-ng and -nk - Answers

Last week our Phonics Investigation challenge related to the ending blends -ng and -nk.  Here were the challenge questions:

1. How many pairs of words like BANG and BANK can you find?  The first word should end with the -NG blend and the second word should sound exactly the same, but with an additional K sound.  The second word will be spelled with the -NgK blend.
2. The -ng and -nk blends are used after every vowel ... except one!  Can you figure out which one isn't combined with the -ng and -nk blends?
3. Can you think of any other occasions where a letter is pronounced even though it isn't written?

Here are some answers:

1. Some possible examples are: sang/sank, sing/sink, 
2. So far as I know, the -ng and -nk blends are not used after the vowel -e.  Or, put another way, we definitely have examples of those blends being used after the vowels -a, -i, -o and -u and have not been able to come up with any examples of it being used after an -e ... except perhaps the word "England" ... which may not "count" since it really sounds more like "Ingland".
3. We still couldn't!  Can you?  It's not too late to contribute!!

Phonics Investigation Challenge #4: -ng & -nk

This week's phonics fun fact is pretty simple!  Here we go!

When fireworks explode, they make a big sound; they say

BANG

Now, say that word again, but add a K to the end:

BANG-K

Does that sound like a word you know?  Maybe like this word:

BANK

Sure it does.  Because the ending blend -nk is really and truly pronounced as if it were spelled -ngk!  The word BANK has every single sound you hear in BANG ... plus the K!  Think of it like this:

-NgK

Sometimes we have a letter that is written but not pronounced (a "silent" letter).  However, in this case, we have a letter that is pronounced, even though it isn't written!

So, here is your challenge for the week:

1. How many pairs of words like BANG and BANK can you find?  The first word should end with the -NG blend and the second word should sound exactly the same, but with an additional K sound.  The second word will be spelled with the -NgK blend.
2. The -ng and -nk blends are used after every vowel ... except one!  Can you figure out which one isn't combined with the -ng and -nk blends?
3. Can you think of any other occasions where a letter is pronounced even though it isn't written?

As usual, keep an eye out for this interesting phonics feature as you read this week.  And be sure to share what you find in the comments below!!

Why C is My Favorite Letter - Answers

Here are the challenge questions we were investigating this week:

1. Can you find examples of c making a team with a k and examples of c making a team with s?
2. Can you find other examples of words with a double c in which each c is making a different sound?
3. Can you think of any other example in English of the same consonant repeated twice in a row (a "double consonant") where each of the letters makes a different sound?  (Note: There may not be an answer to this challenge, but if there is, I would be fascinated to know!!)

Answers:

1. Many possibilities, such as "clock" or "scent".
2. Many possibilities, such as "success".
3. We have not yet been able to come up with any answers to this question, but it isn't too late!  If you come across anything, please let us know!

Phonics Investigation #3: Why C is My Favorite Letter!

The letter c can be a very tricky letter for little learners.  With many consonants in English, the name of the letter gives a good clue as to how to pronounce it.  t is called "tee" and says /t/.  b is called "bee" and is pronounced /b/.  But c is pronounced "see" and yet it often says /k/.  Except when it says /s/!  I have read that the two letters that can be completely omitted from the English alphabet are the letter c (which could be replaced by either s or k, depending on the sound needed) and q, which could be replaced by kw.

As fascinating as it is to contemplate two letters that do not make any unique sounds, I would be very sorry to lose the letter c, because it is my favorite letter in the whole alphabet.  Let me take you on a journey all about the fascinating properties of the letter c!



Sometimes we use two consonants together to make what we call a "blend", like this ...

snap
play and
twin

The letter c can be a part of some of these combinations, like ...

scat and
crow

However, when we see double consonants (the same letter repeated twice), we pronounce them as one sound, like in the words ...

buzz
fill and
glass

The same is true of the letter c in words like this ...

account

We might be inclined to describe this by saying that when the same letter is repeated, it counts as one sound.  But a more accurate description would be to say that when the same sound is repeated, we count it as one sound!  Check out this word ...

duck

Both the c and the k say /k/ and so they are counted as one sound: /k/!  But hold onto your hat because this is where it gets really fun.  You may have noticed that there is a pattern to when a c will make the /s/ sound.  Generally, c says /s/ when it is followed by an e, i or y, as in the words:

ccertain
city and
cycle

So, c can pair with k to make a single sound (like in "duck") but c can also pair with "s" to make a single sound, like in the words ...

scene
science and
scissors

So c can be a double letter making a /k/ sound, or it can partner with either k or s to make a single sound.  But here, by far, is my favorite phenomena.  Sometimes, two c's can appear side-by-side ... and yet the are not working as a team to make the same sound!!  Check out this word ...

access

The first c makes a /k/ sound because it is not followed by an e, i or y (it is followed by another c!).  But the second c is followed by an e, so it makes an /s/ sound!  I am willing to be corrected, but I cannot think of any other English consonant which can be written as a double letter ... and the letters do not work as a team to make a single sound!!

