There are four- r controlled vowels that are important to teach to students learning the phonograms we read and write. ir, ur, er and ear. ear has the er sound when it is followed by a consonant other wise it will say ear. make a list of words where ear say ear as in early, earth, etc. Many students get confused when to sound out r-controlled vowels. This will help clarify confusion with the r-controlled vowels. Parents and teachers make up word games for students to discover the many uses of the r-controlled vowel. This knowledge can clarify spelling for students in the upper grades. Have fun with the er's

Phonemic awareness in elementary school

It is important to remember that phonemic awareness continues in elementary school past second grade. Teaching the structure of the language through the instruction of letter sounds will create great readers and writers. Spelling will no longer be inventive but rooted in knowledge of the sounds for the English language. I am a second grade teacher. In the classroom we talk about the sound as we read and spell. Try incorporating phonemic awareness whenever you can throughout the literature block of time. Call attention to students knowledge of long and short vowels, consonants and the spelling rules associated with long vowels (the silent e-rule) My tip for the day is to call attention to the long vowel sounds that are formed with more than one letter. For example, igh=i, eigh=a, ey =a. Parents can play car games asking how many words can you think of with the long vowel sounds listed. Teachers incorporate this into guided reading discussion. Do not limit phonemic awareness to ten minutes and move on. incorporate phonemic awareness into the literary experience where students are thinking about their reading on a higher level and analyze the structure of the words they read.

Break The Code for Reading

It is important for the teacher to know and understand the criteria when teaching students to read. For the teacher alone to know it is not sufficient. Students must understand and know what the criteria is and what the teacher expects of them. It is important to know how to demonstrate satisfactory completion of the requirements to become a proficient reader and perform in an excellent way. Whatever the level of the student or the content of the lesson the student should always be able to expect that there will not be any hidden rules. Learning the phonograms is important for teachers and students. Learning the letter sounds we read and write is an important step in become literate and becoming a good reader.  Dr. Levette Thomas