Retiring 2 Vowels Go Walking

Do you use the "two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking" rhyme in your classroom?  It must be a solid strategy because the PBS show Between the Lions and Jack Hartmann both have songs about it, right?

Well, I used this catchy rhyme too until I found out it is wrong about 60% of the time! I was lucky enough to get more in-depth phonics/spelling training that made a huge impact on my teaching. Does your school have a professional development fund? If not, I'm happy to pass on what I know, if you are interested.

I follow Christina (the Reading Interventionist on Instagram) and she posted this week about retiring this saying.  I completely agree and told her I would post about this also in solidarity. Apparently many teachers have questions about what to teach instead. 

My school focuses on learning all the sounds the phonograms make. So when my students struggle to read a word, I say, "Do you see a phonogram? What sounds does it make?" 

We teach the sounds in the order of frequency. So for example, if the student is struggling with the vowel team in the word "steak" s/he would identify  "ea" as the phonogram. The sounds in order of use are ē as in eat, ĕ as in head, ā as in break. This student would try the sounds and determine it is the 3rd one. So the "two vowels" rhyme would have let her/him down but armed with the knowledge of the phonogram sounds,  the student can successfully decode the word.  

This is why it is called the science of reading. There are rules and explanations that I wish I had known earlier. And young children CAN learn them. You know as well as I do that kids thrive on structure and rules. It gives them a sense of control and instead of feeling overwhelmed they have a specific procedure to help them figure those challenging words out.

I realized my best selling resource Decoding Strategies: A Quick-Reference Guide for Parents & Guided Reading, has the two vowels rhyme in it so I updated it to add a version more in line with the example above. 

If your students could use some practice reading words with the 3 sounds -ed can make, I have a new set of Boom cards or Google Slides you might like. Inflectional endings can be hard for some students.

So what do you think? Ready to retire the "two vowels go walking" rhyme? 

Boom Deck Diphthong OW Sorting By Sound

Here is another Boom Deck on the 2 sounds of the diphthong OW. 

 I think this one is a little more advanced because I ask the student to read 4 words on the card and identify which one has the asked for sound of ow. I made an audio recording of the direction so they can hear the asked for sound.

I actually just went in and replaced the font because I didn't like that one. 

Are you as picky about fonts as I am?

Click on the picture above to go to a live preview to try these cards for yourself!

There are only 10 cards because I thought reading 40 words, possibly more than once to hear the sounds, was a lot of work.

You can grab this for only $1.25 in my TpT store or at Boom Learning.

Boom Cards Diphthong OO Read & Match Deck

I may be obsessed with Boom Cards. I only recently heard about them. I am wondering if many people are using them or if they are still in that newish stage?

This deck includes 20 cards practicing the 2 sounds of oo. The student reads the word then clicks on the matching picture. They get instant feedback and my niece loves that she is rewarded with diamonds at the end. Ha, starting early!

Again, I included audio so the student can listen to the directions and the two sounds of oo.

If you click on the picture above it will take you to a live preview so you can try them.

You can buy this deck on Boom Learning or my TpT store for only $2.

Boom Cards Diphthong OW Read & Match

I'm loving making these Boom Cards and my niece keeps asking for more!

This deck has 20 cards practicing the two sounds of oo. 

I recorded audio directions with a reminder of the two sounds to try.

If you click on the picture above it will take you to a live preview so you can try it!

Did you know you can get a premium Boom account for free right now due to COVID-19?

https://wow.boomlearning.com

You can buy this deck on Boom Learning or my TpT store for only $2.

Free Boom Cards Diphthong OO Sort

Have you tried Boom Cards with your students? They are digital task cards that can be completed on any device by going to the boomlearning.com site or downloading the app. They can be used for any topic and any grade.

As the teacher, you can create a class, assign a deck and then get to see the student's results. Seems perfect for distance learning (assuming your kiddos have access to technology, of course.) Like so many other great companies, you can sign up for an account for free right now due to COVID.

I really feel for those of you with young kids at home. I am teaching remotely full time but my boys are a senior in high school and sophomore in college so they are very self-sufficient. My sister says it is very tough trying to work full time and help the kids.

My first grade niece was telling me she is working on the vowel digraph (or diphthong) oo this week so I took a stab at making her a sorting deck.

If you click on this picture it should take you to a working preview.

I like that you can include an audio recording so you can read directions for the younger ones. In this case, it was helpful for me to go over the two sounds oo can make. I also explained that this was a drag and drop activity.

I made this FREE if you want to try them. Click HERE to see them on boom learning.com.

Stay safe and sane! We have 2 weeks left and I feel like we are all just going to barely crawl over the finish line.