Phonics Lesson 95 oi, oy - /oi/ & Lesson 96 ou, ow /ow/ : May 11 - 15 (Reading Practice Book)

Phonics Lessons - May 11 - May 15

This week we have continued to learn about vowel teams. Vowel teams are two or more letters that work together to make one vowel sound. 

Lesson 95: oi, oy - /oi/

We learned about a new sound called a diphthong. This is a kind of vowel sound that glides which means our mouths move a little bit to as we make the sound.  

oi /oi/: The letters oi together spell the sound /oi/ and is usually in the middle of a word, such as the words point and coin. It can also come at the beginning of the word, such as the word oil.  

oy /oi/: The letters oy together can also spell the sound /oi/ and usually comes at the end of a word like boy and toy. 

To make the /oi/ sound, start with your lips gently rounded and your tongue low and toward the front, then pull your lips back and pull the back of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth. Be sure your voice is on. Like all vowels, /oi/ is a continuous sound that can be stretched out. 

In this week's text called, The Right Choice, students are looking for words that have one of our 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. Students are also asked to illustrate the story to demonstrate their understanding of the text.

Lesson 96: ou, ow /ow/ 

This week also learned about making a new sound that is another diphthong. This is a kind of vowel sound that glides, which means our mouths move a little bit to make the sound. 

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

ow /ow/ - We have already learned that ow can spell the long /o/ sounds as in show but ow can also spell the /ow/ sound like in the word cow. It can come n the middle of a word like in town and crowd. It can also spell it at the end of the word like in how. 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 teams listed above with the /ow/ sound. 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. Students are also asked to illustrate the story to demonstrate their understanding of the text.

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 with focused in class practice. These will eventually (if not already) be on spelling word lists or word rings. 

This week we are reviewing:

• hour
• minute
• Monday
• Wednesday

This week's new words:

• February
• eye
• heart

Fluency Grids
With each lesson, 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.

Homework Reminders
Students have been working on the story or stories in their Reading Practice book this week that will come home each weekend. At school, they work with a partner to complete their fluency grid, read with someone their story and highlight the focus words. Following, they are illustrating a picture for the text to show their understanding. 

At home, students are to finish the above tasks and read to an expert the week's lesson(s). After completing, parents are to initial at the indicated spot at the top. 

This week, we are have completed two lessons so there will be two stories to complete in their white Reading Practice booklet after the clip. Please see the information letter in the front of the book for more, detailed information about this weekend practice book coming home. Please return on Monday (or Tuesday if there is a no school day on Monday).

Happy reading!