So, here is the challenge for the week:

1. Can you find examples of c making a team with a k and examples of c making a team with s?
2. Can you find other examples of words with a double c in which each c is making a different sound?
3. Can you think of any other example in English of the same consonant repeated twice in a row (a "double consonant") where each of the letters makes a different sound?  (Note: There may not be an answer to this challenge, but if there is, I would be fascinated to know!!)

-s and -ed Phonics Investigation - Answers!

Last week we talked about the different sounds that are made by the endings -s and -ed when they are added onto a base word.  The challenge has come to and end and it's time for answers and shout-outs!

Last week's challenge questions:

1. Can you figure out what the relationship between the /s/ and /z/ sounds of the -s or the /t/ and /d/ sounds of the -ed is?
2. Can you notice any patterns in the base word (the word that you add endings to) that will give you an idea about whether the -s will say /s/ or /z/ or whether the -ed will say /ed/, /t/ or /d/?
3. Bonus: One of these endings is more complicated to pronounce today than it was a hundred or two hundred years ago.  Do you know which one and how it has changed?

Answers:

1. /s/ is the unvoiced version of /z/ and /t/ is the unvoiced version of /d/.
2. The sound that -s or -ed make when added on to a base word depend on whether the base word ends with a voiced or an unvoiced sound.  For example...
   
   "cat" ends with an unvoiced sound (/t/) and so the -s added to the end makes an unvoiced sound (/s/) also, whereas "dog" ends with a voiced sound (/g/) so the -s also makes a voiced sound (/z/)
   
   "stay" ends with a voiced sound (/ā/ - vowels are always voiced) so when you add -ed it also makes a voiced sound (/d/).  "pack" ends with an unvoiced sound (/k/) so the -ed also makes an unvoiced sound (/t/).  Words that end with a /t/ or /d/ sound, however, cannot be pronounced by adding on an additional /t/ or /d/ sound, so instead an extra syllable is added, as in the word "braided".
3. It used to be the case that the -ed ending was always pronounced as an extra syllable.  If you sing old hymns or listen to someone reading the Psalms, for example, you may observe one word that is still mid-transition in our language: blessed.  Some people pronounce it "bless-ed" and some people pronounce it "blest"!

This week's shout-out goes to my daughter, Ruth!  The entirety of #2 above was something she discovered completely independently!  We had already learned that base words that end in -t or -d cause the -ed to make it's own syllable.  But we wanted to investigate if there was anything about the base word that would predict whether the -ed would say /t/ or /d/ in other situations.

As we read through our chapter of the Bible, we made a chart of all of the -ed words we came across and whether the -ed ending made an /ed/, /t/ or /d/.  When we were done, Ruth eagerly pointed out that all of the /t/ words were unvoiced at the end of the base word, while all of the /d/ words were voiced!  We called this "Ruth's Theory" and continued to "test" it as we read.  We haven't found anything to disprove it yet.  Can you?

Phonics Investigation Challenge #2: -s and -ed

Welcome to this week's Phonics Investigation Challenge!  If you explore this challenge with your kiddos this week, be sure to leave a comment below so that we can include you in the shout-out next week!  You can watch the Scope below or read the text that follows.


Last week we explored the difference between voiced and unvoiced sounds.  This week we are going to expand on that concept by looking at two endings we sometimes add to words: -s and -ed.  We add an -s to nouns (naming words) so that they can name more than one (one cat, two cats).  We add an -s to verbs (action words) so that they can match with the subject of the sentence (We see.  Bill sees.)  We add an -ed to the end of action verbs so that they can tell about something that happened in the past.

But have you ever noticed that these sounds aren't always pronounced the same?  Say these two words out loud and think about the sound of the -s at the end.

cats
dogs

Sometimes the -s says /s/ and sometimes it says /z/!  Now try these three words and think about the sound of the -ed at the end.  (Hint: You might want to try saying the word without the -ed and then adding on the -ed to see how it changes the word.)

braided
stayed
packed

If you have studied the -ed sound much, I am sure that you have already learned that sometimes the -ed adds a syllable; it says /ed/.  But sometimes instead of adding a new syllable, it only adds the sound /d/ or /t/ to the end of the word.  Look around at words you see with -s and -ed endings.  Do you notice the different sounds those endings can make?  That leads us to our challenge for the week!

