Step036.htm/02OCT2001

Step 36,37: oo, ee

We do not need to wait until the child can "read off" (like a sight vocabulary) all the words. Right to the end of the programme and for the rest of his life, he will be meeting new words in which single letters will say their simple sound; even in "rough" the r sounds simply. Being able to sound out and read words of any length, one letter one sound, is the first third of learning to read. The second third is learning the sounds for which there is not a letter, and for which we use 2 or more letters. The final third is gaining fluency, which grows of its own accord.

As we learn new letter‑groups, each one will give access to lots of new words (which must be understood), and we shall all the time keep coming to words and spelling patterns that we have already had.

Explain that while our alphabet has 26 letters, in speech we use 44 sounds, that is, we have more sounds than letters. This problem is solved by using 2 or more letters together to make extra sounds. It is really very clever and quite interesting, how letters work. (There are more ways than one to spell some sounds, but leave that for the moment. Do not complicate!) Remind that each letter has a sound and name (like hhh and aitch). Up to now you have been using the sounds of letters, but from now on when you are talking about letters, use their name: h is the sound, aitch is the name.

The first two new sounds are oo and ee. Say: "One o says o (as in top) but two o's say oo as in moon.” Have the children repeat three times, "Two o's says oo", then ask, "What do two o's say?" then "If we want to write oo, what letters would we use?"

Find the pictures in step 40 with oo in them: moon hook book boot room. You can put the picture and words above onto small cards with picture and word on one side, and the list of words on the other, starting with the word for the picture (available as "Sound Cards"). Here and in later work, these "sound cards" are the only material I use where the pupil can see the word and picture at the same time, and they are there to give the pupil independence. If he forgets what oo says, he can go back to that card and work it out, m..00..n, the sound after "m" is the sound oo. Have him read MOON ROOM COOL STOOL, then explain that sometimes the 00, although the same sound,. is shorter, as in BOOK HOOK COOK GOOD, and have him read those words.

The ee is simpler. "Two e's says eeee." When we sound out, we use SOUNDS. When we are talking about letters, we use their names, so we say "Two eeee's says eeee". Have the pupil repeat this 3 times, then have him read the words in the list, which are NOT words to be 'learned', NOT to form a sight vocabulary or be processed as whole words. A word is a letter‑ sequence, a sound‑sequence.

Sing the alphabet. Play the games made previously. Find the OO and EE words in Step 40.

Joined writing.

You will see that I have joined together the letters that must be said together. Your pupil may do the same, as an introduction to joined writing. Please yourself.

Get the pupil to sound the sounds of the new words.

Choose Activities from the Contents page.