Lesson 6.1 ph, gh, ch and y: Greek Spellings

Steps

1. Warm-up

   Do this: ph says /f/ (phone, photo, Philip). gh at the end can say /f/ (laugh, rough, enough). In words from Greek, ch can say /k/ (school, echo) and y can say /ĭ/ (gym, myth). In a few words from French, ch says /sh/ (chef).

2. Teach the new idea

   Do this: New sound: ph. Show the card and say: “This says /f/, as in phone.” Your child says it three times, then writes it in the air, on the table with a finger, and on paper. Then play a quick ears game: you say words and your child gives a thumbs up whenever /f/ is in the word.

   Do this: New sound: gh. Show the card and say: “This says /f/, as in laugh.” Your child says it three times, then writes it in the air, on the table with a finger, and on paper. Then play a quick ears game: you say words and your child gives a thumbs up whenever /f/ is in the word.

   Do this: New sound: ch (as in school and chef). Show the card and say: “This says /k/ or /sh/, as in school, chef.” Your child says it three times, then writes it in the air, on the table with a finger, and on paper. Then play a quick ears game: you say words and your child gives a thumbs up whenever /k/ or /sh/ is in the word.

   Do this: New sound: y (as in gym). Show the card and say: “This says /ĭ/, as in gym, myth.” Your child says it three times, then writes it in the air, on the table with a finger, and on paper. Then play a quick ears game: you say words and your child gives a thumbs up whenever /ĭ/ is in the word.

   Do this: Tap and blend. For each word your child touches each letter (or letter team) and says its sound, then sweeps a finger under the whole word and says it smoothly. Never guess from the first letter or a picture. If a word is misread, point to the part that was missed and blend again from the start.

   Do this: Spell it. Say a word. Your child says it back, taps the sounds on his or her fingers, then writes one letter (or letter team) for each sound. Check together, sound by sound.

   Do this: The week at a glance. Day 1: warm-up, new sound, handwriting. Day 2: card review, word lists, spelling. Day 3: second new sound or more words, heart words. Day 4: read the story, talk about it. Day 5: reread the story for fluency, play the game, quick check (10 words, 1 sentence, 5 spelling words). Read the read-aloud at another time of day.

   New cards:

   • ph says /f/, as in phone. Make a sound card: write ph on the front and draw a phone on the back.
   • gh says /f/, as in laugh. Make a sound card: write gh on the front and draw a laugh on the back.
   • ch (as in school and chef) says /k/ or /sh/, as in school, chef. Make a sound card: write ch (as in school and chef) on the front and draw a school on the back.
   • y (as in gym) says /ĭ/, as in gym, myth. Make a sound card: write y (as in gym) on the front and draw a gym on the back.
3. Show how

   Show: Blend phone.

   Say this: “Touch and say: /ph/ /o_e/ /n/.”

   Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”

   Say this: “Say the word: phone . Use it in a sentence.”

   Answer: phone

   Show: Blend photo.

   Say this: “Touch and say: /ph/ /o/ /t/ /o/.”

   Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”

   Say this: “Say the word: photo . Use it in a sentence.”

   Answer: photo

4. Practice together

   Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.

   Ask: Read: phone · photo · graph · dolphin

   Listen for: phone = ph | o_e | n; photo = ph | o | t | o; graph = g | r | a | ph; dolphin = d | o | l | ph | i | n

   Ask: Read: Philip · laugh · enough · school

   Listen for: Philip = ph | i | l | i | p; laugh = l | au | gh; enough = e | n | ough; school = s | ch | oo | l

   Ask: Read: echo · chef · gym · myth

   Listen for: echo = e | ch | o; chef = ch | e | f; gym = g | y | m; myth = m | y | th

   4 more practice items on the lesson page.

5. Watch for
   • Saying two letters of a digraph separately (s-h instead of /sh/). Underline the two letters together; they make one sound.
   • Trying to read a long word all at once. Find the vowels, split the word into syllables, read each part, then put it together.
6. Handwriting and copywork
   1. Copy: Philip preached Jesus.
   2. Use the ball-and-stick lines: tall letters touch the top line, short letters touch the middle line, tails go below the base line.

   Copywork: Write each word once, saying the sounds as you write: phone, photo, graph, dolphin, Philip, laugh.

7. Decodable story: Philip and the Man from Ethiopia

   Philip and the Man from Ethiopia

   An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south, to the road from Jerusalem to Gaza." So Philip went.

   On the road was an important man from Ethiopia, riding in a chariot. He was reading aloud from a scroll of Isaiah the prophet.

   The Spirit said to Philip, "Go up to that chariot." Philip ran up and heard the man reading. "Do you understand what you are reading?" "How can I, unless a man explains it to me?"

   The man was reading about one who was led like a lamb to be killed. Philip told him the good news: Isaiah was writing about Jesus! When they came to some water, the man said, "Here is water! Can I be baptized?" Philip baptized him, and the man went on his way full of joy.

   Retold from Acts 8:26–39. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: Philip, Ethiopia, Isaiah, Jerusalem, Gaza, Jesus, chariot, angel, scroll, baptized.

   Every word in this story uses only the sounds and heart words taught so far (checked by the School Launch decodability checker). Read a page a day on Days 3 and 4, and the whole story on Day 5.

8. Talk about the story
   1. Where did the angel send Philip?
      Answer

      To the road to Gaza.

   2. What was the man reading?
      Answer

      The prophet Isaiah.

   3. Who was Isaiah writing about?
      Answer

      Jesus.

   4. What happened at the water?
      Answer

      Philip baptized him.

   Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).

9. Read-aloud

   Acts 8:26–39. Read aloud.

   The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.

10. Game: Phone a Friend

    Pretend to call someone on a toy phone and read them five ph, gh, ch and y words.

11. Narration

    Say this: “Tell me the new sounds you learned this week, and read me one word.”

    Listen for: I can say /f/ when I see ph (as in phone ), and write it.; I can say /f/ when I see gh (as in laugh ), and write it.; I can say /k/ or /sh/ when I see ch (as in school and chef) (as in school, chef ), and write it.; I can say /ĭ/ when I see y (as in gym) (as in gym, myth ), and write it.; I can tap and blend words such as phone , photo , graph .; I can read “Philip and the Man from Ethiopia” and tell it back.

12. Recitation

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

    This week: Pause at the marks. Stop briefly at every comma and a little longer at every period. Pauses help listeners think.

    • Day 1: The teacher says it twice; the child echoes it one line at a time.
    • Days 2–4: Say it together each morning; drop one line of help each day.
    • Day 5: Say the reference, then the verse, then the reference again. Stand up and say it alone for the family.
13. Scripture

    Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

    Philip told the man about Jesus.

Spread over the week

5 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

1. Session 1. Warm-up, then teach the new idea (steps 1 and 2).
2. Session 2. Warm-up again, then show how with the examples.
3. Session 3. Practice together, then play the game.
4. Session 4. More practice, handwriting and reading, and the daily habit.
5. Session 5. Quick check: narration and a few practice items. Move on when it is mostly right.

For you

For families. Keep each session short and cheerful: 15 to 20 minutes, then stop. If your child is tired or frustrated, stop and finish tomorrow. A lesson can take more than a week; move on when the quick check on Day 5 is mostly “Got it.”