SCRIPT FOR WORD ATTACK
Level 2: Attacking Long Words
Counting Syllables
Open and Closed Syllables
Strong and Weak Syllables
Nine Types of Syllables
Chunk, Choose, and Check
Word Attack Fun
When you are reading and you come to a word you don't recognize, ATTACK IT! Suppose you come to this sentence, and you don't recognize the word "slid:"
"CHUNK and CHECK" the word:Jack slid on the ice.
CHALLENGE 1: Attack these words "tail-on":
fan [-an, fan] - bed - rib - top - mug - thin - crab - fret - flip - slob - trunk
cramp [-amp, -ramp, cramp] - sleep - dream - broom - trail - groan - drink - strain - cloud - growl
CHALLENGE 2: Attack these word "head-on":
cab [c-ab] - red - pig - gob - tub - thick - slap - tent - kept - first - soft - shut
strap - crept - clip - block - strut - room - steam - week - road - bowl - broil
CHALLENGE 3: Thinking of a word that makes sense in a sentence. I will read a sentence and say "blank." You think of words that would make sense in the blank.
Tom is in the tub taking a _____.
The traffic light just turned _____.
He didn't _____ the teacup.
What is in the big paper _____?
She was so happy she did a little _____.
I will spread some _____ on the toast.
May I have a _____ of water?
The _____ chased the cat up a tree.
The boy _____ the ball to the catcher.
The cloudy _____ looks like it is going to rain.
Tricky words have some tricky letters that stand for more than one sound. You will now learn about these tricky letters.
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CHALLENGE 1: Learning other sounds for some letters and letter combinations.
c: The letter "c" has two common sounds:
[1] /k-k-k/ before a, o, and u as in "cat," "cob," and "cut" and
[2] /s---/ before e, i and y as in "center," "city," and "bicycle.
Can you lend me five cents?
g: The letter "g" has two common sounds:
[1] /g-g-g/ before a, o, and u as in "gap," "gold" and "guppy and
[2] /j-j-j/ often before e, i, and y as in "gem," "ginger," and "Gypsy" but there are many exceptions: get, geese, giddy, giggle, girl, give, gift, and others.
Pat a giant gorilla very gently.
Practice words: cat, gap, city, gold, cut, gem, ginger
CHALLENGE 2: More troublemakers.
y: The letter "y" has four common sounds:
[1] /y-y-y/ at the beginning of a word as in "yet,"
[2] /ie/ at the end of short word as in "fly,"
[3] /ee/ at the end of longer words as in "baby" and
[4] /ih/ in the middle of a word in a closed syllable as in "myth."
Cynthia is the shy little lady in the yellow dress.
th: The "t-h" consonant pair has two sounds:
[1] The sound voiced with the vocal cords is /TH/ as in "then," "that," "those," and "them" and
[2] The unvoiced sound is /th/ as in "thin," "thief," and "thigh."
I think I want one of these thick cookies.
Practice words: yet, baby, then, fly, thin
CHALLENGE 3: More troublemakers.
ea: This "e-a" vowel pair has two common sounds:
[1] /ee/ as in "eat," "mean," and "bean" and
[2] /eh/ "head," "bread," and "threat."
All we had to eat was beans and bread.
ie: This "i-e" vowel pair has two common sounds:
[1] /ie/ "die," "pie." and "tie" and
[2] /ee/ "chief," "thief," and "brief."
The sneaky thief stole the pie.
Practice words: heat, head, thief, pie
CHALLENGE 4: More troublemakers.
ear: The "e-a-r" combination has three common sounds:
[1] /ear/ as in "hear," "near," and "dear,"
[2] /air/ as in "bear," "pear," and "wear," and
[3] /er/ as in "earn," "learn," and "heard."
I heard that you have no fear to wear that silly hat.
ere: The "e-r-e" combination has two common sounds:
[1] /air/ as in "there" and "where" and
[2] /ear/ as in "here," "mere," and "sincere."
