Long o : oa, ow

 

                                              Explicit Phonics Lesson

Long ō Spellings: ow and oa

Day 1

          What is the short sound of o? /ŏ/ “O” has another sound that we will be studying this week. That sound is the same as the name of the letter /ō/. The short ŏ sound has one spelling. The long ō has five different spellings. We will be studying the oa spelling  as in boat and the ow spelling as in show. (Write the key words on the board as the spellings are presented.) These spellings with two vowels are called vowel teams. The oa spelling is found at the beginning or in the middle of words. The ow spelling can be used at the end of words as well as at the beginning and in the middle of words.

Phonemic Awareness:

          Listen to these words and tell me if each word has the long ō sound or not. Give me thumbs up if the word has the long ō sound and thumbs down if the word doesn’t have the long ō sound. For example, if the word is map, you would show me thumbs down. If the word is most, you would show me thumbs up. Pronounce these words to have the students indicate if the word has the long /ō/ sound:

out              soak             loan              glow             got              house

blow             own              mouth          bother         holly             show

Decoding:

          Use two colors of markers to write long ō words, one spelling at a time, on the board as the class sounds out and then blends the words as a group. When using the ow and oa spelling write both vowels, say “sound”. Also when pointing to the letters to sound out the words, use 2 fingers and touch each vowel at the same time for the vowel teams.

                   roam            oats             soak            

                   snow            float            coach          

                   goal             throw          groan

          After the words are decoded, briefly discuss meanings of words that may be unfamiliar to the students. Reread the lines of words with the class. Then give clues and have the students tell their buddy which word is the answer. Call on one set of buddies to give and spell the answer. Circle the words on the board as they are given as answers. Clues could be:

1.     To wander here and there…roam

2.    Synonym for toss…throw

3.    A complaining noise…groan

4.    Antonym for sink…float

5.    Plant seeds we eat …oats

6.    To get completely wet…soak

7.    The man who works with a sports team…coach

8.    A target…goal

The last word (snow) is read by a student and used in a sentence. This exercise will give practice in reading words with the long ō sound and will help expand vocabulary at the same time.

Reading Decodable Text:

          Use the decoding practice to practice reading words, phrases, and  sentences. Read the passages to the students, have the class read it chorally, and then have buddy A read to buddy B. Then B will read to A.

                   

Day 2

Review:

          What is the short sound of o? /ŏ/

          What is the long sound of o? /ō/ as in the name of the letter

          What are the two spellings that we have studied for long ō? (ow, oa)

          What is a word that uses ow to spell the long o sound? show

          What is a word that uses oa to spell the long o sound? boat

          Which spelling can be used at the end of a word? ow

Phonemic Awareness:

I am going to give you a word with the long o sound in it. I want you to segment the words into individual sounds. So if I say ”mold” you would give me /m/, /ō/, /l/, /d/

          Pronounce these words to have the students indicate where in the word the long ō sound is heard (the number following the word is the number of phonemes or sounds in the word):

cold (4) /k/, /ō/, /l/, /d/      toast (4) /t/, /ō/, /s/, /t/      

note (3) /n/, /ō/, /t/             goat (4) /g/, /ō/, /t/     

tone (3) /t/, /ō/, /n/             hotel (5) /h/, /ō/, /t/, /e/, /l/

blow (3) /b/, /l/, /ō/            boast (4) /b/, /ō/, /s/, /t/           

most (4) /m/, /ō/, /s/, /t/      crow (3) /k/, /r/, /ō/    

over (3) /ō/, /v/, /er/           coach (3) /k/,  /ō/, /ch/

Decoding:

          Write the following words on the board as the students sound and blend into words (see Day 1. Use buddy strategy for more student engagement.)

          know            coast           boast           roach

          toad             loan              foam            loaf

          flow             blown           own              win dow

                                                         

Use these clues or make up your own (be sure to push the vocabulary factor):

1.     An amphibian (like a frog)…toad

2.    An insect…roach

3.    A place where land meets the ocean…coast

4.    Made of millions of tiny bubbles…foam

5.    To let someone use something that belongs to you…loan

6.    A ____ of bread…loaf

7.    If it belongs to you, you ____ it…own

8.    Synonym for brag…boast

9.    To have an idea in your head…know

10. We have ____up all the balloons…blown

11.  Something water does…flow

Have the student read the last word (window) and use it in a sentence, telling their partner.

