It should be /yyy/, not /yyyŭh/.
Count each sound on your fingers as you say a word slowly.
This task introduces answering inferential questions about an image.
Instructors should attend to students’ current skills to determine how the students should write:
What they should write ON: Students may use our printable worksheets, drawing paper, an erasable template, wide-ruled paper, or tri-lined paper.
What they should write WITH: Students may use crayon rocks, a pencil with a finger-guiding grip, or a regular pencil. For some students, it may be helpful at first to place your hand over theirs to guide them in their writing.
Writing tasks should not take more than one minute. Students’ strengths should determine how many times they trace, connect dots, and write on their own within the minute allotted for this task. Some students may be able to write a many times in that minute. Others may only be able to trace it a couple of times, but they still should not exceed a minute for the entire task.
As in all types of tasks in this curriculum, students must do the task correctly before moving to the next task. But, in Writing tasks, mastery means saying the correct sound, not writing a perfect symbol. Don’t worry if the student isn’t yet able to write smooth lines. It is still worth it for them to do this task. Applaud their effort, and move on.
Instructors should not say letters' names (or even the word letter) during these tasks but should instead emphasize the sound being associated with that symbol.