Fundations
Reference
Notebook
2
Table of Contents
Sounds
Consonants
Consonants Digraphs, Blends & Trigraphs
Short Vowels in Closed Syllables
Schwa
Glued Sounds
Long Vowels in Vowel-Consonant-e Syllables
Jobs of Silent e
Vowels in Open Syllables
Vowels in R-Controlled Syllables
Vowel Digraphs/ Diphthongs in Double Vowel Syllables
Additional Sounds
Spelling Options for Sounds
Spelling Option Procedure
4
5
6
7
7
8
8
9
10
10
11
12
13-14
14
Syllables
The Rules of Syllable Division
Closed Syllable & Exception
Vowel-Consonant-e Syllable & Exception
Open Syllable & Exception
Consonant-le Syllable & Exception
R-Controlled Syllable & Exception
Vowel Digraph/Diphthong “D” Syllable & Exception
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Spelling Rules / Generalizaations
The Bonus Letter Rule for ll, ss, ff and sometimes zz
Contractions
Reasons to Double Consonants
Plurals
Suffix Endings
Ways to spell /k/
Spelling Generalization: dge, tch
Spelling Generalization: oi, oy
Spelling Generalization: ow, ou
The Silent e and Suffix Rule
The 1:1:1 Doubling Rule Part 1
The 1:1:1 Doubling Rule Part 2
The y and Suffix Rule
23
24
24
25
26
27
28
28
29
29
30
31
32
33
3
Sounds
4
Consonants – Keyword – Sound
b
bat
/b/
c
cat
/k/
d
dog
/d/
f
fun
/f/
g
game
/g/
h
hat
/h/
j
jug
/j/
k
kite
/k/
l
lamp
/l/
m
man
/m/
n
nut
/n/
p
pan
/p/
qu
queen
/kw/
r
rat
/r/
s
snake
/s/
s
bugs
/z/
s
wise
/z/
t
top
/t/
v
van
/v/
w
wind
/w/
x
fox
/ks/
y
yellow
/y/
z
zebra
/z/
* q is called the “chicken letter” because it goes no where without u
5
Consonants
Digraph – contains two consonants and only makes one sound as in /sh/.
 wh is only found at the beginning of words
 ck is found only at the end of words
Digraphs – Keywords – Sounds
sh
ship
/sh/
ck
sock
/k/
ch
chin
/ch/
ch
chorus
/k/
th
thumb
/th/
wh
whistle
/w/
ph
phone
/f/
Blend – contains two or more consonants together each making its own sound such
as /s/ and /l/, /sl/
Digraph blends – contains a digraph blended with another consonant such as n
and ch in the word lunch or sh and r in the word shred.
Trigraph – three letters that stay together to make one sound such as dge (/j/) in
fudge or tch (/ch/) in stitch.
6
Short Vowels – Keywords – Sounds
a
apple
/ǎ/
e
Ed
/ĕ/
i
itch
/ĭ/
o
octopus
/ŏ/
u
up
/ŭ/
y
gym
/ĭ/
ə
wagon
/ə/
Schwa – when a vowel has an unexpected sound.
 In words with unaccented closed syllables, the unaccented vowel sound
might be spelled with any vowel.
 In words with unaccented closed syllables ending in n, the schwa is usually
spelled with an o or an e.
 In words with unaccented closed syllables ending in /ĭt/, the schwa is usually
spelled with an et.
7
“Glued” Sounds – are letters that keep their individual sound, but that are glued
together.
Glued Sound – keyword – sound
all
ball
/ól/
an
fan
/an/
* m and n are nasal sounds they change the sound of a
am
ham
/am/
* m and n are nasal sounds they change the sound of a
ang
fang
/ang/
ing
ring
/ing/
ong
song
/ong/
ung
lung
/ung/
ank
bank
/ank/
ink
pink
/ink/
onk
honk
/onk/
unk
junk
/unk/
Vowel-Consonant-e – Keyword – Sound
a
safe
/ā/
e
Pete
/ē/
i
pine
/ī/
o
home
/ō/
u
mule
/ū/
rule
/ü/
type
/ī/
y
8
Jobs of Silent e
Note: “E is the busiest letter in the alphabet. It constantly volunteers to help out
and often keeps it’s mouth closed while it works.”