Where are the sincere sports fans?
Practice words: hear, bear, learn, there, here
CHALLENGE 5: More troublemakers.
ow: The "o-w" vowel pair has two sounds:
[1] /ou/ as in "how," "now," and "wow" and
[2] /oh/ as in "low," Know," and "flow."
Now I know how to throw it.
ou: The "o-u" vowel pair has four common sounds:
[1] /ou/ as in "out," "couch," and "about,"
[2] /oo/ as in "you," "soup," and "group,"
[3] /u/ as in "trouble" and "famous" and
[4] /oh/ as in "shoulder" and "soul."
That is a famous loud group of singers.
Practice words: how, low, out, soup, trouble, shoulder
CHALLENGE 6: More troublemakers.
oo: The "o-o" vowel pair has two common sounds:
[1] /(short) oo/ as in "foot," "good," and "book" and
[2] /(long) oo/ as in "food," "mood," and "cool."
Are you in the mood to look for some good food?
ough: The "o-u-g-h" combination has five sounds:
[1] /oh/ as in "though" and although,"
[2] /aw/ as in "thought" and "bought,"
[3] /oo/ as in "through,"
[4] /ou/ "bough" and
[5] /uff/ as in "rough," "tough," and "enough."
Although he has eaten, he brought food for us.
Practice words: foot, food, though, thought, through, bough, tough
[This is more advanced, so we wait until the learner is dealing with words of more than one syllable. Then teach one topic at a time, repeat difficult exercises, review often, and help the learner apply the concepts in reading stories.
Be aware that a dictionary main entry [e.g., lit-tle] shows how a word is divided at the end of a line. The next thing shown is how the syllables are pronounced (e.g., /lit'-l/).
Instead of saying syllables are "stressed" or "accented" and "unstressed" or "unaccented", we shall say they are either "strong" or "weak." In a strong syllable the vowel is strong, and in a weak syllable the vowel is weak and neutral, i.e., the schwa sound (/uh/, /ih/).
Syllabication rules are not taught here because they are too hard to remember and apply, have too may exceptions, and stop the reading. When he comes to a word he doesn't recognize, rather than stopping and trying to remember a rule, we want the reader to try to say the syllables and say the word and continue.
In attacking words it is more important for the learner to recognize the word on the first try by trying to make closed syllables than to worry about proper division and emphasis to get the pronunciation right. For example, if his reading of the syllables in "police" is /pol-ice/ rather than /puh-lees/, he will probably recognize the word if he insists that the sentence make sense.
What the student learns here about how syllables work is important for his progress in pronunciation and spelling. ]
When you eat a tiny cookie, you may eat it in one chunk. If it were a larger cookie with three chocolate chips on it, you might eat the cookie in three chunks with one chip on each chunk.
When we say small words like "cat," we say it in one chunk because it has one vowel sound.
When we say "kitten," we say it in two chunks because it contains two vowel sounds. We say /KIT-uhn/. Each chunk contains only one vowel sound and one or two consonant sounds. We call a word chunk with one vowel sound a syllable, /SIL--uh--bul/, which is three chunks.
When we see a longer word that we don't recognize, we say one CHUNK or syllable at a time. If we don't recognize "Saturday," we may say /sat--ur--day/.
We count the syllables in a word by counting the vowel sounds. I will say some words, and you listen for vowel sounds:
I - Did you hear only one vowel sound? How many syllables does the word have?
me - How many sounds did you hear in the word? How many vowel sounds did you hear? So how many syllables are in the word?
men - How many vowel sounds and syllables did you hear?
her - How many syllables did you hear? Notice that in syllables ending with /er/ we may not hear a vowel sound, but it is blended with the "r" to make the /er/ sound.
soda /SO-duh/ - How many vowel sounds and syllables did you hear? Notice that /uh/ is a weak vowel sound.
hamburger /HAM-bur-ger/ - How many vowel sounds and syllables did you hear?
