Cycle 52

The second part of this task returns to reviewing sounds written in a regular serif font, but, this time, students will read them without the instructor pronouncing them first.

This is the first time students say a word slowly after you say it only the fast way.  Until this point, the instructor has segmented words first (said them slowly), and the students have repeated that segmentation and then blended the words (said them at a normal rate).  This new format is more difficult, so students may need time to get used to it.

To help students with this transition, you can encourage them to count sounds on their fingers as they say a word slowly. Doing this is optional, so you don’t have to correct students for not counting sounds if they say the word slowly correctly.

In this exercise, students are allowed to (but aren’t required to) pause between the sounds, so if they pause, you don’t need to correct them. Until now, it has been vitally important that students not pause between sounds in order to develop their blending skills. But because this exercise begins by giving the students the fast form of the word, students have nothing to blend. At this point in the curriculum, students’ blending skills should be developed enough that, in the Slow Game tasks only, pausing between sounds will do no harm.