Have you dabbled in the Science of Reading? Have you swapped out a word wall with a sound wall?Are you including decodables in your small group instruction? There are so MANY shifts that can be made to give your students the best chance to succeed! Let’s start with The Schwa!
Discover the power of speech sounds and their role in the Science of Reading! Transform your teaching methods and watch your students excel in language proficiency! By teaching these concepts ( Schwa, Whiny a ) in a fun, engaging way they will surely stick!
Take a deep dive into this fun and educational resource about the Science of Reading: Whiny a/Nasalized a, & Schwa! 🌟 Learn the phonics behind these tricky sounds with engaging activities and visuals. Perfect for parents, teachers, and students alike! 🎓
Committing to the Science of Reading in the last 3+ years has included coursework and completion of LETRS, Top 10 Tools and a couple OG trainings. I have completely changed the way I approach my small group time.
I’ve always been very intentional in my teachings, but focusing on being very explicit and not leaving anything to ‘chance’ has also been a game changer. In my position as a literacy specialist I pull students all day long in small groups. I’ve incorporated all my trainings to give my students the best instruction I can.
Teaching Explicitly
Explicitly teaching my students sight words through sound mapping and not memorization, always including multi sensory activities into my group time ( which I have always done ), and so much more.
I have been very intentional about teaching syllable types, and ensuring my students are taught the pesky concepts that seem to pop up quite a bit in their readings. The WHINY ( nasalized a ) and the Schwa to name a couple. If you are interested in learning more about the Whiny a you can click here to my original post on that.
Let’s talk about the SCHWA
Oh….the Schwa, that pesky guy that loves to pop up while your students are decoding words. The Schwa is the most common ( or most popular as I like to say ) vowel sound. It pops up in the unstressed or unaccented syllable in a word. It is represented by an upside down e and it makes the lazy u or uh sound. It makes an even weaker sound than the short u that students are familiar with and can be in place of any vowel. If using mirrors in small groups you can let your students know that the mouth is in a neutral position – lips are relaxed, not rounded. The jaw is half open and the tongue is flat as well.
I have taken the work out of teaching this concept by providing a very hands on, engaging activity resource that includes a reference ring for you to glance at as needed while teaching it. You can find it here. Or to make your life even easier you can grab the BUNDLE which includes the whiny a that can be found by clicking here.
I’m confident these resources will help you! Tag me on instagram if you use them in your classroom! Happy Teaching!