CHALLENGE: I will say a word slowly syllable by syllable. You repeat the word and raise a finger after each syllable.
dog, baby /ba-bee/, boy, butter /BUT-er/, away /uh-WAY/, yesterday /YES-ter-day/, tomorrow /tuh-MOR-ow/, vacation /vay-KAY-shun/, vowel /VOW-ul/, consonant /CON-suh-nunt/, strongly /strong-ly/, petted /pet-ud/, washes /wash-uz/, table /TA-bul/
Listen to these word which I will write and say slowly:
CHALLENGE: Learning to spot open and closed vowels. Look at these words and tell me whether the vowel is open or closed:
cat, it, he, hit, dog, bite, so, we, went, ate, sun, pet, no
Listen to the word "wagon," /WAG-uhn/. The first syllable is "strong," which means we say the syllable louder. The second syllable is "weak" because we soften and "flatten" the vowel. It is /uh/ rather than /ah/. We don't say /wag-on/; we say /WAG-uhn/.
Listen to the word "return," /ri-TURN/. Is the strong syllable the first or last syllable? Although most two-syllable words start with a strong syllable, in this case it is weak. Some people may say /re-turn/, but the correct pronunciation is /ri-TURN/.
CHALLENGE 1: Learning to hear strong and weak syllables. You close your eyes, and I will say a two-syllable word. Tell me which syllable is strong, the first or the last:
number /NUM-ber/, people /PEE-pul/, begin /bi-GIN/, picture /PIC-cher/, complete /cum-PLEET/, mother /MUTH-er/, water /WAH-ter/, today /tu-DAY/, sentence /SEN-tuns/, correct /cuh-RECT/, welcome /WEL-kum/, engine /EN-jun/, mental /MEN-tul/, remind /ri-MIND/, problem /PROB-lum/
Weak syllables often don't seem to be pronounced the way they are spelled. Later on we will talk about remembering the "spelling pronunciation" of words and the correct pronunciation. For example, we may remember that the "spelling pronunciation" of begin is /be-gin/. but the correct pronunciation is /bi-GIN/.
CHALLENGE 2: Review
I will say a word slowly, and then you repeat the word without seeing it. Then I will ask you some questions about it:
he - How many syllables does it have? - - - Is the syllable open or closed?
him - How many syllables does it have? - - - Is the syllable open or closed?
woman /WO-muhn/ - How many syllables does it have? - - - Is the last syllable strong or weak? [weak] Is the vowel in the weak syllable strong or weak? [weak]
Do you remember that a syllable is a chunk of speech containing just one vowel sound? The written syllable may have more than one vowel letter but only one vowel sound. Here are nine kinds of syllables that you need to recognize when you attack long words:
As we get better at reading, we try to CHUNK words into syllables or larger chunks. We will read this sentence and pretend we don't recognize the word in capital letters:
The farmer was holding up a squealing PIGLET.
Do you know what it means to be flexible? It means if what you try first doesn't work be quick to try something else. When you chunk and choose, be flexible!
Look at this word without trying to say it:
Here are three ways we might CHUNK this word by ending each chunk with a consonant:
Now here is something important. Suppose you are reading along and come to the word, "important," and you don't recognize it. Don't stop! Try to make chunks ending in a consonant in any of the possible ways and say the chunks aloud. You will probably recognize the word (if you know it) and then say it properly, see that it makes sense in the sentence, and go on.
You will now practice using the CHUNK, CHOOSE, and CHECK method. Even if you know the word, go through all three steps.
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Example:
Joe was ABSENT from school today.
CHUNK it. Try ab-sent.
CHOOSE. The chunking seems right. Now try making the word sound right by making the first syllable strong. /AB-suhnt/.
CHECK it. Does it make sense in the sentence?
CHALLENGE 1: Attacking different types of longer words.
Pass me the BASKET.
