 Phonics and Phonemic Awareness: Each letter of
the alphabet (and pairs of letters) makes different
sounds.
 Fluency: Read quickly and accurately.
 Vocabulary: Know and understand the related
words in text.
 Comprehension: Understand, re-tell and refer to
specific parts of text to answer questions.
Sometimes you come across a word that you just do not know. What can you do? Use
these strategies to help you become a SUPER READER!
1. Mark the unknown word
2. Mark any known base words
3. Mark any letter combinations you know (ch, sh, th, ly, re, ing, bi, etc.)
4. Identify and mark the vowel(s) in the word
5. Identify and mark the guardian consonant(s) behind the vowel(s)
6. Apply your phonics rules to figure out if the vowel is a long or short sound
7. Divide your syllables (the sounds you hear)
8. Sound out the syllables and then say the word. Does it sound right?
9. Practice! 

Phonetic Skill #1: When one guardian consonant — and nothing
more — follows the vowel, the vowel will be short.

Phonetic Skill #2: When the vowel is followed by two guardian
consonants and nothing more, the vowel will be short.

Phonetic Skill #3: When a vowel stands alone, it will be long.

Phonetic Skill #4: Silent E makes the first vowel long.

Phonetic Skill #5: When vowels are adjacent, the second
vowel is silent, and the first vowel is long.
These are the sounds you will hear in words.
1. Closed: These syllables end in a consonant. The vowel sound is generally short.
(Examples: rabbit, napkin)
2. Open: These syllables end in a vowel. The vowel sound is generally long.
(Examples: tiger, pilot)
3. R-controlled: When a vowel is followed by r, the letter affects the sound of the
vowel. The vowel and the r appear in the same syllable. (Examples: bird, turtle)
4. Vowel team: Many vowel sounds are spelled with vowel digraphs such as ai, ay, ea,
ee, oa, ow, oo, oi, oy, ou, ie, and ei. The vowel digraphs appear in the same syllable.
(Examples: boat, explain)
5. Vowel-silent e: These generally represent long-vowel sounds. (Examples: compete,
decide)
6. Consonant-le: Usually when le appears at the end of a word and is preceded by a
consonant, the consonant plus le form the final syllable. (Examples: table, little)