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Managing Classroom Decibels with /d/

Another literature connection to /d/ sound is the children’s book “Decibella” written by Julia Cook and illustrated by Anita DuFolla. If you are an educator or just trying to help someone become more aware of the voice volume level, this is an AWESOME book and classroom management strategy I found on “Bright Concepts 4 Teachers.”

Interested in tutoring or know a parent who’s looking for a reading tutor? Might I offer some suggestions for helping your child make progress in reading and developing an education plan by private tutoring? Contact me below to get started. I look forward to hearing from you.

Static Electrified Short /a/

You can connect short /a/ sound to the concept of static electricity with this science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activity from “i heart CRAFTY things.” Check out the Static Electricity Butterfly Experiment.

Crockpot short /o/ Recipe

Connect short /o/ sound to this recipe for “Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup” from “Pinch of Yum.” “Crockpot” had two short /o/ sounds. WARNING: Of the three possible pronunciations for “gnocchi”, short /o/ is NOT necessarily an option: people have called it nyawk-kee, nok-ee or noh-kee.

Baked French Dessert Lands Support Role

Where do you begin with emergent readers, people who struggle distinguishing the sounds that letters make. We begin with /c/ as in “cat.” It’s also known as “hard c.”

In the spirit of summer berry-picking in some parts of the United States, I found an an excellent recipe with /c/ called “Berry Clafoutis Recipe” on Julia’s Album blog. What a great way to enjoy an afternoon after tutoring!

Whistling Words With “wh”

The digraph “wh” is pronounced /w/, just like the letter “w.” One literature connection to “wh” is A Whistle for Willie written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. Peter is a little boy who yearns for the ability to whistle. He is imaginative and loves to pretend. He follows his dog throughout his neighborhood and house attempting to whistle. This playful story will leave readers whistling or at least trying.

The Wocket Models More than /w/

There is only one mention of the Wocket in There’s a Wocket in My Pocket written by Dr. Suess. However, that’s enough to connect to the /w/ sound for me. This has become more of an excuse for me to read aloud silly rhymes of made-up household creatures to my students. That’s not to say this book doesn’t have value as a read aloud. Struggling readers often have trouble with rhyming; even with older students I’ve worked with – it is really hard for them to identify the rhyme and create a rhyme. Suess continues to be popular. First published in 1974, this was a book my parents frequently read to us and it continues to be available in public libraries.

There, This, That – Voiced /th/

I was originally in the public library looking for another book to connect to the voiced /th/ concept when I came across, There Is a Bird on Your Head written and illustrated by Mo Willems. The story’s simple dialogue offers ample opportunity to add prosody to deepen the characters during a read aloud. This could be a great bedtime story and could be followed up with some of my favorites by Willems about Pigeon.

Sheep Surely Show /sh/

The second digraph introduced as a new concept is /sh/. My favorite literature connection to /sh/ is Sheep in a Jeep written by Nancy E. Shaw and illustrated by Margo Apple. In this story, a group of white, fluffy livestock are riding in a Jeep with one of their own behind wheel. The popular off-road vehicle gets stuck. This begins a series of common 4×4 challenges the sheep are determined to overcome.

A Squirrelly Way to Show /s/

My sister, who is also a special education teacher, introduced me to the character Scaredy Squirrel several years ago. Scaredy Squirrel was written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt. This worrisome, high-anxiety squirrel provides an awesome literature connection to /s/. He’s unwilling to step outside the tree he where he resides. Scaredy squirrel surrounds himself with the comfort of his thoroughly thought-out emergency plan. Emergency management experts say you’re only as good as your plan – Scaredy Squirrel’s plan has one slight flaw. This squirrel-meets-doomsday-prepper children’s picture book is entertaining for both children and adults.

Ridding Enemies with short /e/

Mix a literature connection to short /e/ and a social skills lesson by reading Enemy Pie. This children’s picture book was written by Derek Munson and illustrated by Tara Calahan King. The boy in this book has only one sworn enemy who he needs to get rid of. His father tells him he’s had experience with this issue and he presents the perfect solution. Unsure of exactly how using “enemy pie” will pan out, the son agrees to the plan. Interacting with an enemy could be risky and it’s hard to say what exactly could happen as a result.

Short /e/ is easily mixed with short /i/ for many English language learners. It’s important to provide a visual cue when identifying /e/ in isolation along with many opportunities to hear and practice /e/ alone and in words.