3.2 Explicitly Teach 'y' as a Vowel
‘y’ as a Vowel Skill Explainer
Now it's time to teach!
Teacher Tip
Telling the Alphabet Queen story (based on The Alphabet King (opens in new window), an original story by dyslexia therapist Jennings Miller) is a great way to kick off this new material. The story often quickly becomes a favorite with young students! You'll tell new versions of the story as you teach other syllable types and phonics skills. In this version of the story, 'y' is the "Sneaky Thief" who slips into the vowels' pen and steals the sounds of long /ī/ and long /ē/.
Telling the Alphabet Queen story (based on The Alphabet King (opens in new window), an original story by dyslexia therapist Jennings Miller) is a great way to kick off this new material. The story often quickly becomes a favorite with young students! You'll tell new versions of the story as you teach other syllable types and phonics skills. In this version of the story, 'y' is the "Sneaky Thief" who slips into the vowels' pen and steals the sounds of long /ī/ and long /ē/.
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Carla Miller: Okay, friends. So now we know about closed syllables and we know about open syllables. I'm going to tell you a little bit more of the story. There's more to know.
Narrator: Dr. Carla Miller is using the story of the Alphabet Queen to teach her second graders about the different syllable types. In this lesson, she's focusing on how that sneaky letter 'y' can sometimes act as a vowel.
Carla Miller: Sometimes the consonants would get jealous. They were like, look at these vowels. They're in there in their pen doing their thing. I wish I could be in there. There was one consonant in particular that was very jealous. It was why the letter 'y', he was like, I want to say a vowel sound. What he would do when it got late at night, he would sneak in to the fence. When the gate was open, he would go and he would steal the sounds of the vowels. So he would sneak in and he would steal the sound of 'i' at the end of a little word. So when he would do that, he would say, /ī/ at the end of a little word. So this word is what?
Students: My.
Carla Miller: This word is what?
Students: By.
Carla Miller: By. Good. Sometimes though, sometimes the 'y', he would be so bold that he would go in there and also steal the sound of long 'e' at the end of big words. So when we have words like this, my 'y' would say, /ē/. Can you read this for me?
Students: Candy.
Carla Miller: Good. Or at the end of this word, 'y' would also say /ē/. So what word do we have?
Students: Windy.
Carla Miller: Very good. So 'y' is a sneaky thief. He would sneak in and at the end of a little word, what would he say?
Students: /ī/.
Carla Miller: And at the end of a big word, what does he say?
Students: /ē/.
Carla Miller: Very good. Good job, guys.
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.
Carla Miller: I'm Dr. Carla Miller, and this is Reading Universe.
1. Teach 'y' as a Vowel at the End of One-Syllable Words (Long 'i')
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2. Teach 'y' as a Vowel at the End of Multisyllabic Words (Long 'e')
Let's practice dividing the syllables and reading this word. First, we're going to underline the vowels in our word:
I'm going to start at the beginning of the word and underline the vowels and mark them with a 'v'.
- I'm going to look between those two vowels and mark the consonants with a 'c'.
Next, we're going to divide our word into syllables:
When we have two consonants between the vowels, we draw a line and divide between the consonants.
Now we're going to label each syllable type:
Look at the first vowel. Is it closed in by a consonant? [yes]
What does that tell you about the vowel? [The vowel will make its short sound.]
Look at the next vowel. Is it closed in by a consonant? [no]
What syllable type is this? [open]
What sound does the 'y' make? [/ē/, the 'y' says /ē/ at the end of a multisyllabic word]
Now that I have divided it into syllables, the word will be much easier to read.
Look at the first syllable. Since we know that the first syllable is closed, we know how to read it! Let's read it together [can-].
Now look at the next syllable. This is an open syllable because 'y' is a vowel and there are no consonants after it. We just learned that when the /ē/ sound is at the end of a multisyllabic word it is spelled with a 'y'. Let's read that syllable. [-dy]