1. Can you figure out what the relationship between the /s/ and /z/ sounds of the -s or the /t/ and /d/ sounds of the -ed is?
2. Can you notice any patterns in the base word (the word that you add endings to) that will give you an idea about whether the -s will say /s/ or /z/ or whether the -ed will say /ed/, /t/ or /d/?
3. Bonus: One of these endings is more complicated to pronounce today than it was a hundred or two hundred years ago.  Do you know which one and how it has changed?

Happy exploring!  As usual, be sure to share what you found in the comment so I can mention you in next week's shout-out!

Voiced and Unvoiced - Answers!

Our first Phonics Investigation Challenge has come to an end.  Time for answers and shout-outs!

Here were the three challenge questions:

1. When you read, keep an eye out for the "th" sounds.  Which one do you hear more often - the voiced or the unvoiced "th"?
2. There are several other pairs of sounds just like this: your mouth, lips, teeth and tongue stay in the same position and only the presence or absence of the "buzzing" of the vocal chords makes the difference between sounds.  Some of these pairs can be found among the basic sounds of letters of the alphabet, so start there.  But there are some more complicated versions as well!
3. As you experiment with the sounds of the letters of the alphabet, you may notice that there is one type of letter that is always voiced.  Can you discover what that category might be?

Answers:

1. This answer may vary depending on what you were reading.  The unvoiced "th" occurs in more English words, but the words which use a voiced "th" (like "the", "this", "that", "these" and "those") appear much more frequently in English!
2. Here are some other pairs of voiced and unvoiced sounds.
   /b/ like the b in book and /p/ like the p in pet
   /g/ like the g in gum and /k/ like the k in king or the c in cat
   /d/  like the d in dog and /t/ like the t in ten
   /j/ like the j in jump and /ch/ like the ch in church
   /v/ like the v in van and /f/ like the f in fun
   /z/ like the z in zoo and /s/ like the s in sip or the c in city
   /zh/ like the g in genre or the si in vision and /sh/ like the sh in ship or the ti nation
3. While consonants and consonant "team" sounds can be voiced or unvoiced, vowels (all of the different sounds that they each make) are always voiced!

Congratulations to Doug W. for answering the third part of the challenge correctly!

If you are on Periscope, you can catch our next Challenge live tomorrow afternoon (details at the bottom of this page)!  If not, be sure to check the website tomorrow evening and I'll put a link to the Scope on Katch.  Happy Investigating!

Phonics Investigation Challenge #1: Voiced and Unvoiced

Welcome to the very first Phonics Investigation Challenge!  If you explore this concept with your kiddos, be sure to comment below and share what you've found.  Next week I'll add a shout-out to those who participated!  (Feel free to use the family name, initials or some other abbreviation for your kiddos for the sake of Internet privacy if you prefer.)

Note: If you learn better by watching and listening, you can Katch the Periscope broadcast here.

One of the things our family has enjoyed recently has been exploring and investigating our English language, pronunciation and phonics.  We've discovered that of all the sounds we make in order to speak English, they can be divided into "voiced" sounds and "unvoiced" sounds.  Have you ever played a kazoo?  (If not, you can click here for instructions on how to make your own kazoo with just a comb and a piece of wax paper!)  If you simply blow on a kazoo, you hear only the sound of air passing through your lips and the instrument.  But if you add a humming sound, you will vibrate the material of the kazoo (like the wax paper) and make a buzzing sound.

The same idea happens with the sounds of the alphabet.  Sounds are partly determined by how you shape your mouth and lips and where you place your tongue with relationship to your teeth and lips.  But sounds are also determined by whether you simply blow air through your mouth or whether you also make a humming or buzzing sound along with blowing air.

To try this out, put your hand on your vocal chords (the front of your neck) and say the word "think".  Stretch out the "th" sound at the beginning of the word.  Do you feel your vocal chords vibrating?  If you aren't sure, try this comparison.  Now say the word "this" and again stretch out the "th" sound.  Can you feel the difference?  For both pronunciations of "th" your mouth, lips, teeth and tongue are in the same position.  The only difference in the sound is the vibration of the vocal chords!

