Sounding Out Words

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="21d005a0dvldtc.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Arial" >PT3 Readers are Leaders</FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF6600" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PT3 Readers are Leaders"><U>home</U></A> |  <A HREF="id75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wordmaster"><U>Wordmaster</U></A> </div> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Using Greek and Latin Roots"><U>Using Greek and Latin Roots</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Building Your Vocabulary"><U>Building Your Vocabulary</U></A>   |   <B>Sounding Out Words  </B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#FFCC00" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="1a87d870.gif" border=0 width="125" height="135" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFCC00" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Sounding Out Words  </div> <div> <B>1.  Sounding Out Words (Basic skills)</B></div> <div> Your wordmaster needs to know all of the sounds of letters.  If you do not know all of your sounds, use a basic phonics program to learn and practice them.  By middle school, you should know the following.  If you do not, study them with a phonics program.</div> <div> Consonants like b,c,d,f, g </div> <div> Consonants combinations like "sh," "th"  "ch and "wh"</div> <div> Consonant blends</div> <div> Vowels (a, e, I, o, u)</div> <div> Long vowels  (the vowel sound that is the same as the name of the letter)</div> <div> Short vowels and other vowel sounds. </div> <bR> <div> <B>2.  Sounding Out Big Words (Advanced Skills)</B></div> <div> To sound out a big word, you need to break it down into smaller parts.  Try this technique.</div> <div> 1.   See if you can break the word into smaller words that you know.  These words are made of shorter words:</div> <div> housewarming</div> <div> chainsaw</div> <div> Englishwoman</div> <div> aftersensation</div> <div> afterthought</div> <bR> <div> 2.  Break down the word into syllables.  You can make a good guess by breaking before each single consonant or if two consonants are together, breaking between them.</div> <div>      ag/ro/chem./i/cal</div> <div>      </div> <div>      You may find it helps you to use a card to cover all but the syllable you are trying to pronounce.</div> <div>      Don't worry about getting the vowels exactly right.  If you can get the consonants, your memory can find the word if you have heard it.  If you have not heard it, you probably will need the dictionary to get a perfect pronunciation.   See if your brain can figure out these words without the vowels.</div> <div>      M_ss_ss_ss_pp_</div> <div>      M_ss_ch_s_tts</div> <div>      b_sk_tb_ll</div> <div>      f__tb_ll</div> <div>      </div> <div>      Practice your phonics skills by sounding out words in the dictionary.  Most dictionaries already have words broken down into syllables.  The dictionary also gives symbols for pronouncing words.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>