1. Vowel – Consonant – e words
 The e can jump over one sound to change the vowel from a short sound to a
long sound.
2. End a word, following the letter v
 V refuses to be at the end of a word so e volunteers to help out.
3. The vowel in a consonant-le syllable
 Every syllable needs a vowel so e just sits there being the vowel.
4. Change letters g and c to soft sound
5. To distinguish from a plural (e.g. please)
9
Open Vowels – Keywords – Sounds
a
acorn
/ā/
Alaska
/ə/
e
me
/ē/
i
hi
/ī/
compliment
/ə/ or /ĭ/
champion
/ē/
o
no
/ō/
u
pupil
/ū/
flu
/ü/
cry
/ī/
*y at the end of a one syllable word makes the /ī/ sound
baby
/ē/
*y at the end of a two syllable word makes the /ē/ sound
y
R-Controlled Vowels – Keywords – Sounds
ar
car
/ar/
beggar
/ər/
warn
/or/
horn
/or/
doctor
/ər/
worm
/ər/
er
her
/ər/
ir
bird
/ər/
ur
burn
/ər/
or
10
Vowel Teams – Keywords – Sounds
ai
bait
/ā/
ou
soup
/ü/
ay
play
/ā/
ui
suit
/ü/
eigh
eight
/ā/
ue
blue
/ü/
ei
vein
/ā/
ew
grew
/ü/
ea
steak
/ā/
oo
school
/ü/
eu
deuce
/ü/
ee
jeep
/ē/
ey
key
/ē/
ue
cue
/ū/
ie
piece
/ē/
ew
few
/ū/
ei
ceiling
/ē/
eu
feud
/ū/
ea
eat
/ē/
oo
book
/ů/
oi
coin
/oi/
ea
bread
/ĕ/
igh
light
/ī/
oy
boy
/oi/
oa
boat
/ō/
au
autumn
/ó/
oe
toe
/ō/
aw
saw
/ó/
ow
snow
/ō/
ow
plow
/ou/
ou
trout
/ou/
11
Additional Sounds – Keywords – Sounds
tion
vacation
/shŭn/
sion
mansion
/shŭn/
television
/zhŭn/
gh
ghost
/g/
gn
gnat
/n/
kn
knife
/n/
mb
lamb
/m/
mn
column
/m/
rh
rhyme
/r/
wr
wrist
/r/
que
clique
/k/
ti
patient
/sh/
ci
social
/sh/
tu
spatula
/chü/
ture
capture
/chər/
12
Spelling Options for Sounds
/w/
→
w
wh
/z/
→
z
s
/ŭ/
→
u
a
/ĭ/
→
i
y
/t/
→
t
ed
/s/
→
s
c followed by e, i , or y
/d/
→
d
ed
/j/
→
j
dge
/f/
→
f
ph
/k/
→
c
k
ck
ch
/ch/
→
ch
tch
tu
ture
tion
sion
au
a
/shŭn/ →
/oi/
→
oi
oy
/ó/
→
all
aw
/ou/
→
ow
ou
/ĕ/
→
e
ea
/y/
→
y
i
/g/
→
g
gh
/r/
→
r
wr
schwa
g followed by e, i, or y
que
rh
13
Spelling Options for Sounds continued…
/n/
→
n
kn
gn
/m/
→
m
mb
mn
/or/
→
or
ar
/sh/
→
sh
ti
ci
/er/
→
er
ir
ur
ar
or
/ā/
→
a-e
a
ai
ay
ea
ei
eigh
/ē/
→
e-e
e
y
ee
ey
ea
i
ie
/ī/
→
i-e
i
y
y-e
igh
/ō/
→
o-e
o
oa
oe
ow
/ū/
→
u-e
u
ue
eu
ew
/ü/
→
u-e
u
ue
ou
oo
eu
ew
ui
ei
Spelling Option Procedure
 Dictate a word and have students echo and tap the sounds. (ex. first)
 Write the word on the board, leaving a box for the questionable sound. Then
write the spelling options for the word next to it or underneath it. (spelling
options ex. ferst, first or furst)
 Ask if they recognize the correct spelling of the word.