Pretty cool, huh?  Want to investigate more?  Here are some challenges for you this week:

1. When you read, keep an eye out for the "th" sounds.  Which one do you hear more often - the voiced or the unvoiced "th"?
2. There are several other pairs of sounds just like this: your mouth, lips, teeth and tongue stay in the same position and only the presence or absence of the "buzzing" of the vocal chords makes the difference between sounds.  Some of these pairs can be found among the basic sounds of letters of the alphabet, so start there.  But there are some more complicated versions as well!
3. As you experiment with the sounds of the letters of the alphabet, you may notice that there is one type of letter that is always voiced.  Can you discover what that category might be?

Happy exploring, guys!  And please share your discoveries in the comments below!  We can wait to see what you find!

Phonics as an Observation of Beauty - Resources

I want to start off this post by making one thing very clear: this is not a required reading list for homeschool moms or parents of pre-school or elementary aged kiddos.  This is a nerd list for those of us who get a bug for finding out more and want to read further.  As Julie Bogart/BraveWriter would say, this is a list for #awesomeadulting.  If you'd rather work on hand-lettering or become a nature guide, please, please, move on past this list without the tiniest shred of guilt.  But if you are cracking your knuckles and getting your Amazon wish list ready - enjoy, my friends!

I studied elementary education in college.  Sadly, the class I took on teaching the language arts was poorly taught.  But the textbook was phenomenal.  Though we didn't even crack it as a part of the class, even then, I had the inkling of an idea that it was a gem and so I saved it.  After college I taught second and third grade.  I still didn't open the book because, as it turned out, teaching children the mechanics of reading wasn't part of my job.  The kindergarten and first grade teachers were all about doing that.  But if kids hadn't mastered it by the time they reached the second/third grade loop (I taught kids for two-year loops) then they were considered behind and needed remediation.  The reading specialist, speech therapist or special education teacher handled those needs.

So it wasn't until I became a homeschool mom that I ever pulled out Phonics for the Teacher of Reading by Marion A. Hull.  It was this book and others like it that opened my eyes to everything that was going on "under the hood" of our language.  As with operating a motor vehicle, it is possible to drive without really understanding how the engine works (ahem) but for some folks, getting in there and figuring it all out is a real thrill.  That's me with phonics.

Phonics for the Teacher of Reading is written like a self-teach manual.  You read and fill in the blanks to test what you've learned.  In and of itself, it is a pretty neat phonics investigation!  The edition I own is pictured above.  But because I was in college over 15 years ago, it doesn't appear to be in print any longer, though copies can be purchased used.  A new edition is available, however, called Phonics and Word Study for the Teacher of Reading.  I can't vouch for it personally, but if I didn't already own the above title, I'd be tempted to get the newer edition (actually ... I think I'm tempted to get the newer edition anyway!).

Also on my phonics shelf are Word Journeys: Assessment-Guided Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary Instruction by Kathy Ganske [I have the first edition but a newer one is now in print] and Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction by Bear et. al. [I own the second edition, but the one currently in print is the sixth edition].  I used both of these to develop spelling lists and word studies when I taught in the elementary school classroom and now use them as a resource.  These books are great for understanding how a child develops as a reader and speller and for assessing where your child is in his developmental journey.  These were actually textbooks for continuing education classes offered in my school district, but they can be purchased and read by anyone!

Teaching Phonics & Word Study in the Intermediate Grades: A Complete Sourcebook by Wiley Blevins is a resource I wish I had had as a public school teacher.  It does a great job of explaining and giving helpful advice for teaching on syllabication - how to see words in "chunks" and what those chunks might be.  All of my children developed this ability naturally without much help and instruction, except my oldest son who has needed a lot of explicit instruction and practice.  However, it is through working with him on this material that I re-discovered my enthusiasm for knowing what makes our language "tick"!

Finally, another (free) resource I have enjoyed is Mommy Speech Therapy.  My third daughter had speech delays, which prompted me to do a little research on how I could help her at home.  This site was hugely helpful.  And, though I no longer need to use it for the original purpose I found it, I have really enjoyed learning more about how speech and language work and how our mouths form the shapes needed to make the sounds we say!  Click on the "Worksheets" link at the top of the homepage for a list of all of the phonemes she addresses.  Want to geek-out on language coolness?  Check out this free printable to whet your appetite.

This is by no means an exhaustive list; it is really only a peek at my bookshelf.  Please share in the comments if you have other resources you love or have found helpful!

