What:
Consonants are the
following single letters of the alphabet:
b, c, d,
f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z
Blends are “voiced” combinations
of two or three consonants. Following
are examples:
Fl, bl, sl, cl, pl, bl, gr,
tr, br, cr,
dr, pr, fr, wh, str, sw,
sp, sc, sn, sm, sk
Diagraphs are “voiceless”
combinations of two consonants.
Following are examples:
st, sh, ch,
th, wh
Why:
There are only two words in
our spoken and written language that have one letter. They are “a” and “I”. All other words have at least one consonant.
Without automatic recognition
of consonants, blends and diagraphs, the student will not be able to
phonetically decode words at a fluent rate.
The ability to comprehend written material decreases if analysis and/or
hesitation for each sound and/or word are slow.
When:
Learning consonant sounds
should be taught early in any reading program.
My Breakfast Reading Program focuses on consonants in Lessons 1 –
18. Blends and diagraphs are introduced
in Lessons 19 – 30.
How:
Repetition, repetition,
repetition!
My Breakfast Reading Program
presents a maximum of five consonants, blends or diagraphs in each lesson. Each lesson consists of one 60-second
exercise. This exercise provides a high
number of repetitions in a very short time frame. Each lesson is repeated five days a week.
Statistical Analysis:
·
Consonants/blends/diagraphs:
Analysis of the database indicates that there are sixty-six beginning
consonants, blends and diagraph combinations for the beginning sound.
Analysis of the database indicates that there are forty-six ending sound
consonants, blends and diagraph combinations.
·
Consonants: Lessons 1
- 18
o
Beginning
sound (47%): Twelve consonants comprise 47% of the words with the
beginning sounds. That is, of the 2290
words, 1018 have the beginning sound of one of the twelve consonants. Therefore, a significant emphasis is placed on
these twelve beginning consonant sounds.
The twelve most frequently used beginning consonants are (in frequency order):
b, l, p, h, m, r, t, s, f, d, w, c
o
Ending sound
(79%): Twelve consonants comprise 79% of the words with the
ending sounds. That is, of the 2290
words, 1745 have the ending sound of the twelve consonants. Therefore, a significant emphasis is place on
these twelve ending consonant sounds.
The twelve most frequently used ending consonants are (in frequency order): t,
d, k, n, p, l, g, m, s, b, c, v
o
Common
consonants: Note that of the 12 beginning and 12 ending
consonants, the following 8 are the same:
t; d; p;
l; m; s; b; c
·
Blends and
Diagraphs (38% of beginning sounds): Lessons 17 - 30
o
?R family (13%): Eight blends
and diagraphs that have an “r” sound comprise 13% of the words with the
beginning sounds. That is, of the 2290
words, 280 words have a “?r” blend or diagraph
beginning sound.
The ?r family consists of: br,
cr, dr, fr,
gr, pr, str, tr: Lessons 17 and
18.
o
?L family (10%): Six blends and
diagraphs that have an “l” sound comprise 10% of the words with the beginning
sounds. That is, of the 2290 words, 216
words have a “?l” blend or diagraph beginning sound.
The ?l family consists of: bl,
cl, fl, gl, pl, sl: Lessons 19 and
20.
o
S? family (9%): Seven blends and diagraphs that begin with “s”
comprise 9% of the words with the beginning sounds. That is, of the 2290 words, 188 words have an
“s?” blend or diagraph beginning sound.
The S? family consists of: sc, sk, sm, sn, sp, st,
sw: Lessons 21 and 22.
o
?H family (6%): Four blends
and diagraphs that have an “h” sound comprise 6% of the words with the
beginning sounds. That is, of the 2290
words, 133 words have a “?h” blend or diagraph
beginning sound.
The ?h family consists of: ch, sh,
th, wh: Lesson 23
Note: ch, sh, and th also comprise 6% of
ending sounds: Lesson 24
·
Summary of
above consonants, blends and diagraphs:
o
Beginning
Sounds: The cumulative total of
beginning consonants (47%) and beginning blends and diagraphs (38%) comprise
85% of the beginning sounds in the database of 2290 words.
o
Ending Sounds: The cumulative
total of the ending consonants (79%) and ending diagraphs (6%) comprise 85% of
the ending sounds in the database of 2290 words.
Exercise Materials: Layout and Instructions
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Beginning #1 |
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Beginning #2
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Beginning #3 |
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Ending #1 |
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Ending #2 |
Exercise
#1:
This is a 60 second timed exercise.
During the first 30 seconds, the teacher randomly points to a consonant/blend/diagraph
and says the sound. The student
immediately says the sound. Start out
with a three second interval between sounds and quickly work up to a rate of
one sound per second by the end of the 30 seconds.
During
the second 30 seconds, the teacher randomly points to a
consonant/blend/diagraph. The student
attempts to say the sound. After a brief
hesitation, the teacher says the sound, regardless if the student named, misnamed
or couldn’t name the sound. Start out
with a three second interval between sounds and quickly work up to a rate of
one word per second by the end of the 30 seconds.
It
is encouraged if the student and teacher can develop a rhythm that allows them
to say the sounds in unison.