Where is That Vowel? assesses the position of vowels within words. The first chapter “Word Structure by Sound” sets the tone for the book as the exploration of relationships between the structure of words and the sounds therein are studied.
The basic phonic text is limited to single-syllabled words and six key placement principles.
- If a vowel is positioned in front of a consonant, it has its short sound (at, ash).
- If a vowel is positioned between two consonants, it has its short sound (bat, mash).
- When a vowel follows a consonant, it has a long sound (no, bro).
- When two vowels appear side-by-side, the first vowel is long, the second vowel is silent (aid, main).
- When a vowel team ends a word, the helper is a silent e (toe, tree).
- The vowel team may be separated by one consonant sound (ace, bike, tithe). The final e is not strong enough to jump over two separate consonant sounds (fence, bulge, copse).
Diacritics from Webster’s second and third editions are compared. The illustrated vowel sounds are the long and short vowels, modified vowels, short and long oo, aw, au, al, ou and ow, plus oi and oy.
These words are then employed within compound words. Two single syllables are united (old-time, soft drink, foghorn). The tricky part is to remember if the word is hyphenated, side-by-side, or separate in form.
A section is added containing uncommon and obsolete words for studying with students having a substantial sight vocabulary. A reader might recognize cat but not cit meaning an inhabitant of a city. They might know the word freeze, but probably not feeze meaning to drive away. The words are an excellent source for practicing the placement of vowels; it is a fun spelling exercise.
The final segment is a preview of Fix the Roots up Front with Prefixes. It matches the initial single syllables with a single-syllabled prefix (unwrap, recook, debug, preprint). The object with the compound and prefixed words is to lengthen the words without having to define syllables and deal with the schwa as well as increasing one’s vocabulary treasure chest.
When I was scouting about the web, I found this invaluable site: http://readingelephant.com It is the perfect additive to Where IS That Vowel? B. Marker has authored fanciful stories employing the single-syllabled words listed methodically in my book.
For instance, after introducing short vowel sounds and applying exercises utilizing appropriate words, you can turn to Marker’s stories employing the same words. It completes the reading process by capturing the phonetic application and morphing it into a student’s sight vocabulary.
We follow the same progression, building one sound at a time. Starting with the short vowels, long vowels, digraphs, and diphthongs. On their site you have the option of downloading the stories or purchasing the books on Amazon.
Additonal Tools
Interested in finding our more? Check out my book on Amazon below.