Our groups are working hard on phonics and learning vowel sounds! Young readers that do not achieve a firm foundation in vowel sounds struggle with reading. And for some students vowel sounds are just HARD! Short vowel sounds seem to trip up some of my students.
Having vowel posters with pictures to link to sounds really help students to learn those sounds. And of course, if they can move to chunking the word- even better!
I also like for students to get in some practice reading those words and noticing chunks. Struggling readers need a lot of practice with this. They also need to practice these sounds in context and not just in isolation. I like to keep a notebook with posters and students can practice reading the chunks during word work for guided reading or during RTI intervention groups.
Long vowel posters help with those silent, sneaky, super e words too!
Sometimes just adding in a fun pointer helps with engagement as students practice reading in their notebook. It is important to take it to the next step too. When students are reading in their books point out that they will be reading silent e words and see which ones they notice. That application part is essential to getting a solid foundation with their vowel sounds!
You've created some very helpful scaffolds for your readers. I know I need to be more intentional with supports like these.