Today I put together a cursive handwriting book that is printed on letter sized paper.  You can find it on the page with PDF files for books and workbooks.

Other Current Short Vowel Books 2017

Today I uploaded the Two-Page Short Vowel Words And Sentences book.  To differentiate it from the Rhyming Short Vowel and Mixed Short Vowel books, I've given it the Two-Page name because it has only two pages of words for each short vowel, plus sentence pages. This makes it substantially shorter than the Rhyming and Mixed Short Vowel books.  I used this short vowel book in my first grade classroom before I retired, and it is posted to my old web site under an earlier title, Basic Short Vowel Words.  I can't use that title any more for this book because I'm using the title Basic Short Vowels for the current book that has illustrated rhyming and body-coda lists in all black print.  Definitely confusing!

In the newer Two-Page Short Vowel Words And Sentences book version I've made a number of changes to the older version which I think make it better and easier to use.
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• I moved the short o words before the short i words, since the short o sound is easier to hear for beginning readers.  This delays the more difficult short i words until after students have studied both short a and short o words.
• I revised the workbook to match the new short vowel order.  
•  I moved the sentence pages so that each set follows immediately after the related short vowel picture word pages.  I had to revise the short o sentences because some of them previously  contained short i words. 
• I revised the sound charts so that all the sound pictures from part two of A Sound Story About Audrey And Brad are on the same "Beyond The Alphabet Chart."  This makes it less confusing for the students and the teacher.
•  I revised the sound blending "Silly Sounds" pages so that students only read vowel-consonant combinations (ab, ac, ad, af, ag).  In the previous version they also read consonant-vowel combinations (ba, ca, da, fa, ga).  I think it was too difficult for the students trying to do it both ways.  And I didn't want to set up students to be confused later on when they learn about open syllable.  Vowels generally represent their short vowel sounds in syllables where the vowel is followed by a consonant (ab, ac, ad, ag).  On the other hand, vowels that come at the end of a syllable usually have the long vowel sound.
• I revised parts of the instructions for the teacher and added new lesson outlines and spelling lists.  In particular, in the instructions about handwriting and spelling dictation, I've explained how to use plastic letters to spell words at the beginning of the school year for words like fuzz, yak, and quit which have letters that students have not yet learned to write.  This allows students to proceed through the book quickly, while taking the time to learn (or review) how to write the alphabet letters.

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In the Two-Page Short Vowel Words And Sentences book, about half the pages are student pages and the other half of the pages explain how to teach students to read and write short vowel words.  If you are making multiple copies of the books for students, you may want to print just the student pages. 

I'm still trying to finish the book of sequence charts with an overview of teaching materials.  I keep having to add pieces like the new handwriting book described above.  Hopefully soon....  
​I do  apologize for the delay. 

Today I added a page to this site that shows an overview of all the Sound City Reading books.  You can find it under these menu headings: A Phonetic Reading Program - Teaching Levels And Materials - Overview Of Teaching Books.  I've listed the books by levels with a brief explanation of how they relate to each other.  I hope this is helpful. I'll be adding it to the Sequence Charts Book.

I also added two cursive handwriting books.  The first one is to be printed on legal paper.  Students trace and copy large cursive letters in this book.  The second one is to be printed on 11 by 17 inch ledger paper, if you have that printing capability.  Students trace large letters only in this book.  To find the books go to PDF Files For Phonics Books And Workbooks - Scroll down to the cursive handwriting heading.  I've used large handmade cursive patterns in my second grade classroom years ago.  I've used the handwriting books I just uploaded with my grandchildren and students that I've tutored.  If you're willing to take the time to have students trace these large letter patterns, I think you'll be pleased with the results.  

My granddaughter was very slow to pick up manuscript handwriting, so I used the cursive patterns for a few weeks before she started third grade to prepare her for her initial cursive handwriting instruction at school.  We had to work very hard together to get to the point that she could write the letters accurately.  We didn't get through the whole alphabet, but we managed to cover enough letters so that she did well when she began third grade.

I tutored a student who went through the large manuscript handwriting patterns and then the following year he went through the large cursive patterns. It has taken a lot of practice but he is now writing cursive very nicely.

I have been trying for weeks now to finish a book of sequence charts so that I can put it on this site.  I usually don't see how time consuming a job will be until I'm in the middle of it.  The book has been helpful for me to use when planning, and I know it will be helpful for others.  The charts include a list of the letters and phonics patterns taught in each book, in the order in which they are taught.  I decided I needed to add a short description of each book to provide a better idea of what is taught at each level.  This has slowed me down quite a bit.  I thought it would be helpful to provide a few small pictures, including the cover and some sample pages for each book. I think this will be worthwhile but it is taking much longer than I expected  - with me this is usually the case.  

The first set of sample pages I inserted had a resolution far too high - the file became so large it crashed repeatedly.  So I had to redo the pictures in a lower resolution.  In order to provide the small cover pictures I had to finish revising the covers so that they're all in color, and I still have a few left to do.  

Before I can finish making the sample page images I have to make sure all of the books are complete and the pages are up to date and accurate.  There are several books that still need to be completed, including some handwriting books and a short vowel workbook.  I'm too stubborn to leave out those things because I want anyone who downloads the book to get a complete picture of what is available and be able to see how all the parts of the program fit together.  I've been working with the materials for years, but there are many pieces to the program and it is truly challenging to explain them all. 

I am continuing to work on all of this as much as possible and still hope to get the book finished soon.