Reading Decodable Text:

          Have student Buddies practice reading the ow/oa decoding page again. (You will need at least one copy for each pair of students.)

Day 3

Review:

          Review the 2 spellings of long ō. Have words with these spellings on flashcards (about 8) to quickly practice decoding.

Encoding:              

          Use the dictation procedure.

          1.   /ŏ/ o       /ō/ ow          /ŭ/ u            /ō/ oa /        /ĕ/ e

          2.  boat        goat             coat  

          3.  loan         moan            groan

          4.  flown       blown

          5.   I left my coat on the boat.

Reading Decodable Text:

          Have student Buddies practice reading the ow/oa phrases. (You will need at least one copy for each pair of students.)

Day 4

Review:

What are the two spellings for long o that we have been studying? ow and oa

Have the students give words that have these target spellings. List them on the board with the students’ help in spelling them.

Word Building:

          Using a pocket chart and letter cards or magnetic letter tiles work through these word chains:

mow                       oats                      blow

low                        oat                        blown

show                      goat                      flown

shown                    boat                      flow

thrown                  coat                       slow

throw                    oat                        low

grow                      oad (not a word)    row

row                       toad                      throw

                             load                      thrown

                             road

Reading Decodable Text:

                    Provide students with copies of ow/oa sentences  Have them locate and circle words with the long ō spellings. Then practice reading the sentences with a buddy.

Day 5

Review:

          Review quickly the 2 long ō spellings. Using about 8 word cards, have Buddy A read the first word and tell a sentence using the word to Buddy B. Call on one Buddy A to share their sentence. Then for the next card, Buddy B reads and tells a sentence using the word to Buddy A. Continue until all the word cards have been used.

Encoding:

          Use the dictation procedure:

          1.       /ō/ ow        /ŏ/ o             /ĭ/ i             /ō/oa       /ŭ/ u     

          2.       oats             road             toad

          3.       own              shown          snow  

          4.       snowman       rowboat

          5.       I put on a coat to play in the snow.

Reading Decodable Text:

          Reread ow/oa sentences using the buddy strategy.

Decoding Practice

grow       bowl        show        window      blow float       coat        soap          boat         road

go slow                   

soap and water

my red coat                     

float in a boat

1.           Did Joan show you her coat?

2.         The yellow bowl has corn in it.

3.         The coach told me to go slow.

4.         From the window I saw snow on the road.

5.         Plant the oats so they can grow.

6.         The man will row the boat.

7.         I like to toast marshmallows.

Long ō Phrases

1.   the small toad       10. his red coat

2.  on the road            11. that old goat

3.  a big window          12. go slowly

4.  the flame glows     13. open or closed

5.  open slowly            14. bake a roast

6.  a low blow              15. toast with jam

7. a big load                 16. to the coast

8.  row the boat           17. road work

9. Frog and Toad         18. big black crow

Long ō Sentences

1.            The big black crow sat in the road.

2.          We must go slow in the snow.

3.          The boat will float to the bank of the pond.

4.          There was a goat and a toad in the show.

5.          The truck will tow the car up the road.

6.          My coach had me run slow.

 

7.          He was soaking wet when he came in.

8.          You have grown taller than me.

9.          The wind can moan when it blows.

10.      Put on your coat if you are cold.

11.       The toast was stuck in his throat.

12.      I saw him throw a yellow ball.

13.      We can go to the show and sit on the back row.

14.      That row of corn will grow.