LETRS Unit 3 Session 2 – Check For Understanding
In Unit 3, Session 2 of LETRS, the focus shifts to understanding advanced phonics and decoding strategies. Educators learn about complex syllable structures, vowel teams, consonant blends, digraphs, and essential spelling patterns like the Floss rule and the “magic e” pattern.
This session equips teachers with tools to help students decode multisyllabic words and improve their reading fluency through a deeper understanding of phoneme-grapheme correspondences.
Question 1: True/False? Roughly half of all words in English can be spelled correctly based on established sound-symbol correspondences.
Answer: True
Explanation: Approximately 50% of English words can be spelled by following predictable sound-symbol correspondences. While English spelling rules can sometimes be irregular, a significant portion of the language adheres to standard phonetic patterns, making it easier to spell these words based on sounds.
Question 2: Complete this sentence: A complex syllable is a syllable that contains a ______ .
a. digraph
b. consonant blend
c. vowel team
d. VCe pattern
Answer: b. consonant blend
Explanation: A complex syllable contains a consonant blend, which is a combination of two or more consonants where each sound is pronounced (e.g., “blend” in the word “blend”). This differs from digraphs, where two letters make a single sound, or vowel teams and VCe patterns, which refer to vowel combinations and vowel-consonant-silent-e patterns, respectively.
LETRS Unit 3 Session 2: Phonics and Advanced Decoding Skills
Question 3: Complete this sentence: Vowel teams in English can have up to ______ letters.
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. five
Answer: c. four
Explanation: Vowel teams in English can consist of up to four letters, although most vowel teams are made of two or three letters. For example, “ough” as in “though” is a four-letter vowel team that represents a single vowel sound.
Question 4: Which set(s) of words include only words that have consonant digraphs, and no words with blends? Select all that apply.
a. father, shin, reach
b. cheek, less, silk
c. rough, phone, bang
d. stripe, laugh, wish
Answer:
a. father, shin, reach
c. rough, phone, bang
Explanation: A consonant digraph consists of two consonants that represent a single sound (e.g., “ph” in “phone”). In the first set (a), “th,” “sh,” and “ch” are all digraphs. In the third set (c), “ph,” “gh,” and “ng” are also digraphs. Sets b and d include words with consonant blends, where individual consonants retain their sounds.
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Question 5: Which set of words illustrates both the Floss rule and the “-ck” rule?
a. flick, sack, lock
b. fuss, cell, will
c. soak, flake, lurk
d. slick, kiss, cuff
Answer: d. slick, kiss, cuff
Explanation: The Floss rule states that in single-syllable words with a short vowel sound, the letters “f,” “l,” and “s” are usually doubled at the end (e.g., “kiss” and “cuff”). The “-ck” rule indicates that in a short vowel word, the “k” sound is spelled as “ck” (e.g., “slick”). Therefore, “slick,” “kiss,” and “cuff” demonstrate both rules.
Question 6:
True/False? Every syllable must have at least one vowel sound.
Answer: True
Explanation: Every syllable in the English language contains at least one vowel sound. This is because vowels are the core of syllables, while consonants surround or support the vowel sounds. Even in syllables where the vowel is spelled with a vowel team or silent letters, a vowel sound is still present.
Question 7:
Complete this sentence: A closed syllable is a syllable that ends with a ______ .
a. vowel
b. consonant
c. vowel team
d. silent “e”
Answer: b. consonant
Explanation: A closed syllable is one that ends in a consonant and contains a short vowel sound (e.g., “cat” or “dog”). This syllable pattern is the most common in English, and the presence of the closing consonant helps determine the short vowel sound.
Question 8:
Which set of words includes only open syllables?
a. go, me, she
b. hat, pit, run
c. nap, top, gum
d. stop, plan, strip
Answer: a. go, me, she
Explanation: An open syllable is one that ends with a vowel, and the vowel is typically long. In the set “go, me, she,” each word ends with a vowel sound and there is no closing consonant, making them open syllables. The other sets contain closed syllables, where the vowel sound is followed by a consonant.
Question 9:
Complete this sentence: The “magic e” syllable pattern is also known as the ______ syllable pattern.
a. CV
b. CVCe
c. CCVC
d. VCe
Answer: b. CVCe
Explanation: The “magic e” syllable pattern, also called the silent “e” or VCe pattern, involves a word where a silent “e” at the end of the word makes the preceding vowel long, as in “bike” or “cake.” The structure of the word follows the consonant-vowel-consonant-silent “e” (CVCe) pattern.
Question 10:
Which of the following sets of words contains only consonant blends and no digraphs?
a. snack, blink, frost
b. ship, chin, thin
c. rough, show, watch
d. duck, shell, blush
Answer: a. snack, blink, frost
Explanation: Consonant blends involve two or more consonants where each consonant sound is pronounced, like in “sn,” “bl,” and “fr.” The other options contain consonant digraphs, where two consonants make a single sound (e.g., “sh” in “ship” and “ch” in “chin”).
Question 11:
True/False? A syllable with a long vowel sound is always an open syllable.
Answer: False
Explanation: While open syllables often have long vowel sounds, not all long vowel syllables are open. For example, the “magic e” syllable pattern (CVCe) also produces a long vowel sound but is not an open syllable because it ends with a consonant followed by a silent “e.”
Question 12:
Which set of words illustrates both the open syllable pattern and the CVCe pattern?
a. go, lake, she
b. tap, cut, bet
c. ship, plan, stop
d. clue, ride, name
Answer: d. clue, ride, name
Explanation: The word “clue” is an open syllable because it ends in a vowel sound. The words “ride” and “name” follow the CVCe pattern, where the silent “e” makes the preceding vowel long. Therefore, this set illustrates both the open syllable and CVCe patterns.
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