Preparation and Materials for Teaching Reading

The student should have some necessary supplies, such as:

1.    Notebook and paper, suitable for the student’s grade level;

2.    A #2 pencil and an eraser for copying the Reading, Spelling, and written composition exercises.

3.    A penmanship workbook .  I highly recommend Zaner-Bloser.

The teacher or tutor will need the following supplies:

1.    Blank index cards (size 4”X6”);

2.    Sharpie pen or magic marker;

3.    Regular ink pen;

4.    Blackboard or dry-erase board with eraser, or notebook paper to show your student the Reading and Spelling exercises he needs to copy from you.

THE INDEX CARDS

With Letter and Sounds

a-		ate     at				l-   like     ball
e-		eat     echo				m-   man   mom
i-		idle     Indian				n-     nap      pan
o-		Omaha   off				p-     pen     pop
u-		unit   under
						q-     quilt   aqua
b-		bat     Bob				r-     run     car
c-		cat     car				s-      sit      yes
d-		dad    did				t-      bat     top
f-		fan     if				v-     van    Vicki
g-		go      bag				w-    web    cow
h-		hot     ham				x-     Max   ax y-     yes     baby z-      zip     buzz
	j-		jam   Jack
	k-		kit duck

Begin your instruction by making flash cards (using purchased 4 x 6 index cards) beginning with the five vowels a, e, i, o, u.  There is a good reason that this is the best approach that I'll explain, later.  

           On the first card, write on the front with the Sharpie or magic marker, a large capital A, and beside it, a large lowercase a.  Turn the card over, and write the words in pen, the long sound of a, (ate), and the short sound of a, (at).  These words are for your pronunciation, not for the student's.  Then make the E card writing a large capital E and a large lower-case e with your Sharpie on the front.  On the back side write in

pen the long sound of e with the word eat, and the short sound of e

writing the word echo. 

Flash Cards

A          a (FRONT)

ate    at    (BACK)

E         e (FRONT)

eat     echo   (BACK)

Go through the rest of the vowels the same as with the A and E cards. Write the capitals and lowercase on the front and the key words for the long and short sounds of those vowels on the back.  You will want to teach these first, so keep them separate from the rest of the cards.

Next, do the consonant letters in the same way you wrote out the vowels, using the key words, shown on the index cards letter/sounds page, for your pronunciation. 

Teach the Vowels First

Begin teaching the long and short sounds of the five vowels  (a, e, i, o, u) first, using the flash cards showing the front of the card with the letter toward the student.  You can see the two words you wrote on

the back in ink, the long vowel word and the short vowel word of each. 

Tell the student there are five vowels in the alphabet and each one has a short sound and a long sound; the long sound will say its name:

a, e, i, o, and u.     

          Start with the sounds of a. Tell him the two sounds of the vowel a are long and short.  You make the sound of the long  a as in ate, and then make the short sound of  a as in at.  Don’t tell him the words on the back of the flash card.  Just use the sounds you have written for the  a.

Repeat its sound.  Ask the student to repeat the long and short sounds of a, by showing the flash card. 

When learning these sounds, use the flash cards and have the student write the letter and sounds on paper, as you give them out.  One at a time, lowercase only for now. Demonstrate how each letter is formed if he has never before written any letters. Have the student write a row of each letter across the paper, and sound out each of them.   Use lined paper.  When children are learning the short and long sounds of each vowel, explain that a straight mark over the vowel means it is a long a.  A curved mark means it is short.

First, show the flash card with the a (sounds like ay).  Don't give out the key words written on the back unless the student is not pronouncing the sounds correctly.   These words are mainly for the parent or tutor, as so many have never learned Phonics themselves!

Begin each lesson by having the student make an entire row of the letter a on the paper.  Be sure to check for accuracy.  As the student writes each a, he will say the two sounds, adding the long mar

Don't go on to the letter e until you're sure the student knows both the long and short sounds of the letter a, and writes the letters well.  This may take only one day, or may take several days.  Check for accuracy before moving on, and be sure to review the card as often as necessary.  Now you can move on to the letter e.

Then i.

First, go over the flash card with the student.   Tell him the sounds that the letter e makes. Have him write the e, just like the letter a, with you saying the long and short e sounds.  As the student makes the sounds of the letter, have him write each one across the page, adding its correct mark to match its sound. When the student is proficient, then you’re ready for the letter i.

Then the letter o; then the letter u. 

Review each of the vowels until the student has achieved proficiency.  Now the student is ready to learn the consonants in the same way as the vowels- one sound at a time, using the key words from the list you wrote on the back of each card.