 Indicate that if they do not recognize the correct spelling, they can use a
dictionary to look up the word.
 Say the correct spelling and fill in the box.
14
Syllables
15
Syllables
A syllable is a word or part of a word made by one push of breath.
A syllable must have one vowel.
The Rules of Syllable Division
 In order to divide compound words into syllables, we simply divide between
the two words (hand bag, chest nut)
 Divide between two consonants (hap pen, gob lin)
 Do not split-up digraphs (rock et, eth nic)
 When there is only one consonant between two vowels, that consonant is
often needed to close in the first syllable. (rel ish, ton ic)
 Blend stays together in second syllable (mat tress, hun dred)
 Usually if there is only one consonant between the two vowels in a word, the
first syllable will remain open. If this doesn’t work then the student needs to
try the word with the first syllable being closed.
 When the first syllable in a word is r-controlled, it is usually divided after
the r.
 With 3 consonants between two vowels, including a digraph, the digraph
stays together. Also if there is only a digraph between the two vowels, keep
it together to close in the first syllable.
 In a word with 3 consonants between 2 vowels and no digraph, almost
always, two of the consonants go to the second syllable.
16
Closed Syllable
 This syllable can only have one vowel
 The vowel is followed by one or more consonants (closed in)
 The vowel sound is short, marked with a breve. (˘)
Samples of marking up closed syllables:
cǎt
c
shrĕd
c
trĭp
c
Closed Syllable Exceptions
 These syllables follow a similar pattern to closed syllables, but have a long
vowel sound instead of the expected short vowel sound.
 There are five exceptions to the closed syllables – old, ild, ind, old, ost.
Note: These word families are not always closed exceptions. For example
lost follows the rule of the closed syllable and therefore is not an exception.
Samples of marking up closed syllable exceptions:
gōld
c
wīld
c
kīnd
c
17
Vowel–Consonant–e Syllable
 This syllable has a vowel, then a consonant, then an e.
 The first vowel is long. To indicate the long sound, the vowel is marked
with a macron. (¯)
 The e is silent.
Samples of marking up vowel-consonant-e syllables:
hōpe
v-e
gāte
v-e
līke
v-e
Vowel-Consonant-e Syllable Exceptions
 The letter v
 Sometimes a word has a vowel, a v, then an e. The e may make the vowel
long (five), or it may be there because English words do not end in a v. The
vowel sound may be short (olive).
Samples of marking up vowel-consonant-e syllable exceptions:
lĭve
v-e
Other:
hǎve
v-e
gĭve
v-e
ace
palace
/ĭs/
age
damage
/ĭg/
ate
pirate
/ ĭt/
ite
favorite
/ĭt/
ine
engine
/ĭn/
ice
notice
/ĭs/
ile
fertile
/ĭl/
18
Open Syllable
 This syllable has only one vowel which is the last letter in the syllable
 The vowel sound is long. To indicate the long sound, the vowel is marked
with a macron. (¯)
Samples of marking up open syllables:
hī
o
nō
o
shē
o
Y as a vowel – Y often works as a vowel in open syllables, saying /ī/ at the end of
one syllable words (cry) and says /ē/ at the end of multisyllabic words (baby)
Open Syllable Exceptions
 a – says /ə/ in an unstressed open syllable (often the first or last syllable in a
word) e.g. Alaska, Tampa, kabob
 i – says /ə/ in an unstressed, open syllable (often the middle syllable in a
word) Sometimes this i sounds like a short i /ĭ/ e.g. compliment, indicate
Samples of marking up open syllable exceptions:
ə
a lōne
o v-e
ə
Tǎm pa
c
o
ə
ka bŏb
o c
19
Consonant-le Syllable
 This syllable has only three letters: a consonant, an l, and an e.
 The e is silent. It is a vowel. Every syllable needs at least one vowel. The
consonant and the l are sounded like a blend.
