Unit Overview: 

In this unit you will introduce the sounds that are sometimes called the r-controlled vowel sounds and the most common (or least ambiguous) spelling for each sound:

• /er/ spelled ‘er’ as in her

• /ar/ spelled ‘ar’ as in car

• /or/ spelled ‘or’ as in for

The Spelling Cards for the /r/-controlled vowel sounds are printed in blue, and students will outline the Spelling Cards in their Individual Code Charts with blue markers. This signals that these sound/ spellings differ because the /r/ sound, which is a consonant with certain vowel-like qualities, combines with the vowel sounds that precede it to create something new and different. The /er/ sound in her is certainly not the same as /e/ + /r/. It is a single, distinctive sound. The same is true of /ar/ as in car; it is not the same as /a/ + /r/. Similarly, the sound /or/ differs markedly from /o/ + /r/.

Unit Calendar:

Unit 4 is 28 instructional days with 3 pausing points. It is recommended that it be taught from January 8th to February 28th.