Diphthongs - Fruit Toppings
                

What: 

Diphthongs are seven special vowel sounds.  These special vowel sounds are created by sixteen two vowel patterns (au, oo, aw, oy, etc...) and three one vowel patterns (ull, all, etc...), including the introduction of w and y as vowels:

• u 2 dot – new, shoot, blue, cute (92 words)                (Blueberry)
• ow – cow, round (81 words)                                         (WOW Berry - blackberry + raspberry)
• aw – paw, caught, fall, fought (70 words)                    (Strawberry)
• oy - boil, boy (21 words)                         (Boysenberry)
• oo long – use, soup (22 words)
• u 1 dot – bull, would, look (18 words)
• short oo - sure, cure, pure, lure (4 words)

Why: 

Since diphthongs make up 13% of single syllable words and have eighteen different vowel spelling patterns (see above), they have to have a special focus.  The goal is to see and say a word in less than one second.

How: 

My Breakfast Reading Program presents diphthongs using the analytic phonics method. 

Analytic phonics recognizes that a single syllable word has two parts: onset and rime.  The analytic phonics method teaches new words by blending different onsets with rime families.  My Breakfast Reading Program's single syllable word database identifies 304 rimes.

In the word cow, c is the onset and ow is the rime.  The rime family ow creates  the following:  bow, brow, chow, cow, how, now, plow, prow, sow, vow, wow.

Diphthongs comprise 52 rime families and are presented in five lessons, as follows:

 

 

Repetition, repetition, repetition.