 This syllable is always the last syllable in a multisyllabic word.
Samples of marking up consonant-le syllables:
tā ble
o -le
lĭt tle
c -le
rī fle
o -le
Consonant-le Syllable Exception
 In words ending with –stle, both the t and the e are silent.
Samples of marking up consonant-le syllable exceptions:
cǎs tle
c -le
whĭs tle
c -le
20
R-Controlled Syllable
 This syllable contains a single vowel followed by an r (ar, er, ir, or, ur)
 The vowel is neither long nor short; it is controlled by the r.
Samples of marking up r-controlled syllables:
car pĕt
r c
hor nĕt
r c
rē sort
o r
R-Controlled Syllable Exceptions
 A vowel followed by a double r is often short. e.g. hurry
 Para says /pǎr ə/
 ar – followed by another vowel, the first a can be short /ǎ/ as in arid or say
/ə/ as in arise
 or and ar in a final unstressed syllable say /ər/
 ard – lizard /ərd/ in an unstressed syllable
 ward – suffix says /wərd/
 war – wart /wor/
 wor – worm /wər/
Samples of marking up r-controlled syllables exceptions:
ter ry
r o
trǎc tor
c r
lĭz ard
c r
21
Vowel Digraph/Diphthong – The “D” Syllable
 This syllable contains a vowel digraph or diphthong.
Vowel Digraph: Two vowels together that represent one sound. (e.g. ee)
Diphthong: A sound that begins with one vowel sound and glides
into another (e.g. oi)
Samples of marking up “D” syllables:
plain
d
toe
d
dĭs play
c d
“D” Syllable Exceptions:
 Two vowels together are not always a vowel digraph or diphthong.
Sometimes they are divided for syllabication.
Samples of marking up “D” syllable exceptions:
vī ō lĭn
oo c
d
mō sā ĭc
o o c
d
crē āte
o v-e
d
22
Spelling Rules
and
Generalizations
23
The Bonus Letter Rule for ll, ss, and ff
If a one syllable word ends in a vowel immediately followed by the consonant l, s,
or f, double that consonant.
e.g.
ll
ss
ff
hill
miss
puff
fell
lass
whiff
mull
kiss
buff
fill
chess
off
*The letter a followed by double l does not have the expected short vowel sound.
e.g.
all
ball
call
tall
mall
hall
*The letter z is doubled in words like fuzz, buzz, fizz, razz, and jazz.
Contractions
Contractions are formed by combining two words together, omitting one or more
letters. A letter or letters are dropped from the second word. The omitted letters
are replaced by an apostrophe (’).
e.g.
he is
he’s
we would
we’d
he will
he’ll
they have
they’ve
Do not, when contracted, is spelled don’t and is pronounced /dōnt/.
Will not is an irregular contraction. Combined, it is spelled won’t and is
pronounced /wōnt/.
24
Reasons to Double Consonants
1. “Bonus” Letter Rule
2. To retain short vowel sound in first syllable.
e.g.
rabbit
traffic
bunny
lobby
bubble
carrot
3. When adding a suffix with the same last letter of word or suffix to which it
attaches.
e.g.
thinness
helpfully
4. Doubling Spelling Rule
e.g.
hopping
skipped
outfitted
beginner
5. When adding a prefix to a word with a prefix ending with the same letter that
begins the word.
e.g.
misspell
disservice
unnerve
6. Chameleon Prefixes
e.g.
accent
addict
Note: The consonants h, j, k, v, w, x, y do not double in English words
25
Plurals
 Most nouns: add s
e.g.
bugs
ships
 Nouns ending in s, x, z, ch, and sh: add es
e.g.
inches
boxes
 Nouns ending in y, if y is part of a “D” syllable: just add s
e.g.
donkeys
boys
 Nouns ending in y, after a consonant: change y to i and add es
e.g.
baby – babies
company – companies
 Irregular or Exceptions (taught as sight words)
 fe, f: change to v, add es
e.g. shelf – shelves
 some words ending in o: add es rather than s
 irregular (must be memorized)
e.g. veto – vetoes
e.g. foot – feet
26
Suffix Endings
Baseword: A word that can stand alone as a word or have something added to it.
