Video

I'll be uploading video files to show how to do the various activities when teaching a typical lesson.  At this point you can find videos for some of the sound charts, for part one of the sound story,  You can find the videos in the sub-menu under the Videos heading.  You may stream the videos or download them to use when teaching one or more students.  After I get all of them uploaded, you will be able to see the following activities.   It will take a significant amount of time to record and upload the complete set of videos.

1. Sound Story - This story introduces all of the sounds in the English language.  Each sound is represented by a picture showing a sound in the environment (a dog growling, a pencil tip breaking, boots crunching in the snow) or a voiced sound (exclamations).  Part 1 of the sound story teaches the consonant sounds, the five short vowel sounds, and the long i sound.  Part 2 of the sound story teaches the long vowel sounds, dotted vowel sounds (a/all, o/to, u/push), odd o sounds (oi/oil, oy/boy ou/ouch, ow/cow), and consonant digraph sounds (sh, th/th, ch, ng).
2. Sound Charts - Students see the letter and phonogram patterns arranged in logical groups and say the sounds.  Each letter or pattern is shown with a sound picture to help students remember the correct sound.
3. Alphabet Cards and Phonogram Cards  - Students see the alphabet letters and phonogram patterns on flashcards and say the related sounds.
4. Handwriting - Students learn to write new letters by tracing them on a chalkboard while saying their sounds.  Next they trace and copy a large letter pattern on paper, while saying the sounds.  They practice recently taught letters on the back of the large paper.  Finally, they write the new letter on regular lined paper, along with review letters, again, saying the sound with each letter.  Pre-K and early K students have a simpler handwriting introduction.  They finger trace large patterns on paper while saying the sounds, and then use a pencil to trace smaller letters on paper.  At all levels, they teacher models correct letter formation and provides assistance as needed.
5. Word Building (Spelling) - A. Step One - Segmenting - (Saying the separate sounds in a word.)  Students look at a picture and say each sound in the word, separating each sound from the others with a slight pause.  Example:  c....a....t.  Students move small cubes or teddy bear counters as they say each sound.  Beginners watch the teacher model each word and copy the teacher.  B.  Step Two - Plastic Letters - Students start the spelling process by using plastic letters to make two-sound chunks such as ab, ac, ad, af, and sa, ba, ca, fa.  Next they use the plastic letters to spell short vowel words:  cat, man, wag, lab.  As they develop skill with short vowel words, they begin to substitute letters to create new words:  cat, can, cab, tab, lab, lap, map, man, tan, ran.  Students initially use just one short vowel at a time.  After they have mastered more than one short vowel, then can begin to discriminate the short vowel sound as they spell words:  cat, cot, got, pot, pat, pan, pad, pod, rod, nod.  C. Step Three - Pocket Chart -  After students can spell comfortably with plastic letters, and after they have learned to write enough letters accurately, they can begin spelling words using a pocket chart.  Alphabet cards are place in a pocket chart in alphabetical order.  Students select the cards needed to spell a word and place them from left to right across an empty row to spell the word, saying each sound as the place the card.  The teacher then covers the word and students say the sounds again while writing the word on paper.  Large pocket charts are used with a whole class.  Small pocket charts may be used when working with individual students. D. Step Four - Directly To Paper - Students eventually are able to hear a word, say the separate sounds, and write the letters without using a pocket chart.  
6. Decoding - (Reading words) - A. Step One - Sound Blending - Working from a letter chart, students slide two letter sounds together smoothly to pronounce a "chunk" : ab, ac, ad, af, ag.  These chunks do not have meaning, so we call them "silly sounds."  Then these ending chunks are moved down the chart to produce real words.  Students put the sounds together smoothly to pronounce the words:  cab, dab, gab, lab, nab, tab; bad, cad, dad, fad, had, lad, mad, pad, sad.  B. Step Two - Oral Blending - (The Robot Game) Students hear the teacher say the individual sounds in words, separated by a slight pause: c....a....t.  They must put the sounds together mentally and find the picture that shows the word: cat.  Oral blending exercises are found in the Learning The Alphabet, Exploring Sounds In Words, and Phonemic Awareness books.  They are also built in to the Short Vowels For Beginning Readers and Phonics Patterns For Beginning Readers books.  In these books, students first hear the sounds and find the pictures, then hear the sounds and find the words.  C. Step Three - Decode With Arrows And Pictures ("Sounding out" words) - Students see a word and say the letter sounds from left to right, putting the sounds together smoothly to pronounce the word.  In Short Vowels For Beginning Readers and Phonics Patterns For Beginning Readers the vowels are color-coded.  There are two columns of words.  Arrows are between the sounds in the first column, but not the second column.  Students read the words in the first column and find the matching picture.  Then they read the words in the second column without looking at the pictures.  D.  Step Four - Decode Rhyming (cat, sat, mat) and Body-Coda (sat, sad, sag) Word Lists - Students can practice reading rhyming and body-coda word lists in these books: Color-Coded Short Vowel Words, Short Vowel Words and Pictures, and Color-Coded Phonetic Lists.  This builds fluency in recognizing and decoding words so that students are able to begin reading sentences and stories smoothly and confidently. 
7. Sight Words - (Reading words that are "rule-breakers") - After students have learned how to read a set of phonetic words (see, feel, meet, green) they are introduced to any common words in which that pattern does not represent the expected sound (been).  These words must be learned by sight since they cannot be "sounded out."
8. Reading - Students read sentences, practice stories, or books, depending on their reading level.  Students who are not yet reading listen to stories read aloud by the teacher. Students who are reading should also hear the teacher read aloud daily from a variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc.