Lesson 35
Short A Review
Reading and spelling CVC, nasalized-A, and consonant-cluster words with short A
This lesson combines the three short A review options from the manual: Lesson 35a is a review of the short A sound in CVC words, Lesson 35b is a review of nasalized A (e.g., am, an), and Lesson 35c is a review of the short A sound in words with consonant clusters. Select whichever combination of activities meets the needs of your students. am: Something tricky happens to this sound when M comes after A. The M makes the A sound kind of whiny like this: am. The whiny am sound is in the names Sam and Pam. an: The same tricky thing happens when N comes after A. The N makes the A sound kind of whiny like this: an. The whiny an sound is in the words fan and tan.
Today's plan
about 15 min- Step 1Warm up our ears (blend & segment)2 min
- Steps 2 & 3Look & Say / Listen & Spell4 min
- Step 4Blending drill3 min
- Step 5New concept + read/spell6 min
Warm Up Our Ears
Say the sounds; students blend them into a word. Then say a word; students break it apart.
Blend it (teacher says sounds → you say word)
Break it (I say word → you say sounds)
Flashcard Drills
Full-screen cards for the class. Tap a card to check the answer, or press Hear the words to hear the example words read aloud.
Blending Drill
Change one part at a time and read the new word.
New Concept
Today we review the short vowel sound /ă/ in all kinds of words — simple CVC words, whiny nasalized am/an words, and longer words with consonant clusters.
Highlighted words are the ones to show and practice reading — tap one to hear it.
This is the letter A. A is a vowel. You know the name of this letter already, 'a'. This is the long vowel sound. Today we are going to read words with the short vowel sound. The short vowel A spells /ă/ like in the beginning of the word . The letter A can come in the middle of a word, such as the words and . The letter A can also come at the beginning of a word, such as the words and . To read longer words with the short vowel /ă/, we still say each sound, sound by sound, such as the word or or .
a /ă/
Short A spells /ă/ like at the beginning of apple. It can come at the beginning of a word (at, as) or in the middle of a word (cat, map).
Nasalized am, an
When you put the /m/ or /n/ sound after an /ă/ sound, it makes it sound a little whiny, like in am and an. You have to remember when you hear that whiny /ă/, /m/ or /n/ is probably right after it.
How our mouth moves
To make the short A /ă/ sound, open your mouth wide like this...(model). Be sure your voice is on. Like all vowels, /ă/ is a continuous sound that can be stretched out (make a continuous hand motion). Watch me /ă/. You try /ă/. When you put the /m/ or /n/ sound after an /ă/ sound, it makes it sound different. Listen (model a nasalized /ă/ — am, an). It sounds a little whiny, doesn't it?
Sound wall
Refer to the /ă/ picture card on the vowel valley. Add grapheme card 'a' if not already displayed.
Open the digital sound wall →