Phonics as an Observation of Beauty

I do not intend to make any sort of statement here about the "right" way to teach reading or phonics.  I'm not taking pot shots at sight words or a whole language approach.  I'm not advocating any particular scope and sequence, any methodology or curriculum.  What I'm doing, instead, is just sharing those "That's so cool!" moments that happen as I work and read with my kiddos.  In fact, instead of just sharing our moments with you, what I'd really love is to give you some jumping off points to help you to have some of those moments in your own home - with your own children or all by yourself as you enjoy a good book or just ponder our crazy, fantastic English language!

I've created a page called Phonics Investigations (see the tab at the top of the blog) with the basics of this post where I can add links as they are created so that you can access - all in one place - these fun phonics "experiments".  I'm also going to create a post on suggested resources and another one on how to implement the investigations.  I'm planning to post about one additional idea a week, but we'll see how that goes.

I'd love for this to be an interactive activity.  Perhaps you can share in the comments of each activity what your kids discovered!  Also, if you have questions, or (probably more likely) if your kids have questions, like "Why do we spell it that way?" or "Why is that a rule?" please let me know!  I'm not an expert.  But I am kind of a dork about this, and my kids have sort of latched on to that enthusiasm, so we would be thrilled to "product test" a new investigation and share it with you!

If you haven't already done so, please sign up to receive posts by e-mail (see the box on the right-side of the blog?) so that these investigations (and other ideas) can pop up right in your inbox!  Happy investigating!

New Directions ...

I originally began this blog as a way to process out loud about our homeschool math experiment.  I will continue to blog about that as interesting things pop up.  But since I've laid out the basics, now I'd like to start a few new threads.  Here's what's been rattling around in my brain ...

Finding Beauty in Phonics

Recently, I listened to Sarah Mackenzie interviewing Andrew Kern.  Andrew Kern was encouraging moms/parents to be about the business of opening the eyes of their children to beauty, to be intentional about regularly putting beautiful things before their children.  Sarah Mackenzie asked "What would you say to a busy mom who says she doesn't have time to put beauty before her children because she has to teach math and phonics?"  Kern's response?  "I would say that math and phonics are beautiful!"

We've already been growing in our understanding of math as something beautiful to engage as a topic of conversation and to enjoy.  Recently, in my efforts to make more one-on-one time with my new reader and with my struggling reader, I've rediscovered the joy of uncovering new and curious things about this language that we read, write and speak.  I'm hoping to share little nuggets of interesting information and also ideas for phonics "investigations" with your kiddos.  I am hoping that this series will be of use to a wide range of folks - mamas of the littlest littles who want to prep for teaching pre-readers to older elementary kids who want the chance to dig deep into why English does what it does!

Math in Real Life: Board Gaming

Call me a snob if you like, but I'm not a super huge fan of "math board games".  In my experience (though I'd be happy to find a counterexample) most math board games put a higher priority on "educational" content and a lower priority on balanced mechanics, gameplay and replayability.  Plus, I'm not convinced that playing "educational board games" really counts as "living math" ... or perhaps it does, but only to the level that word problems count as "living math": something created to resemble real life for the purpose of teaching a math concept.

I'm not against word problems.  And I'm not against educational board games.  But what I really love to do is to play board games - real board games that were made primarily to be fun to play - and to engage with the children about how our understanding of mathematics facilitates our ability to play well and to make good choices in the game.  Our family is somewhat of a board gaming family so this is already a passion of ours and I want to help the children explore how math relates!  Want to join us in this exploration?

Mama as "Marriage Counselor"

Sure, academics and thoughts about academics take up a big portion of a homeschool mom's brain.  But for anyone (homeschool mom or not!) who has more than one kid, sibling interaction is a big part of the day and guiding them is a big part of a mom's job.  Over the last couple of years the Lord has really been re-formatting my thinking on this and my role in helping siblings to navigate disputes has shifted from the role of a "judge" to that of a "marriage counselor" - helping each person to know how best to love another with whom they live side-by-side, share space and possessions, clean up after and to whom they have a life-long commitment!

I certainly don't claim to have any kind of "silver bullet" that will "fix" sibling problems.  In fact, that really isn't my goal in my own home.  Rather, my goal is to use the "sticky spots" that commonly arise to teach my kids lessons that will have broad application throughout the course of their lives - lessons on how to know and understand their own hearts and on how to love others, even when those others are acting like enemies.

And ... Scoping!!

In addition to blogging here, I'm also hoping to start "Scoping" on Periscope soon on each of these three topics.  If you have a smartphone, you can download the Periscope app and follow me @hswotrainingwls (if you're on your phone you can click the link to find my profile).  I'd love to see you there and to have your interaction and input.  (Of course, I'd love to have your interaction and input here, too!)