Grade 2 Fundations Parent Newsletter!

Units 10 through 16 all work with the new vowel digraph syllable type, or "D" syllable type. In Unit 1 we will focus on the long e sound. The three sounds previous introduced will be our focus:

ee- jeep-/e/         ea-eat-/ë/                ey- key- /e/

The ea vowel combination also has the sounds /ё/ as in bread, and /ä/ as in steak, but these are less common and will not be studied at this time.

Just as before, the reading is much easier than the spelling. Therefore,

the spelling option procedure will need to be practiced.

In this Unit we will introduce the various spellings of /e/ such as ee in jeep, ea in eat, and ey in key. Your child already knows that e has the long sound in the vowel consonant-e syllable (as in Pete) and in the open syllable (as in me and baby). In the beginning or middle of a syllable, the most common spelling choices are ee, ea or e-e (e-consonant-e). At the end of a word, the most common spelling options are y or ey.

Perhaps a trip to the library will encourage your child to read. Some science books that may be of interest are:

Our Solar System by Seymour Simon (Morrow Junior Books, 1992) Electricity by Steve Parker (Dorling Kindersley, 1992)

Pyramid by James Putnam (Dorling Kindersley, 1994)

Also, a game such as Boggle Junior will promote spelling and word recognition. It will take several exposures to words before your child is secure with both the reading and spelling. Thank you for your help at home.