Suffix: An ending that can be added to a baseword. There are two kinds of
suffixes: a vowel suffix (begins with a vowel) and a consonant suffix (begins with
a consonant).
Vowel Suffixes
ed
age
ize
ing
ate
ary
ive
ic
ery
able
al
ory
en
ible
ent
er
ous
ence
es
ist
ant
ish
ity
y
Consonant Suffixes
s
ful
less
ness
ly
ty
ment
tion
sion
ward
27
Ways to Spell /k/
c (cat)
k (kite)
ck (sock) after a short vowel
c; cat
ank, ink, onk, unk
ck; sock
cr, cl; crash, clash
lk, sk; milk, task
ckle; tackle
ic; public
ke; bike
ct; subject
ke /k/ Ken
ki /k/ kite
ky /k/ Kyle
r-controlled /k/ smirk
ch (chorus)
que (clique)
Spelling Generalizations: dge, tch
At the end of a word or syllable, the sounds /j/ and /ch/ need an extra supportive
letter when they follow a short vowel .
/j/ = dge
/ch/ = tch
wedge
match
lodge
witch
fudge
hutch
badge
fetch
28
Spelling Generalization: oi, oy
oi – is used at the beginning
or middle of a word
oy – is used at the end of a word
e.g.
e.g.
boil
employ
broil
boy
spoil
enjoy
ointment
Spelling Generalizations: ou, ow
ou – is used at the beginning
and middle of a word
ow – is used if followed by a
single n, l, er, el
– is used at the end of a word
e.g.
e.g.
out
town
stout
growl
our
tower
ground
towel
cow
29
The Silent e and Suffix Rule
When adding a vowel suffix to a baseword ending in e, drop the e.
e.g.
glide + ing = gliding
dance + er = dancer
live + ing = living
juggle + ing = juggling
When adding a consonant suffix to a baseword ending in e, just add the suffix.
e.g.
like + ly = likely
settle + ment = settlement
life + less = lifeless
If a baseword ends in ce or ge, do not drop the e when adding a vowel suffix.
Dropping the e would change the c or g to a hard sound.
e.g.
outrage + ous = outrageous
trace + able = traceable
30
The 1:1:1 Doubling Rule Part 1
Doubling words = Closed or R-Controlled words with 1 syllable: 1 vowel: 1
consonant after the vowel
doubling words
e.g.
non-doubling words
bar
bark
cup
lift
stir
show
flat
play
strap
graph
When adding a vowel suffix to a 1:1:1 “doubling” baseword, double the final
consonant.
e.g.
cup + ed = cupped
ship + ing = shipping
flat + est = flattest
When adding a consonant suffix to a 1:1:1 “doubling” baseword, just add the
suffix.
e.g.
cup + ful = cupful
ship + ment = shipment
flat + ly = flatly
Note: The consonants h, j, k, v, w, x, y, and z do not double in English words.
31
The 1:1:1 Doubling Rule Part 2
In a multisyllabic word that ends in a stressed syllable that is r-controlled or
closed, with one consonant following the vowel.
When adding a vowel suffix, double the final consonant.
e.g.
commit + ed = committed
admit + ing = admitting
prefer + ed = preferred
When adding a consonant suffix, just add the suffix.
e.g.
commit + ment = commitment
defer + ment = deferment
Note: Words ending in ic; add k rather than doubling the c to add suffix (this helps
to retain the /k/ sound.)
e.g.
panic + ed = panicked
picnic + ing = picnicking
32
The y and Suffix Rule
If y is a part of a diphthong or vowel digraph (“D” syllable), just add suffix.
e.g.
play + ed = played
play + ful = playful
volley + ing = volleying
employ + ment = employment
If y follows a consonant, change the y to i when adding any suffix (y in an open
syllable). The i retains the original sound of the y.
e.g.
cry + ed = cried
cry + s = cries
dirty + est = dirtiest
lonely + ness = loneliness
Exception: When the suffix begins with i, do not change the y to i, just add the
suffix.
e.g.
baby + ish = babyish
33