Fundations K and 1:
Learning Letter Sounds
Screen Shot 2020-09-02 at 8.33.53 AM.pngEach letter is attached to a picture which reminds children of the sound the letter makes. We call these letter stories. One way to get back into the fall routine is to practice with your child the exact letter sounds for each sound of the alphabet. We want to make sure that students learn the exact sounds that each letter (phoneme) makes so that when your child is spelling on his or her own, they write one letter for each sound. For example, many students come in pronouncing the letter ‘B’ with the sound “BUUHH”. Then, when that same student goes to write the word bat, the letter ‘B’ gets three letters to represent that sound. Our teachers demonstrate how sounds get cut instead of stretched.
Each letter is attached to a picture which reminds children of the sound the letter makes. We call these letter stories. One way to get back into the fall routine is to practice with your child the exact letter sounds for each sound of the alphabet. We want to make sure that students learn the exact sounds that each letter (phoneme) makes so that when your child is spelling on his or her own, they write one letter for each sound. For example, many students come in pronouncing the letter ‘B’ with the sound “BUUHH”. Then, when that same student goes to write the word bat, the letter ‘B’ gets three letters to represent that sound. Our teachers demonstrate how sounds get cut instead of stretched.
Vowel_Extension_Poster.pdfHearing vowels in the middle of words is very tricky. In kindergarten and first grade we STRETCH OUT the short vowel sounds one at a time, so that we can hear them.
Hearing vowels in the middle of words is very tricky. In kindergarten and first grade we STRETCH OUT the short vowel sounds one at a time, so that we can hear them.
Click here to listen to an example:
Click here to listen to an example:
Vowel Sounds (Grade 1).pdfVowel Sounds
Vowel Sounds
Vowels are the most important letters in the alphabet because they are in every word! Vowels are also important because they make more than one sound. Students use these keywords to identify the long and short vowel sounds.
Welded Sounds.pdfWelded or Glued Sounds
Welded or Glued Sounds
These letter combinations are called glued or welded sounds because there are more than one sound, but they are glued very closely together. Letters in a glued combination make slightly different sounds than they would if we said each sound separately.
Vowel Teams.pdfVowel Teams
Vowel Teams
A vowel team is two vowels together that make just one sound. Students learn and drill keywords to help them remember the sounds of the vowel teams.
Mark My Words.pdfMarking Words
Marking Words
"How do I mark this word?"
"How do I mark this word?"
If this is something you hear from your child, then look at this chart for support. We mark words in Fundations to practice generalizing our understanding of rules and patterns. We practice marking, but the real goal is to mark a word to help us read it when we are stuck, not to mark every word as we read.
If this is something you hear from your child, then look at this chart for support. We mark words in Fundations to practice generalizing our understanding of rules and patterns. We practice marking, but the real goal is to mark a word to help us read it when we are stuck, not to mark every word as we read.