Cycle 51

This task introduces the fact that a final s is sometimes pronounced /z/ (when a voiced sound comes before it).

The final part of this task begins the process of teaching students to read words the slow way sub-vocally (only sounding the words out in their heads, not out loud) so that the first thing they say is the fast version of the word.  At this point in the curriculum, many students will be reading many words in this way already, but some students will need more explicit instruction to do so consistently.

To make what you are doing clear to the student, be demonstrative when pretending to read the word slowly in your head.  Touch beneath each sound slowly while you make a pensive expression and mouth the sounds silently. 

When students begin to read with more automaticity, they tend to make a common mistake when they encounter words that they struggle to read the fast way first: they look away from the word (usually at you, the instructor) and begin to guess.  In those situations, make sure that you always insist that students keep their eyes on the word, that they keep their finger under the word, and that they read it the slow way.  If students can read a word the fast way first, great.  If not, they should read it slowly first, and that is fine too.

Many students will go through a phase in which they won’t want to read words the slow way even if they are struggling to read it correctly the fast way.  That’s because they’ve experienced being able to read the fast way, and they might see it as a failure not to be able to do so for every word.  Remind them that even adult readers have to sound out words that are unfamiliar to them.  Save your most enthusiastic praises for those times that a students needs to go back to “the slow way” in order to read a word correctly.