1. Spelling for Older Students
SOS
Lesson 2 a A
Created for SPELD SA by Jan Polkinghorne

2. Words in a sentence Take it in turns with a friend.
One say a sentence and the other counts words, then swap.

3. Sounds in a word f-i-sh 3 f-ee-t 3 b-ie-k 3
Say the names of these pictures. Use your fingers to count how many sounds in each word. NOTE that is sounds not letters.
Click for answers
f-i-sh f-ee-t b-ie-k

4. What is the same about all these pictures. Say the words aloud.
Click the box for the answer.
They all start with the sound a :- add, alligator, anchor, ambulance, ant, antenna, apple, angry axe, antlers.

5. vowel or consonant All letters in our alphabet belong to one of two groups
a = vowel
All vowels can be said in 3 ways.
Short vowel
Long Vowel
Grunt vowel= schwa
Today we look at the short vowel a as in apple.
Long vowel pronunciation is ay as in ape.
Grunt vowel – schwa pronunciation is ‘u’ as in above.
Put your fingers on your throat . There is little or no movement. Vowels are formed by changing the shape of our lips. Watch a partner’s lips as you say the sound a. What do you notice about how we say a and ay?
Rule 1: If the short vowel pronunciation doesn’t work to make a word try the long vowel.
We need to know whether a letter is a vowel or consonant to help us apply spelling rules.

6. Which pictures begin with ‘a’.
Click the box for answers.
Ant, alligator, anchor, ambulance, add, antenna, apple, axe

7. Click the box for answers.
Sort these pictures into those that start with a and those starting with ay. Can you think of others which do to add to your lists?
Click the box for answers.
Short a :- alligator , ant , apple, anchor, ambulance
Long ay:- angel, acorn, ape, aim

8. What sounds the same about the pictures in each row? Answers next page.
Click to reveal successive rows.

9. What sounds the same about the pictures in each row?
All start with short a sound
All start with s sound
All start with long ay sound
All have long ay sound in the middle.
All start with t sound.

10. Click the box for answers.
Point to the word your teacher sounds - blend the sounds to make a word.
a -p-l a-n-c-or a-c-or-n
Click the box for answers.

11. How to write the sound ‘a’
Linked script is far better to write than printing. It is faster, easier, more comfortable to write for long periods and your brain learns the words better if they are linked.
a A Aa as

12. Complete the requirements for the next screen before proceeding
Complete the requirements for the next screen before proceeding. See Instructions.
Note not every letter a sounds like short a or schwa a

13. The Smith family is going on a picnic
The Smith family is going on a picnic. The children help their mother pack the food. Adam packs the apples. Annie helps to make the jam sandwiches. At last, they are ready and set off for the picnic. When they arrive, they sit down, spread out a cloth and lay the food on it. Annie rubs her arm. “Something is tickling me,” she says. “Something is tickling me, too,” says Adam, eating his apple. Annie shouts “a, a, a ants!” They all look at Annie and see some ants crawling up her arm. They all jump up. There are ants all over the picnic cloth! “Oh dear,” says Dad. “We must have put our cloth over an ants’ nest.” They pack up their things and move to a nicer spot.

14. Tricky Words – non phonetic
Click to reveal the word
Click to reveal the word he
she
Click to reveal the word
the
Note these words are not really tricky – they use the short vowel/ long vowel rule.

15. Instructions.
Slide 2 counting the words in a sentence- if you can’t differentiate words it is very hard to write them.
Slide 3 counting sounds in a word. The answer is frequently not the same as the number of letters in the word.
Slide 5 – knowing vowels and consonants is vital for learning spelling rules. Multisensory learning (feeling the formation of a sound) is useful for many students. Rule 1: If the short vowel pronunciation doesn’t work to make a word try the long vowel.
Slide 6 – differentiating between words which begin with a and those which don’t. If the graphics give rise to different words then discuss and modify answers accordingly.
Slide 7 –differentiating between short a and long ay.
Slide 8- picking a common sound. Initial or middle.
Slide 9 answers to slide 8
Slide 10 – a-p-l, a-n-k-or, ay-c-or-n. Aural blending. Blending and segmenting are the basis to synthetic spelling. Some students find this difficult and will need additional help.
Slide 11- writing a, A and linking to s. Handwriting I have used Sego Script because it is freely available on most computers . Research is now showing that linked script is more ergonomic and helps with retention of spelling. Many prospective employers are expecting job applications to be handwritten and many exams have to be handwritten. It is still a necessary skill.
Read the story for ’a’ aloud. Ask each student to keep a tally of how many ‘a’ sounds they hear in the story. Compare results. If students are capable they can be instructed to use 3 colours short a, long ay and schwa a . If this is too complex just locate. Short a. BEWARE! WARN STUDENTS NOT EVERY LETTER A ON THE PAGE WILL SOUND LIKE A. They need to use ears not eyes.
Hand each student a copy of the story. Read it aloud again and have students mark each ‘a’ as they go. The short a is marked red. Grunt a is marked yellow although there can be variation in how people pronounce particularly indefinite article a .
Tricky words. These words are high frequency, often non phonetic and have to be learnt by rote for both spelling and reading. Spell with alphabet names. Do not sound. Revise words learnt previously before learning the new words. Note varying pronunciation of the and thee with schwa and long vowel ee. If students learn the rule “ If the short vowel doesn’t work use the long vowel then these words are not non phonetic.