Weaving Grammar Into a Phonics Lesson: Vowel Teams

Lisa Glickman: Okay. The first thing we're going to do is practice writing the letters that spell the /oi/ sound.

Narrator: These second graders at Burgess-Peterson Academy in Atlanta have been learning about vowel teams 'oy' and 'oi' in their daily phonics lesson.

Lisa Glickman: So we have two ways to spell the /oi/ sound, right?

Narrator: Now, reading specialist Lisa Glickman will guide them through dictation, starting with writing words.

Lisa Glickman: When we do our word dictation, you're going to have to listen for where in the word that /oi/ comes so that you know which way you're going to spell /oi/.

Narrator: And she's going to weave in language instruction. She's going to teach her students how to identify the jobs these words can do in a sentence.

Lisa Glickman: The other thing we're going to think about today is after we do the words, we're going to think about ... is the word a who or a what. Right? Is it a noun? Does it tell us who or what? Or is it something that you can do? Is it a did what? Is it a verb? An action? Okay. Are you ready?

Students: Yes.

Lisa Glickman: The word is hoist. What's the word?

Students: Hoist.

Lisa Glickman: Hoist. I hear /h/, /oi/, /s/, /t/. Everybody write the word hoist. /h/... Hoist. Nice job. Everybody say, "To hoist is to lift."

Together: "To hoist is to lift."

Lisa Glickman: So if I was saying I need to lift this heavy box, I could also say I need to hoist this heavy box. Hoist is to lift.

Narrator: By pairing a simple motion with the definition of hoist, Ms. Glickman gives students a physical connection that reinforces its meaning.

Lisa Glickman: So is that a who or a what? Or is hoist something that you could do, a did what? What do you think?

Students: Did what?

Lisa Glickman: It's a did what. Good job. Are you ready? Next word. Look at me. The word is point. What's the word?

Students: Point.

Lisa Glickman: Point. Can we tap that together? Make sure we get all those sounds.

Together: /p/, /oi/, /n/, /t/. Point.

Narrator: Ms. Glickman carefully chose each of the words in this lesson. The word point provides an opportunity to explore multiple meanings.

Lisa Glickman: Make sure you have it like I have it. Okay. Now I want everybody to think for a minute. Guess what? You can't answer until I go like this. You ready? Point. Is point a who or a what? Or a did what? Everybody think. What do you think?

Students: Did what.

Lisa Glickman: Okay. Can I point at something? Is that something I can do?

Students: Yes.

Lisa Glickman: It is a did what. But guess what? May I borrow this? What is this?

Students: A point.

Lisa Glickman: It's a point of a pencil. So guess what? The word point can be a what. And it can be ... and it can be a did what. You're right. Okay. Now we're going to read these words back together. Are you ready? Go.

Students: Toy. Hoist. Boy. Point.

Lisa Glickman: Now, show me with your hands, not your mouth. Just quiet hands. What does hoist mean? Yes. Hoist means to lift. Great job. Okay. Now I'm going to show you a sentence. Everybody look here. Let's read this together.

Students: "The boy pointed."

Lisa Glickman: Oh, "the boy pointed." Who can tell me ... what is the who or what in this sentence? What is the who or what in this sentence?

Student: The boy. The boy pointed. It's a who?

Lisa Glickman: Good job. All right. And did what? What did that boy do? Yes, friend.

Student: He pointed.

Lisa Glickman: He pointed. Excellent. Okay. So we have, "the boy pointed." And this is just a little kernel sentence. It tells us who and did what. But we can expand the sentence by answering another question. We can answer "Where?" When we answer "Where?", if a writer answers "Where?" or you're reading about where, it helps you in your head to paint a picture of what's happening in the story. So instead of just, "the boy pointed," I could add a where. And this where is, "to his mom." Let's all read this sentence together in big loud voices.

Students: "The boy pointed to his mom."

