UFLI Phonics Lessons 96, 97 & 98: June 16-19

This week's focus has been learning additional vowel teams called dipthongs with a review lesson and learning about a few common silent letter combinations. 

Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/  

This sound is another diphthong. It is a kind of vowel sound that glides which means our mouths have to move  alittl ebit as we make the sound.  

ou /ow/: The letters ou together spell the /ow/ sound. This vowel team can come in the middle of a word like in the words loud and sound and can also come at the beginning of a word like in the words out and ouch. 

ow /ow/: We have learned that ow together can spell the long /o/ sound like in show, but ow can also spell the /ow/ sound. It can spell /ow/ in the middle of a wod like town and crowd and at the end of the word like in how and cow. Sometimes, ow can spell /ow/ at the beginning of the word like in owl. 

In this week's text called, Summer at the Farm House, students are looking for words that have one of our special vowel patterns listed above. They are looking to highlight (the whole word that has that spelling pattern). Be careful for spelling patterns that are included in the story that include those letters that do not make the same sound as our vowel team we are looking for. This week we have Grade 1's continuing to illustrate the story while the Grade 2's are answering some comprehension questions about the story. Please use complete sentences to answer the questions and checked with COPPSS. 

Lesson 97: Vowel Teams & Diphthongs Review

• ai, ay - long /a/
• ee, ea, ey - long /e/, 
• oa, ow, oe - long /o/ 
• ie, igh - long /i/
• oo - /ew/ 
• ew, ui, ue u - /ew/
• au, aw, augh - /aw/
• ea - short /e/ 
• a - short /o/
• oi, oy /oi/

In this week's text called, A New Coin, students are looking for TEN words that have one of our vowel teams or diphthong vowel patterns listed above. They are looking to highlight (the whole word that has that spelling pattern). Be careful for spelling patterns that are included in the story that include those letters that do not make the same sound as our vowel team we are looking for. This week we have Grade 1's continuing to illustrate the story while the Grade 2's are answering some comprehension questions about the story. Please use complete sentences to answer the questions and checked with COPPSS. 

Lesson 98: Silent Letters kn - /n/, wr - /r/, mb - /m/

Also this week, for our last phonics lesson, we learned about silent letters when we read and write.   

kn /n/: The consonant n spells /n/ like in the word nose. The grapheme kn also can represent the /n/ sound like in the word knee. In this grapheme, the k is silent. The grapheme kn for the /n/ sound can only come at the beginning of a word such as the words knob and knit.  

wr /r/: The consonant r spells /r/ like in the word red. The grapheme wr can also represent the /r/ sound like in the word write. In this grapheme, the w is silent. The grapheme wr for the /r/ sound can only come at the beginning of a word, such as the words wrap and wrist.  

mb /m/: The consonant m spells /m/ like in the word mouse. The grapheme mb can also represent the /m/ sound like at the end of the word comb. In this grapheme, the b is silent. The grapheme mb for the /m/ sound can only come at the end of a word, such as the words climb and numb.  

In this week's text called, Birdwatching, students are looking for words that have one of our silent letter patterns listed above. They are looking to highlight (the whole word that has that spelling pattern). Be careful for spelling patterns that are included in the story that include those letters but aren't together. This week we have Grade 1's continuing to illustrate the story while the Grade 2's are answering some comprehension questions about the story. Please use complete sentences to answer the questions and checked with COPPSS. 

Heart (Irregular) Words of the Week
Heart words are words that do not decode or follow the spelling rules that we have been learning. We have to know them by 'heart'. However, once we learn more spelling rules, they may be only temporary heart words and the rules will come along later! In the meantime, we have been focusing on reviewing and learning the words below.

This week we are reviewing:

• Monday
• Wednesday
• February

And we are introducing as new words:

• eye
• heart
• about

Fluency Grids
With each story, there is a fluency grid with the lesson focus that is intended to help students recognize the phonics rule and assist in reading it with accuracy and automaticity. At home, challenge your young reader to read the word (aim is to decode/read each word within 3 seconds) and then recall it each time they see it within the grid of mixed up, repeated words. A couple minutes of practice is all they need. This acts as a warm up before reading the text that also applies the same skill while building on all the previous skills as well. Each week we are building on the previous week to become more fluent readers so we can focus on what the text is sharing rather than spending all the time decoding the words.
**If this is too much at home with all the other things you are busy with, we totally understand! We will be using it in the classroom and saving paper to keep them all together in one spot. Thank you in advance if you do give it a whirl as another way to support your little reader based on the Science of Reading.**

Homework Reminders 

Students have been working on stories in their UFLI Stories book that comes home on Friday. At school, they work with a partner to complete their fluency grid, read with someone their story and highlight the focus words. The Grade 1's are illustrating a picture for the text to show their understanding. The Grade 2's are now working on written comprehension questions to respond to reading. At home, students are to finish the above tasks and read to an expert. After completing, parents are to initial at the indicated spot at the top. 

Happy reading!