Lesson 5: VC/CVCNew concept: Review -- A, M, S, T -- Keywords: sat, mat, at

Where this sound appears: VC words have a vowel then a consonant (at, am). CVC words have a consonant, then a vowel, then a consonant (sat, mat, tap).

Quick Tip: This is the first lesson using the blending drill word chain! When building words with tiles, your child should say sounds smoothly and stretched -- /sssaaattt/ -- not /s/..../a/..../t/. Connected phonation is the goal.


Step 1: Phonemic Awareness
No letters, no writing. Ears only.

Part A: Blending
"I am going to say some sounds one at a time. Squish them together into a word. Ready?"
mail + box = mailbox
/a/ /m/  -> am

Part B: Segmenting
"Now I will say a word. Break it into its sounds and count them on your fingers. Ready?"
at  -> /a-t/  (2 sounds)
sam  -> /s-a-m/  (3 sounds)

Step 3: Auditory Drill
"I will say a sound and you write the letter as fast as you can. Ready?"
Say: /a/   ->   Write: A
Say: /m/   ->   Write: M
Say: /s/   ->   Write: S
Say: /t/   ->   Write: T
If they write the wrong letter: give the correct answer, have them write it while saying the sound, then move on.

Step 5: Word Building
"I will say a word. Listen for all the sounds, then build it or write it. Then look at it, cover it up, and write it again."
Say: "am"
Say: "at"
Say: "sat"
Say: "mat"
After all words: go back and spot-check any that were spelled incorrectly. Say the sounds out loud together, then have your child try again.

Step 6: New Concept and Letter Formation
The new thing this less was the word building!

Day 2  |  Step 10: Dictated Sentence
"Now I will say a sentence. Listen carefully, then write it down."

"I sat."

"When you are done, let us check it together using CAPS."
C = Capital letter at the start.  |  A = Appearance.  |  P = Punctuation at the end.  |  S = Spelling.