Things You'll Need

Instructions

1

Before we begin this lesson it is important that you review with your student her long and short vowel sounds. Take your index cards and write the following words with short vowel sounds: crab, sled, flip, flop, plug. Now make a list of words with long vowel sounds: play, feed, slide, flow, cube.Show your student each card and word. Read it aloud to her, then read the word aloud together. Ask you student what the dominant sound that she hears is. Discuss whether this word contains a short vowel sound or a long vowel sound.This is of primary importance. If your student is having difficulty discerning, or reading these words, please do not move on until she has a firm grasp of all the short and long vowel sounds.
2

Make a list of five double vowel words. Sometimes students will be given spelling words in school that have double vowels. If you don't have a list of your own, use these to begin: leaf, boat, tear, steak, seat. Write them on a board or easel or somewhere large where you and your student can see.Ask your student what the dominant sound is. For instance, using the word "leaf," your student should say the long e sound.Read each word and talk about the dominant sound
3

Discuss the fact that there are two vowels in each word. Pose the question, "why, then, do you only hear one vowel sound in these words?"Introduce the rule, "when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking." This will help students remember that when they have two vowels in a word side by side, the first vowel is always the one you hear. The other vowel remains silent and listens.
4

It is always a good idea to incorporate more than one learning modality into a lesson, so now that we have used our visual, and our auditory senses, let's ask our student to manipulate his words.Make columns on the floor or on your board of long vowel sounds. Make five categories: long a, long e, long i, long o, long u. Give your student an index card with one of the double vowel words that you just learned. Ask him to read it and to place it under the proper category according to which sound it makes.Now is the time to introduce new double vowel words. Be sure that you have them written on index cards. Follow the steps above.Continue this until all the words are categorized.
5

To assess comprehension, ask you student to write each word after you say it aloud. Use the five words you began with, and then move on to your expanded list.