Lesson 61 543 SECTION ELEVEN: LESSON 61 SPECIAL VOWEL SOUNDS Lesson MCWs walk, talk, young, youth, two STEP #1: TEACHER INSTRUCTION Teach: Special Vowel Sound (Pig Pen) #1: au/aw OU OW O This lesson covers the first of the five sets of special vowel sounds. Special vowel sounds are also referred to as pig pens because they are joined together in circles, or pens, on the 42 Sounds chart. The following analogy is useful. Imagine a pink pig and a spotted pig in the same pen. They look different, but they make the same sound. The two vowel combinations within the pig pen also look different, but they sound the same. Notes Special vowel sounds are actually diphthongs, which are vowel blends. Instead of functioning as adjacent vowels, the sounds of the two vowels are blended into a new sound. Because we have already used the term murmur diphthongs when referring to r- controlled vowels, the author has chosen to call these special vowel combinations. They are frequently referred to as pig pens. This term is explained in the lesson text. If students have learned adjacent vowels well, they will immediately see that these combinations are different. The following introduction will help students remember that these vowels even though they may appear to be adjacent vowels will not follow the adjacent vowel rule. They are special vowel sounds. Today we are going to learn the last group of sounds on our 42 Sounds chart (refer to the special vowel sounds (pig pens) on the chart).
544 Lesson 61 Print the word Paul on the board. To begin, would you help me prove this word, please? What should we mark first in this word? Students reply, The vowel a. What s next? Students reply, The vowel u. These look like adjacent vowels to me! But they weren t on our list of adjacent vowels, were they? Let s finish the word and see what we get. Mark the u silent and the a long. What does the word say now? Students say that the word says p a l. Do you know anyone who has the name pale? Students will be aware that this is not correct and that the word says Paul. Even though a and u appear to be adjacent vowels, they do not work as adjacent vowels (Skill #5). When these two vowels stand together, they have a special sound. Together they say /au/. Can you say that with me? /au/. It sounds as if we found something wonderful, doesn t it? A-u is not the only vowel combination that says /au/. A-w also says /au/. I am going to place both of these special vowel sounds in a circle, or
Lesson 61 545 pen (put both combinations on the board and draw a circle around them). They are like two pigs in a pen. They may not look the same, but they both make the same sound! Au and aw both say /au/. To help us remember this, we ll refer to these circles as our pig pens. (Point out the au/aw circle on the 42 Sounds chart.) We should not put x s under both vowels. That would make us think they were adjacent vowels. Instead, when we see an a-u or an a-w together, put the vowel mark (x) right between the two vowels and arc them together to show that the two vowels together make a special new sound. This is the first time students have seen w used as a vowel. There was a saying used years ago that said, A, e, i, o, u and sometimes y and w! W is only a vowel when it occurs in a special vowel combination. Let s try marking Paul again. Put Paul on the board again and mark it properly as a special vowel sound. What is the sound of a-u? (/au/) So what is the word? ( Paul ) Does it work now? Yes! Now, let s look at one more thing! What about this l on the end of Paul? Is it going to be a guardian consonant? Students may be uncertain. If so, ask them what guardians do (make the vowel short). Is this vowel combination going to be either long or short? No, just like the murmur diphthong, it is a predictable sound, and l just gives the ending sound to the word. Special vowel sounds will have no guardians and no long or short marks. They are predetermined sounds, much like murmur diphthongs.
546 Lesson 61 There are five pig pens, or special vowel sounds, that we are going to learn (show the 42 Sounds chart). Today we will focus on the first one: a-u and a-w. PRONOUNCING AU/AW: Lips: are open in a tense oval shape and slightly protruded Jaw: is open more than for long o Tongue: is low near the floor of the mouth POSSIBLE PRONUNCIATION PROBLEMS: The vowel a-u/a-w is another troublemaker for ESL students. It is difficult for students to separate the use of a-u, as in caught, from short o, as in boss, or a-l-l, as in stall. The confusing English spelling patterns frequently make students want to substitute more familiar vowels. Have students practice with their worksheet and Sound CD. Remind them that the vowel a-u/a-w is a diphthong, or vowel blend. They begin to say a and slide to u. Ask them to remember to protrude their lips and drop their jaw when they say a-u/a-w. Together let s prove another word or two. Some of these words will have a-u and some will have a-w. Have students help you find the special vowel sounds. Reinforce the fact that they do not need a guardian.
Lesson 61 547 Do you notice that both a-u and a-w can come in the middle of the word? So we re going to have to memorize which words take a-u and which take a-w, aren t we? But, if you ever hear the sound /aw/ at the end of a word (refer to saw ), it will always be spelled a-w. The way you can remember that is the spelling to use at the end is always in the bottom of the pig pen. Let s look at other words that end in /aw/. Come to the board and let s try more words using a-u and a-w. STEP #2: LISTENING AND DICTATION, STUDENT PARTICIPATION Use the same process used with murmur diphthongs. In this word, the special vowel letters are a and u. Spell the word haul, haul, and prove it for me. Continue with your choice of the following words. If the special vowel sound ends the word, have students remember to use the spelling in the bottom of the circle (pen). STEP #3: DECODING MULTI-SYLLABLE WORDS CONTAINING AU/AW Together let s look at longer words using a-u/a-w. Help me prove these words.
548 Lesson 61 Have students decide how these words should be marked and broken into syllables. A u g u s t l a u n d r y b e c a u s e x x x x x x x e STEP #4: TEACH MCWs Teach: walk, talk, two, young, youth Walk: We learned that a w before a causes a to sound like o. L is silent and the sound we hear is /wok/. Talk: There s not a good reason for a sounding like o in this word, but it s easy to teach since walk and talk rhyme and are spelled the same way, with the exception of the first consonant. Two: This is the last of the number words. Now students should know how to spell the numbers from one to ten. When teaching two, point out that it is spelled differently to distinguish it from to and too. You may wish to point out the usage of all three words at this time. Young: The vowel u has a short sound in this word. It sounds like /yung/. To help students remember the correct spelling, it may be helpful to say: You are young. Remember to begin the word with you and add n-g. Youth: Youth also begins with you, but in this word you can hear it. You can also hear the digraph t-h, but again, the o-u pig pen does not function as it normally does. That s precisely what makes this a sight word: the vowels are irregular!
Lesson 61 549 ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES 42 SOUNDS CARDS: Give each student au and aw. 42 SOUNDS CHART: Point out the special vowel sounds (pig pens), especially the au/aw circle. COMPUTER COURSEWARE: Use courseware lesson 26 following manual lesson 64. MCW PRACTICE CARDS: Distribute walk, talk, young, youth, and two. REVERSE LISTENING CARDS: Wait until all of the special vowel sounds have been taught, then use the Special Vowel Sounds card. STUDENT INVOLVEMENT MATERIAL: Page 130: Find the Pig Pen Page 131: Pig Pen #1 Page 132: Pig Pen #1 Sentences Page 133: Most Common Words Page 134 135: Review Pages 1 and 2 SUGGESTED SPELLING: h a u l h a u n t s a w d u s t c r a w l s a y s s h o e o n l y p u s h ESL AIDS: WORKBOOK 42 Sounds and Blends Word Bank Worksheets Culture Lesson 12: I Have a Budget, pages 115 116 English Worksheet 50: The Special Vowel Sounds (Pig Pens) AU/AW, page 117 Glossary Sound CD: Tracks 73-74
550 Lesson 61 FLASHCARDS autumn, crawl, daughter, faucet, gnaw, hawk, & pawn