Which phonograms should be in the phonogram folders?
Question:
I just bought two sets of phonogram booklets at our AMI/USA refresher. We love them! I'm wondering if you've ever made "sh" and "ch" and if it would be possible to have those two added to the set? Thoughts?
Answer:
Hooray! I'm glad they're working well for you! We intentionally don't include the sh or ch because the phonogram folders are meant to teach spelling variations, not phonograms. And yes, sh is also spelled with the ti(on) and ci(on) variations. However, those are not in Muriel Dwyer's book and it's not necessary to teach every spelling variation, just enough so we give the child confidence that they can crack the code on the rest.
The folders that are included all include common spelling variations in English, that's why we have a folder for j, s, and e (even though they aren't phonogram).
Here's a list of the folders and the spelling variations included in each one.
|
Folder Key Sound |
Spelling variations |
| ai | ai, a-e, ay, ei |
| au | au, aw |
| e | e, ea |
| ee | ee, ea, e-e, ie, y |
| er | er, ir, ur |
| f | f, ph |
| ie | ie, i-e, igh, y |
| j | j, ge, gi |
| oa | oa, o-e, oe, ow |
| or | or, ore |
| ou | ou, ow |
| oy | oy, oi |
| s | s, ce, ci |
| ue | ue, ew, oo, u-e |
Again, you don't have to worry about teaching every possible pattern of spelling variation in English; that would be an overwhelming task. Instead, we just show the children enough examples to convey that English spelling follows some rules but also requires flexibility and practice. The rest comes with reading and writing experience.
We hope this helps!
