How to Spell /k/ Before a Vowel

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Nicole Ormandy: We've got our two letters that represent /k/. Now when it comes to spelling, that can be tricky, right? What do I use? 'C' or 'k'?

Narrator: In this one-on-one session, you'll see Nicole Ormandy guide second grader Bea through a lesson on how to spell the /k/ sound before a vowel with the letter 'c' or the letter 'k'. This is likely the first time Bea has had to decide between two possible letters to spell a sound.

Nicole Ormandy: Alright, Bea. Today we're going to learn a spelling pattern for the sound /k/. Alright, so listen first to these words and tell me the first sound you hear in the word. Cab.

Bea: /k/

Nicole Ormandy: Cub.

Bea: /k/

Nicole Ormandy: Cut.

Bea: /k/

Nicole Ormandy: Cut.

Bea: /k/

Nicole Ormandy: Kid.

Bea: /k/

Nicole Ormandy: Exactly, right? We keep hearing /k/ at the beginning of those words and there are two ways that we can represent /k/. We've been reading words that have /k/, and they typically start with which two letters?

Bea: 'C' and 'k'.

Nicole Ormandy: Exactly. They typically start with 'c' and 'k'. To warm up let's trace each letter and say /k/. /K/. We'll do each letter two times.

Narrator: Bea uses multiple senses — sight, touch, and sound — while tracing the letters. This type of multisensory learning reinforces the connection between the letters and the sounds they produce.

Nicole Ormandy: Now let's try the 'k'.

Bea: /k/

Nicole Ormandy: Excellent. Alright, well done tracing our /k/ sounds with 'c' and 'k'. What I want to show you now is that to help us remember when we use 'c' versus when we use 'k' when we're spelling, we can think about our cat and our kite images. Look at our cat. What letters do you see on the cat?

Bea: A 'u' and 'a'?

Nicole Ormandy: Yeah, I see the 'a'. What letter is this?

Bea: 'O'.

Nicole Ormandy: Yeah. And 'u', right? So we made our eyes out of 'a's, our little nose is an 'o', and the cat's little mouth is a 'u'. So I'm going to try to remember this little image to help me think, "oh, yeah. 'C' is used before 'a,' 'o', or 'u'."

Narrator: Ms. Ormandy helps Bea remember this pattern by using pictures with embedded mnemonics. Little clues attached to the letters.

Nicole Ormandy: What about the kite? What letters do we have at the center of our kite?

Bea: 'E' and 'i'?

Nicole Ormandy: This is because when we're spelling /k/ before 'e' and 'i', we use the letter 'k'. So I'm going to say a few words and you're going to fill it in, whether it's 'c' or 'k'. If you have to look up here to think about whether it's 'a', 'o', or 'u' or whether it's 'e' or 'i' to help you know whether to use 'c' or 'k', feel free to do that. Okay? Let's look at this one. The word is supposed to be "cub." What's the vowel in this word? Cub.

Bea: 'U'.

Nicole Ormandy: 'U'. So which one? 'C' or 'k'? For cub? What did you choose?

Bea: 'C'.

Nicole Ormandy: Perfect. Why did you choose 'c'?

Bea: Because there's a 'u'.

Nicole Ormandy: Exactly. We see our 'u' with 'c'. All right, the next word's going to be kin. Kin. Now you've got it. What was the vowel in kin?

Bea: 'I'.

Nicole Ormandy: Right? And 'i' has a 'k' before it. If 'i' is my vowel, I'm spelling that /k/ with 'k'. What I'm going to ask you to do now is read back all of these words that you just filled in the /k/ sound for.

Narrator: Ms. Ormandy ends her lesson by asking Bea to read each word with accuracy.

Bea: Kit. Cub. Kin. Cup.

Narrator: Reading words accurately is an important step toward becoming a fluent reader.

Nicole Ormandy: Well done. So let's just reiterate then. When do I use 'c' for my /k/ sound?

Bea: 'A', 'o', 'u'.

Nicole Ormandy: Perfect. Right before an 'a,' 'o,' or 'u'. When do I use 'k' for my /k/ sound?

Bea: 'I' or 'e'.

Nicole Ormandy: Right. Before 'i' or 'e'. Excellent. So I'm going to think about my cat and my kite to help me remember 'c' before 'a', 'o', or 'u'. 'K' before 'e' or 'i'.

Narrator: The next step for Bea and Ms. Ormandy will be to practice this new rule during dictation.

Nicole Ormandy: Nicely done. Good job.

Narrator: Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale, the Hastings/Quillen Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the AFT, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and anonymous donors. Special thanks to AIM Academy and the AIM Institute for Learning and Research. 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.