Cycle 5
5.1 New Sound
Purpose and Procedure
This task introduces students to reading their first quick sound (stop phoneme or plosive) in the curriculum, which is the sound /t/ as in tie.
Be careful not to make any vowel sound after it. It should be /t/, not /tǝ/. (The ǝ symbol represents the schwa sound, like the last sound in the word banana.)
Slide your finger past the arrowhead symbol under the t, saying the sound quickly at the moment your finger passes over that symbol.
In the second part of the task, instead of you touching under the sound while the sound is being read, students will touch under it.
Correcting the Student
The following is the correction text to use if a student makes a mistake reading a quick sound in a New Sound task [example sound: /t/]:
❖ If the student says the letter’s name (/tē/) or a wrong sound (like /tǝ/), say: This sound is /t/. Let’s read it together. Get ready: /t/. Good. Your turn…
❖ If the student says the sound at the wrong time, say: Only read this sound when your finger is right underneath it, like this: /t/. Let’s read it together. Get ready: /t/. Good. Your turn…
5.2 Sound Review
Purpose and Procedure
This task introduces the idea that students should always say continuous sounds slowly unless asked not to (even when they appear in the same task as quick sounds).
This task also introduces students to touching under the sounds in a Sound Review task.
A student’s finger should stop for two seconds on the dot beneath each continuous sound, which the student should read slowly.
Their finger should not stop on the arrowhead symbol under each quick sound. Instead, their finger should slide past the arrowhead symbol, and, at the moment it passes over that symbol, the student should say the sound quickly.
Important Reminders
At the end of the task, don’t forget to have the student reread any sounds that required correction.
5.3 The Slow Game
Purpose and Procedure
This task introduces students to saying words that consist of two continuous sounds followed by a quick sound the slow way. Those words are set, net, sip, and lap. (Ran and four are the only exceptions in this task.)
When you say the word lap slowly, make sure to produce the initial /l/ sound without a vowel sound before it: /lll/, not /ŭlll/. So, lap should be said slowly as /lllăăăp/, not /ŭlllăăăp/. And, of course, make sure not to pause after that initial /l/ sound.
Here’s a note on the final word in this task: four. Consider the words store, star, and stir. Think about the sounds that come after the st in these words (for example, the sound made by ir in stir). Linguists often refer to those sounds as r-controlled vowels, and even though they are made up of two letters, they are sometimes considered together to form only one sound. While our program teaches er, ir, and ur as single units that make one sound, we teach or and ar as being composed of two sounds (/ō/ and /r/ in or; /ŏ/ and /r/ in ar). See the table below:
Letter Combination
or
ar
er, ir, ur
Phonetic Spelling
/ōr/
/ŏr/
/ǝr/
Number of Sounds
2
2
1
Although not all science-of-reading programs take this approach, we find that it is a helpful shortcut that allows students to read useful words like for much earlier in our program than they would be able to do otherwise.
In this task, you will say the word four slowly with three distinct sounds: /fffōōōrrr/. By doing so, you lay the groundwork for students to be able to read words like for very soon. Watch the video linked above to hear how that should sound.
Important Reminders
Make sure to read the example sentences after each word.
At the end of the task, don’t forget to repeat any words that required correction.
5.4 The Fast Game
Purpose and Procedure
This task introduces students to saying words that consist of two continuous sounds followed by a quick sound the fast way. Those words are nap, fit, lot, and wrap. (Exceptions are eight, with just one continuous sound followed by a quick sound, and full, with three continuous sounds.)
The vowel sound in full is neither the usual short /ŭ/ sound nor the long /ū/ sound. It is the same vowel sound as in pull and push. When we wrote this sound phonetically in the script for this task, we used the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol for that sound which looks like an upside-down omega: ʊ.
Important Reminders
Make sure to read the example sentences after each word.
At the end of the task, don’t forget to repeat any words that required correction.
5.5 Word Reading
Purpose and Procedure
This is the first task in which students read a word with three sounds in it. This is also the first time they will read a word without you modeling it beforehand.
Make sure that students touch under each word when they read it slowly and when they read it fast.
Important Reminders
If the student says a wrong sound or pauses between the sounds, follow the flowchart to correct them. And remember, for words with three or more sounds, you can find a yellow audio button that models the slow way of just the first two sounds of a word (which is where students most often pause). You can use that button as needed for the “model it” step in the flowchart.
Make sure to read the example sentences after each word.
At the end of the task, don’t forget to repeat any words that required correction.
5.6 Story Reading
5.7 Writing
Important Reminders
Remember not to say letters' names (or even the word letter) during these tasks but to emphasize the sound being associated with that symbol instead.
5.8 Getting to Know the Student
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