Practice the sounds.
Sound 1: Short I
Sound 2: /aw/
Sound 3: /oo/ (both are short o’s)
Sound 4: /er/
Sound 5: /oi/
Sound 6: /e/ (short e)
Sound 7: /o/ (long o)
Sound 8: schwa
Vowel Sort
Front: Short and Long A, E, I
Low/Middle: Short O and Short U
Back/Rounded: Long O, Long U, /oo/, /yu/, /aw/
Diphthongs: /ou/ and /oi/
R Controlled: /er/, /ar/, /or/
Word Sort 1
sport: or
spoil: oi
heal: long e
shook: oo
cute: yu
neigh: long a
Word Sort 2
cyst: short i
couch: ou
black: short a
light: long i
spot: short o
up: short u
Word Sort 3
about: schwa
wedge: short e
taught: aw
bold: long o
flew: long u
flirt: er
spark: ar
English vowels are easier for students to pronounce and write than consonants.
false
What makes r-controlled vowel sounds so confusing for students?
The r takes over the preceding vowel sound.
Which of the following sounds is considered a front vowel?
long a
Which of the following vowels require that the mouth shift position during production of the sound? Select all that apply.
/oi/
/ou/
Which of the following vowel sounds would be classified by a linguist as “tense” vowels?
long e and /yu/
diphthong
Single vowel phonemes that glide in the middle. The mouth position shifts during the production of the phoneme. /oi/ in spoil /ou/ in couch /ī/ in light
Schwa
Means empty in Hebrew. It is the vowel in an unaccented syllable such as the last syllable in wagon.
Difference between long and short vowels
Long (tense) and short (lax) are arbitrary. They have little to do with the time it takes to say a vowel. They are to do with the muscle tension in jaw. Long = beet, bait, boat, boot, beauty, bite. Short = bit, bet, bat, pot, but, bought, book.
Vowels
A set of 15 phonemes in English (not including r-controlled combinations or schwa). It is an open phoneme that is in every syllable. They can be classified by tongue position and height (e.g. front or low, mid or back, round)
R-controlled vowels
When a letter is followed by an /r/ it’s sound usually changes. It may become totally unified as one phoneme or kept slightly separated.
LETRS Unit 2 Session 1 Check For Understanding
A student with general phonological awareness can learn to read fluently, even if the student has not yet developed awareness of speech sounds at the phoneme level.
False
If a student analyzes the sounds and syllables in a word, it is easier for the student to store the word in semantic memory.
True
Read the following list of classroom activities. Select the one that targets phonological awareness only, without attempting to address other language skills.
b. Ms. Chang says a word and has students repeat it, clap for each syllable, and count the syllables.
Which of these skills should not be a direct focus of classroom instruction? (Select all that apply.)
a. phonological working memory (PWM) c. rapid automatic naming (RAN)
The term coarticulation means the ability to:
d. say the phonemes within a syllable so that all of the segments are seamlessly joined.
LETRS Unit 2 Session 2 Check For Understanding
T/F Even after first grade, skills such as phoneme segmentation and blending of single-syllable words without consonant blends are good predictors of reading ability.
False
Students’ ability to acquire phonemic awareness is not dependent on which of the following factors? a. general language development and listening abilities b. word comprehension c. familiarity with vocabulary used in tasks d. the amount of practice received
b. word comprehension
Which of these tasks could a student at the early phonological awareness level perform? Select all that apply. a. determining whether cat and kiss begin with the same sound b. segmenting and tapping the phonemes in the word slap c. clapping and counting the syllables in the word pencil d. saying the word marker, then deleting the last syllable and saying it again, mark
a & c determining whether cat and kiss begin with the same sound clapping and counting the syllables in the word pencil
Which of these tasks could a student at the basic phonemic awareness level perform? Select all that apply. a. saying the word flame, then deleting the phoneme /l/ and saying the word without it b. saying the compound word rainbow, then deleting the first part and saying the new word c. determining which sound should be changed to make the word stream into scream d. segmenting and tapping the phonemes in the word beak
b& d saying the compound word rainbow, then deleting the first part and saying the new word, segmenting and tapping the phonemes in the word beak
Which of these advanced phonemic awareness skills do children typically develop last? a. the ability to delete the final sound from a word b. the ability to substitute sounds within words of 5-6 phonemes c. the ability to reverse the first and final sounds in a word d. the ability to delete the initial sound from a word that begins with a blend
c. the ability to reverse the first and final sounds
LETRS Unit 2 Session 3 Check For Understanding
Phonemic awareness instruction for young learners is most beneficial when linked with phonics instruction. true false
True
The inventory of phonemes used in Spanish is nearly identical to that used in English. true false
False
A third-grade teacher wants to determine whether any of her students are at risk for reading failure. She should use a screening measure that assesses which of the following? a. their ability to segment phonemes b. their ability to manipulate phonemes c. their ability to represent phonemes with letters (as shown in spelling samples) d. their ability to perform advanced phonemic awareness tasks
d. their ability to perform advanced phonemic awareness tasks
How much phonological awareness training should be done with students for maximum effectiveness? a. at least 45 minutes a day b. once a week, for about 30 minutes c. a few minutes a day, several days per week d. about 30 minutes each day
c. a few minutes a day, several days per week
Which of the following changes typically take place once a child has grasped the alphabetic principle? Select all that apply. a. Spelling becomes more phonetically accurate. b. The student can easily delete, substitute, or otherwise manipulate phonemes in words. c. Attempts to decode text focus more on blending sounds. d. Recognition improves for high-frequency words that are phonetically irregular.
a. Spelling becomes more phonetically accurate. c. Attempts to decode text focus more on blending sounds.
