Explicit Phonics Lesson
ai/ay Spellings
Day 1
We have
studied the short vowel sounds: /ă/, /ĕ/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, and /ŭ/. The vowels use
their short sound in words or syllables where they are closed off by a
consonant. (CVC pattern)
This week we are going to study two
ways to spell long ā. These two ways both have two vowels, but only represent
one sound: / ā /. When a and i are
together in a word they say / ā / as in rain.
When a and y come together in a word,
they also represent the sound /ā/ as in hay. (Write the spellings and key words on the
board or display them on cards.) The two ways we are
spelling long ā in words this week are ai as in rain and ay as in hay. ai and ay are vowel teams.
The letters work together to make the long ā sound.
PA
I’m going to
say some words. If you hear long ā in a word I want you to touch your earlobe.
So if I say lane, you would write the
letter a in the air with your finger because it has the long ā sound. If you don’t hear the
long ā, keep your hands in your lap. If
I say tab, you would keep your hands
in your lap because it does not have the long ā sound. Pronounce these
words without letters or words visible. Have
the students indicate if the word has the long /ā/ sound:
tape pass chase late last tart
chair tray stand space bath bathe
Decoding:
Use two colors of markers to write /ā/
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 ai
or ay spellings write both vowels, use 2 fingers and touch each vowel at the
same time for the vowel teams, and say sound.
train brain chain mail
nail say play jail
clay tray sail way
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.
We use this to think brain
2.
Which ____ should we go? way
3.
Metal links that hold up a swing chain
4.
Letters and postcards mail
5.
A type of transportation that runs on rails train
6.
A large flat surface to carry dishes on tray
7.
A place to keep people who break laws jail
8.
A soft, mussy solid used to model into things clay
9.
To talk say
10. A sharp wedge you hit with a
hammer nail
11. The large sheet that catches the
wind on a boat
sail
The last word (play) is read by a student and used in a sentence.
This exercise will give practice in reading words with the long /ā/ sound and will
help expand vocabulary at the same time.
Reading Decodable Text:
Use the decoding practice page to
practice reading long ā words in sentences. Read the passage 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:
Review the spellings of long ā. Give a key word for each spelling.
Phonemic Awareness:
I am going to give you a word with the long /ā/ sound in it. I want
you to segment the words into individual sounds. So if I say ”take” you would
give me /t/, /ā/, /k/. If I asked you
where the long ā sound is in the word, you would tell me that it is in the
middle of the word.
Pronounce these words to have the
students indicate where in the word the long ā sound is heard:
place /p/ /l/ /ā/ /s/
shape /sh/ / ā / /p/
bake /b/
/ā/ /k/ paste /p/ / ā / /s/ /t/
fame /f/
/ā/ /m/ date /d/
/ ā / /t/
age /ā/
/g/ tea
/t/ /ē/
lake
/l/ /ā/ /k/ ape
/ā/ /p/
three /t/
/ā/ /s/ /t/ great /g/
/r/ / ā / /t/
ache /ā/
/ch/ flake /f/
/l//ā/ /k/
Decoding:
Write the following words on the board
as the students sound and blend into words (Use buddy strategy for more student
engagement. See Day 1.)
paid stay hay fail
braid spray today hail
stain gray pay bray
Use these clues or
make up your own (Be sure to push the vocabulary factor):
1.
Opposite of go stay
2.
Weaving hair braid
3.
Ice falling during a thunderstorm hail
4.
Now today
5.
A color gray
6.
Gave money you owe paid
7.
Couldn’t do what you tried to do fail
8.
The noise a donkey makes bray
9.
Dried grass hay
10. Fine mist spray
11. Something you can’t wash out of
your clothes stain
Have
the student read the last word (pay) and use it
in a sentence, telling their partner.
Reading Decodable Text:
Have student Buddies practice reading
the long a phrases (You will need at least one copy for each pair of students.)
Day 3
Review:
Use the long ā card with a_e, ai
and ay to review the 3 spellings that
they have studied for the long ā sound. Have words with these spellings on
flashcards (about 8) to quickly practice decoding.
Word
Building:
Using a pocket chart and letter cards
or magnetic letter tiles work through the word chain:
rain day paid
gain may maid
grain ray raid
train tray braid
trail bray brain
rail bay grain
fail say rain
mail stay pain
nail stray plain
Reading Decodable Text:
Have student Buddies practice rereading
the long a phrases (You will need at least one copy for each pair of students.)
Day 4
Review:
Review quickly the 3 long ā spellings,
and the key words for each. Have the students give words that have these target
spellings. List them on the board with the students’ help to spelling them.
Encoding:
Use the dictation procedure.
1.
/ā/ a_e /ă/ a /ā/ ay /ā/ ai /ŏ/ o
2. main rain rail
3.
way wait trail
4.
railway today
We can wait for
the rain to stop.
Reading Decodable Text:
Provide students with copies of ai/ay sentences.
Have them locate and circle words with the long ā spellings in the words. Then
practice reading the sentences with buddy strategy.
Day 5
Review:
Review quickly the long ā spellings
using the yellow, long ā spelling card. Using six to eight 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. /ī/ i_e /ā/ ay /ĕ/ e /ā/ a_e /ā/ ai
2. pay play clay
3. say stay day
4. payday
player
I will stay and play with clay today.
Reading Decodable Text:
Reread long ā sentences and phrases using the buddy strategy.
Decoding
Practice
rain train brain drain chain
day pay play say stay
|
play
all day
he
may say
wait
for mail
paid
it today
1.
The
gray rain fell all day.
2.
The
player will stay late after the game.
3.
We
will wait for the mail to come.
4.
Dad
may say we can go today.
5.
May
will play with clay to make a chain.
6.
Do
you use your brain to think?
7.
The
train will stay on the rails .
8.
The
rain may stop so we can play a game of ball.
ai/ay Phrases
1. the
sun’s rays
2. like to
play
3. eat the
hay
4. stay
away
5. plain
gray
6. down the
drain
7. cut the
chain
8. may go
away
9. pay your
way
10. a gray
brain
11. mail it today
12. hit the nail
13. stay on the trail
14. say we may
15. rain all day
16. on the train
17. train your brain
18. a long way
19. don’t
fail
20. nail it
up
ai/ay Sentences
1.
The railway train will not fail to be on time.
2.
Did the clay block the drain?
3.
I will stay late to pay today.
4.
The player will wait for the rain to stop.
5.
He put
the mail on the gray table.
6.
The cows ate all of the bale of hay .
7.
Can you train your brain to stay on task?
8.
Don’t fail to hit the nail with the hammer.
9.
We won’t fail to pay the bill today.
10.
The
rays of the sun will dry the gray clay.
11.
I
say we stay and wait for the rain go away.
12.
The
man will stay on the trail all day.
13.
Nail
up the chain to make a tree swing.
14.
You
should pay your way as you go .
15.
He
was in pain because he stepped on a nail.
