Week 1, Days 1-4

"Well begun is half done."--Mary Poppins

On the first day of the program, you will begin by introducing your child to some phonograms he already knows both with flash cards and through writing practice.  When using the flash cards, your goal is to for the child to be able to say the phongram as soon as he sees it.  "Saying the phonogram" means making the sounds of the letters, not saying their names.  For example, when a child sees "x", you want him to immediately say /ks/.

For new phonograms, I like to use the method from Sound Beginnings where the child says the phonogram over and over as he writes it across the page.  Later, when the child misses a phonogram in a dictation, I have him practice those he missed in the same manner. 

(PIC OF PHONOGRAM PRACTICE)

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Day 1

Single Letter/Single Sound Phonograms and "qu"

Introduce the single sound/single letter phonograms and "qu" by holding up the flashcard and having the child repeat after you. 

(PHONOGRAMS TO BE INTRODUCED WK 1 DAY 1)

(PHONOGRAM CARDS)

After introducing each phonogram, have the child practice saying and writing the phonogram as described above. This is a good time to review correct posture and letter formation.

Take time today to read p 15 of Starting a Spelling Notebook "What's Up with the 'y'?" to determine how you want to teach "y".  My notes are based on how I teach "y".

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Day 2

Consonants with more than one sound

There are 4 consonant phonograms which make more than one sound.  Hold up the flash card for the letter and say the sounds.  Have the child repeat after you.  After each phonogram, have the child practice saying and writing the phonogram.

(PIC OF PHONOGRAMS TO TEACH WEEK 1/DAY 2)

(PHONOGRAM CARDS)

Try an easy dictation with the phonograms learned so far. 

(DICTATION WEEK 1/DAY 2)

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Day 3

Vowel Phonograms, Flashcard review, Dictation

Early on I made the mistake of not thinking kids needed to know which were the vowels so I didn't teach them the words "vowels" and "consonants".  I won't bore you with why I thought it wasn't important and will only say that when they are learning to spell, they do need to know which are the vowels. 

(APPLES AND BANANAS YOU TUBE)

Teach the vowel phonograms using the flashcards.  The first sound will be the short vowel sound.  The second sound is the long vowel sound.  Some vowels have 3rd sounds.  The letter "y" also has a consonant sound which you say before the vowel sound.  Remember to adjust if your method of teaching "y" is different from mine.

(NEW PHONOGRAMS WEEK1/DAY3)

(PHONOGRAM CARDS)

Review all the phonogram flashcards a-z.

And finally, do a dictation. 

(WEEK1/DAY 3 DICTATION)

Note:  Having you child say the phonogram when he sees it and write it when he hears it is what Starting a Spelling Notebook refers to as "knowing it both ways".

Tomorrow you will teach part of the first page of the spelling notebook.  Read SSN p. 10-11 and WRTR p. 54 to prepare.  It only takes a few minutes!

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Day 4

Flashcard review, part of Spelling Notebook p.1



Begin with reviewing flashcards a-z. 

Look at the sample notebook page (WRTR p XX):

(SAMPLE NOTEBOOK PAGE)

Discuss the first 3 spelling rules:

1. u follows q
2. c says /s/ before e, i, or y
3. g may say /j/ before e, i, or y

Have your child copy the first part of the first page of the spelling notebook.  There are instructions on how to dictate the page in WRTR p. 54.  Remind him that hearing the phonograms helps him know which phonograms spell a word.  Have him sound out the word "consonants" as he spells it.  He is practicing listening and spelling. 

Now practice the spelling rules using the words queen, cat, cent, and gem.  Now your child is practicing observation, thinking and spelling. 

You have made it through the first week!  Good work!