LETRS Unit 2 Session 4 Check For Understanding
T/F In many instances, two different consonant phonemes in English are formed the same way in the mouth, but one is voiced and the other is unvoiced.
True
T/F Adults often miscount the number of phonemes in a word because they tend to recall how a word looks in print and count the letters, not the sounds.
True
Which of the following sounds is an affricate, meaning it combines features of fricatives and stops? a. /k/ b. /ng/ c. /ch/ d. /zh/
C. /ch/
Which of the following pairs are consonant sounds that students frequently confuse? Select all that apply. a. /t/ and /d/ b. /f/ and /p/ c. /m/ and /n/ d. /z/ and /l/
a & c
Which of the following misspellings is phonetically accurate and does not indicate phonemic confusion? Select all that apply. a. writing “fan” for van b. writing “butn” for button c. writing “chow” for show d. writing “kitn” for kitten
b & d
LETRS Unit 2 Session 5 Check For Understanding
English vowels are easier for students to pronounce and write than consonants.
False
What makes r-controlled vowel sounds so confusing for students?
The r takes over the preceding vowel sound.
Which of the following sounds is considered a front vowel?
/a/ (long a)
Which of the following vowels require that the mouth shift position during production of the sound? Select all that apply.
/oi/ and /ou/
Which of the following vowel sounds would be classified by a linguist as “tense” vowels?
/e/ and /yu/
LETRS Unit 2 Session 6 Check For Understanding
Spanish has 22 phonemes represented by 27 symbols, compared to English’s 44 phonemes and 26 symbols. True or False
True
The variations common in African American English are predictable and governed by rules. True or False
True
Which of the following occurs as a result of coarticulation? Select all that apply. a. allophonic variations, in which we pronounce individual phonemes differently from how would pronounce them in isolation b. dialect variations that include nonstandard usage and grammar as well as nonstandard pronunciation c. misspellings of words that are, in fact, phonetically logical d. increased controversy about how to pronounce specific phonemes correctly
a. allophonic variations, in which we pronounce individual phonemes differently from how would pronounce them in isolation. c. misspellings of words that are, in fact, phonetically logical
Which of the following misspellings likely results from confusion about unaspirated or deaspirated stop consonants? a. spelling friend as “fred” b. spelling drop as “jrop” c. spelling batter as “badr” d. spelling skip as “sgip”
d. spelling skip as “sgip”
In which group of words does a tongue flap create significant differences between American and British pronunciations? a. space, stick, scab b. mend, won’t, pink c. cattle, city, metal d. trip, stature, graduate
c. cattle, city, metal
LETRS Unit 2 Session 7 Check For Understanding
Students in Ehri’s pre-alphabetic phase need instruction in basic oral language skills before manipulating phonemes.
True
Sound chaining should begin with substituting the middle sounds and end sounds in a word, as these are most difficult.
False
Which of the following principles are important for teaching phonological skills in particular? Select all that apply.
a. Focus students’ attention on speech sounds before focusing on letters. d. Include all English phonemes in instruction. check_circle
Which activities work with students at the early phonological awareness level? Select all that apply.
a. having students identify rhyming words in texts you read aloud b. having students clap or tap to count the syllables in a word you say d. saying a two-syllable word, then asking students to delete one syllable and say the word that results check_circle
A colleague is going to start beginning sound chaining activities with students at the basic phonemic awareness level, using colored blocks to represent sounds. What is the most important guideline to follow?
b. Have students add, change, delete, or move only ONE sound at a time.
LETRS Unit 2 Session 8 Check For Understanding
Assessing phonological skills is almost never appropriate after a child has completed first grade.
False
Phonemic awareness is difficult to measure directly as an isolated skill.
True
What features separate the PAST from other phonological skills assessments? Select all that apply.
b. Automaticity is a factor in determining a student’s score. d. The assessor gives corrective feedback if the student responds incorrectly.
Which kinds of tasks are the primary focus of phonological skills assessment in grades K-1?
c. phoneme segmentation and blending
Kelsey is in grade 2. Previously a strong reader, she has now fallen behind. She reads grade-level texts haltingly, struggling to recognize words with blends. Which phonological task would she likely struggle with? Select all that apply.
b. “Say crate. Now say crate but don’t say /k/.” d. “Say bask. Now say bask but don’t say /s/.” HIDE RESULTS
Sources
LETRS Checks for Understanding