Lisa Glickman: Good. Hmm. Where else could the boy point? If we needed to think of another where, everybody think for a minute. Where else could the boy point? Where else could the boy point?

Student: To his toy.

Lisa Glickman: To his toy. The boy pointed to his toy. Now I'm going to give you a job. Everybody is going to turn to a shoulder partner and I want you to come up with another thing and I want you to say "the boy pointed ..." and each of you think of another place the boy could point.

Narrator: By asking the question "Where?" about the action in her kernel sentence. Ms. Glickman helps her students practice their sentence expansion skills.

Lisa Glickman: Excellent. Okay, friends. One, two, three. Eyes on me.

Students: One, two. Eyes on you.

Lisa Glickman: Okay. I heard some great answers. I heard the boy pointed to his dad. The boy pointed to his home. So there are lots of wheres that could answer this "Where?" question that we could do. The next thing we're going to do in dictation, we're going to do phrases. And guess what? Those phrases could answer the "Where?" for this. Are you ready?

Students: Yes.

Lisa Glickman: So your first phrase — "At first base." Say it.

Students: At first base.

Lisa Glickman: Write it. "At first base." "At first base." And if you need any help or you want to check your work, look up here. This says "at first base." That was all you had to write. So now, can we read this whole sentence together? Let's read it.

Students: The boy pointed at first base.

Lisa Glickman: Good job. What does that where paint a picture of in your head? Everybody think. If a boy is pointing at first base, what might be happening in that story? What do you think might be happening in that story? Yes?

Student: Playing baseball. They might be playing baseball.

Lisa Glickman: Maybe they're playing baseball. What else? What else does it make you think of if someone is pointing at first base?

Student: They could be playing tag and there could be a base. They're pointing at it.

Lisa Glickman: Oh, there could be a base that you have to get to so you don't get tagged. That's amazing. So answering the "Where?" question really helps us think about what's happening in our sentence and in our story.

Narrator: The last step in this lesson is sentence dictation.

Lisa Glickman: What we're going to do now is I'm going to say a sentence to you. We're going to repeat it and you're going to write it. Okay? The sentence is, "The box was hoisted into the van." Say it.

Students: "The box was hoisted into the van."

Lisa Glickman: Good job. Write it. "The box was hoisted into the van." "The box was hoisted into the van." Okay. Let's read this whole thing together. Are you ready? Go.

Students: "The box was hoisted into the van."

Lisa Glickman: Okay. Now we have to be detectives. All right. Park your pencils. Everybody think in your head. What is the who or the what of this sentence? Everybody think for a minute. What is the who or the what in this sentence? Everybody?

Students: The box.

Lisa Glickman: The box.

Student: In the van.

Lisa Glickman: The box is the who or what that it's about. Yes. A van is also a what. That is so smart. Okay. The box is the who or the what that the sentence is talking about. Did what? What did we do with the box, everybody?

Students: We hoisted.

Lisa Glickman: We hoisted. Everybody show me hoisted with your hands. Hoisted. Everybody say, "Hoisted means lift."

Students: Hoisted means lift.

Lisa Glickman: Yes. So hoist means to lift. The box was hoisted. Oh my gosh. We still had one more question. Where? Where was the box hoisted, everybody?

Students: Into the van.

Lisa Glickman: Into the van is what answers the "Where?" question. So in this sentence, we expanded it. We have a what — was the box? We have a did what — it was hoisted. And where — into the van. So when you are reading and you're reading sentences and you think about the who or the what, did what, where, it helps you to understand what's happening in the story. And when you're writing, when you become writers and you're writing your stories, you want to think about putting all these things into your sentences so that it paints a really interesting picture for your readers.

Narrator: Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale, the Hastings/Quillin Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the AFT, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and anonymous donors. Special thanks to Burgess-Peterson Academy, Reading is Essential for All People and Atlanta Public Schools. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUteaching. Reading Universe is a service of WETA Washington D.C., the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.