Short and Long Vowel Lesson Plan

Short and Long Vowel Lesson Plan Often times students have a hard time differentiating short vowels from long vowels, and there are certain things teachers can do to help them master this skill. A solid lesson plan to teach this topic is an important first step, and this one might be exactly what you need. This vowels  lesson plan  is designed to help students recognize and remember vowels, as well as be able to produce the sounds of both a short vowel and a long vowel. Materials Songs for teaching grammarLetter cards for teaching vowels Learning the Differences The first step to mastering the vowel sounds is to understand the difference between both short and long vowels. Long vowels are the easiest of the two for students to learn because they have the same sound as their name. For example, the long o sounds like the o in the word ocean, and the long a sounds like the a in the word acorn. Short vowels are much more challenging for students to understand because they sound very similar to one another. For example, the short i in the word big sounds very similar to the short e in the word beg, and the short o in the word cop sounds similar to the short u in the word cup. Children need to be able to recognize and produce these sounds before they are able to learn the rules for reading and spelling them. Short Vowels: Short vowels have a curved symbol above them ÄÆ', Ä•, Ä ­, Ã… , Ã… ­. Here are a few examples of a short vowel: bun, bop, bed, bin, bat. Long Vowels: Long vowels have a straight line above them Ä , Ä“, Ä «, Ã… , Ã… «. Here are a few examples of a long vowel: face, even, lie, toe, use. Procedure for Lesson Follow this procedure to ensure students understand how to recognize and pronounce each vowel in the alphabet. Review the letter names a, e, i, o, and u. Discuss that the letter y is sometimes used as a vowel. This might be confusing for students to understand at first.Display each vowel letter card and ask students what vowel they hear when you say the following words: baby, beef, ride, rose, unicorn. Explain to students that it is easy to hear the vowels in the words that say their name, these vowels are the long vowels.Call upon students to come up and take turns drawing a straight line over each vowel that you go over together. For example, write the letter a on the board and call upon a student to draw a straight line over the a and say, A long a sounds like the word ape. Do this for each vowel.Teach students the long vowel song to help them remember. Often using creative learning experiences, like song, can better engage students in the lesson and help them retain the information more easily and for longer periods of time.  Next, go over short vowels. Display each letter card on the b oard and explain that sometimes vowels dont say their name and have a different sound. Ask students what vowel they hear when you say the following: apple, bed, pig, frog, bug. Call upon students to come up and take turns drawing a curved line over each vowel that you go over together. For example, write the letter a on the board and call upon a student  to draw a curved line over the a and say A short vowel sounds like ah in alligator. Continue to do this for each vowel sound.Next, teach the students the short vowel song to help them remember. You might try alternating the two songs - the short and long vowel songs - to keep students thinking and challenge them more.To help students remember short and long vowels continue to practice the songs each day until they have memorized them. If your students have an online learning portal, you might consider video taping their best performance to post. This way, you can share the film with parents, and also use it as a tool to remind students of the lyrics if they start to forget.   Edited by  Stacy Jagodowski

I Need a Grant

I Need a Grant I forget that new writers enter the profession daily, and Im most reminded when a slew of them write me after seeing FundsforWriters.com for the first time. The first thing they see is GRANTS, and that throws their fledgling minds into overdrive, wondering how they can find some generous grant provider to offer money to a new writer. Its like rumors that some government agency will pay off your mortgage or write off your debt. In writing, nobody offers you a free lunch. You pay for that lunch. You can hope for a coupon here and there, or a free sandwich if you buy a coke, but nobody is going to offer lunch for free. Lets look at grants. Why do grants exist? Nobody cares about that, but grants have missions, too. Grants have specific purposes, and providing money to people who dont have it isnt the leading purpose. Its more about what someone wants to do with that money that matters. 1) They are created to fill an identified need. 2) They are created to make a difference with humanity. 3) They must demonstrate to the world that the money they spend has done great things. 4) They answer to high authorities about how effective and efficient theyve been with the money they doled out. 5) Their money depends upon politics, donations, and the economy. In other words, there arent pots of money waiting for people to apply for a share. The applicants for any grant must qualify using the following mindsets: 1) As if they were applying for a job, 2) As if they were promoting a product, and 3) As if they were seeking a loan at the bank. As noble as grants sound, grants are a sort of business venture for the grant provider. If they dont do well with the money they provide . . . if the projects that obtain grants do not demonstrate a positive end . . . then the grant provider has failed. The results? Less grant money to use in the future or even the dissolution of the entire grant entity. Lets visit a scenario of a new writer seeking a grant: A new writer may be from Montana and want to write about a boy who immigrates to New York and experiences a coming-of-age story. The writer asks for a grant to live in New York for several months to do research and think about how he will write the story. Nobody will fund this grant. Why? 1) There is no need to fund unpublished writers. There is a glut of writers out there as it is. 2) The writer is not experienced and cannot assure the grant provider they can write. 3) The writer cannot assure the grant provider they can publish. 4) The writer cannot assure the grant provider they have a market for the work. 5) The grant provider has to have a mission that somehow fits the story, the writer, or the writers need. Sowhen you think of a grant, think of it as a loan. They give you money based upon your qualifications, you have to follow their rules, and you pay it back with your projects success. Grants have needs, too, and they are careful with how they write their checks.