Hint: The first syllable is strong. [For tutor's reference: bas-ket /BAS-kit/]
What does the box CONTAIN?
Hint: The second syllable is the strong one. [con-tain /kuhn-TAIN/]
Brad put holes in the box so as not to SMOTHER the kitten.
Hint: The t-h is a pair, so don't divide it. [smoth-er, /SMUTH-er/]
His bike has a broken PEDAL.
Hint: There is only one middle consonant, and in this word it closes the first syllable. [ped-al, /PED-uhl/]
The plane was flown by one PILOT.
Hint: Be flexible! First, try closing the first syllable as usual [pil-ot], which doesn't sound right. So, then try making it open. [pi-lot, /PI-luht/]
The teacher read a POEM.
Hint: Whoops! There is no middle consonant, and the vowels are not a pair. [po-em, /PO-uhm/]
The cat did not RETURN.
Hint: Try closing the first syllable, then try making it open, and then make it weak. [ret-urn, re-turn, /rih-TURN/]
Please call the POLICE!
Hint: This is a tricky one! Some people make the first syllable strong, but it is weak. [pol-ice, po-lice, /puh-LEESS/]
I want to take a VACATION.
Hint: Try closing the first and second syllables as usual [vac-at-ion], which doesn't sound right. So then try opening them. The last syllable, -tion, is pronounced /shuhn/. [va-ca-tion, /va-KA-shuhn/]
Jake went down to the BASEMENT.
Hint: Try closing the first chunk with a signal e. When it ends a word, -ment is always a weak syllable pronounced /muhnt/. [base-ment, /BASE-muhnt/]
CHALLENGE 2: More words. We will do the same thing, but I will not give clues. I will cover the second line, and you go through the chunking, choosing or changing, and checking steps.
Which team was the VICTOR?
[vic-tor, /VIK-ter/]
He lives in the woods in a CABIN.
[cab-in, /KAB-uhn/]
The party was a big SURPRISE.
[sur-prise, /sur-PRIZE/]
Tim's father went to JAPAN.
[Jap-an, /Juh-PAN/]
Frank has a FEVER.
[fev-er, /FE-ver/]
Don't turn the DIAL.
[di-al, /DI-uhl/]
Tom drove off of the PAVEMENT.
[pave-ment, /PAVE-muhnt/]
CHALLENGE 3: Let's try chunking longer words.
I went there YESTERDAY.
[yes-ter-day, /YES-ter-day/]
Will you go TOMORROW?
[tom-or-row, /tuh-MOR-ow/]
Jeff is FOLLOWING the leader.
[fol-low-ing, /FOL-uh-wing/]
This ball is DIFFERENT.
[dif-fer-ent, /DIF-uh-ruhnt/]
I went to feed the ANIMALS.
[an-im-als, /AN-u-muhlz/]
Is he an AMERICAN soldier?
[Am-er-ic-an, /uh-MAIR-uh-kuhn/]
CHALLENGE 4: More longer words.
Is the program just BEGINNING?
[beg-in-ning, /bih-GIN-ing/]
Can you put this toy TOGETHER?
[tog-eth-er, /tuh-GETH-er/]
The West is MOUNTAINOUS.
[moun-tain-ous, /MOUN-tuhn-us/]
I GENERALLY go straight home.
[gen-er-al-ly, /JEN-ruh-ly/]
Please REMEMBER to write.
[rem-em-ber, /rih-MEM-ber/]
We had a nice CONVERSATION.
[con-ver-sa-tion, /con-ver-SA-shuhn/]
What is the correct PRONUNCIATION of the word?
[pron-un-ci-a-tion, /pruh-NUN-se-A-shuhn/]
CHALLENGE: Here is a fun way to practice attacking words. This is a nonsense poem by Lewis Carrol, and it has lots of nonsense "words." You can CHUNK them and say them choosing what sounds right, but you can't CHECK nonsense words.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought--
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arm, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
