ELA G1:S4:C21:L106

Chaining: Vowel Teams "oa," "ai," and "ea"

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Daily Learning Targets

Opening A: I can identify the long or short vowel sound in a one-syllable word. I can explain why the vowel makes a long or short sound. (RF.1.2)

I can listen to a single-syllable word and identify the long vowel sound it contains.

Work Time A: I can read and spell CVC, CCVC, and CVCC words with vowel teams. (RF.1.2, L.1.2)

I can decode regularly spelled one-syllable words by segmenting phonemes (sounds) and blending them to pronounce a word whose meaning I recognize.
I can decode a word with a vowel team (two vowels that make a long vowel sound) in the middle.

Ongoing Assessment

Observe students during Work Time. Determine whether each student can identify the long vowel words using the patterns for the week.

Agenda

Agenda
1. Opening (3–5 minutes) A. Vowel Sounds: Familiar Patterns for /ā/, /ō/, and /ē/ (Open Syllable and Magic “e”) 2. Work Time (10 minutes) A. Chaining: Decoding with Vowel Teams “ai,” “oa,” and “ea” B. Chaining: Encoding with Vowel Teams “ai,” “oa,” and “ea” 3. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes) A. Reflecting on Learning 4. Differentiated Small Group Instruction and Rotations (40-45 minutes)

1. Opening (3–5 minutes)

A. Vowel Sounds: Familiar Patterns for /ā/, /ō/, and /ē/ (Open Syllable and Magic “e”)

2. Work Time (10 minutes)

A. Chaining: Decoding with Vowel Teams “ai,” “oa,” and “ea”

B. Chaining: Encoding with Vowel Teams “ai,” “oa,” and “ea”

3. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes)

A. Reflecting on Learning

4. Differentiated Small Group Instruction and Rotations (40-45 minutes)

In Advance

Prepare:

Letter Formation chart with visuals
Anchor chart for vowel teams "ai," "oa," and "ea" mnemonic illustration (see supporting materials)
Snapshot Assessment (optional)

Gather materials for differentiated small group instruction (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher).

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T)

decode, proficient, vowel team (L)

Materials

Movable letters (for building words; from Lesson 96)
Whiteboards or sheet protectors with white cardboard inside (one per student or pair)
Whiteboard markers (one per student)
Whiteboard erasers (or tissues, socks, etc.; one per student)
Anchor chart for vowel teams "ai," "oa," and "ea" mnemonic illustration (see supporting materials)
Letter Formation chart (for teacher reference; from Lesson 96)
Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student)

Opening

Opening	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Vowel Sounds: Familiar Patterns for /ā/, /ō/, and /ē/ (Open Syllable and Magic “e”) (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”): “Sit down and come together, together, together. Sit down and come together, together, right now. Open up your ears now, and listen for the vowel sounds. It’s time to hear the vowel sounds we’re making right now.” Begin the Vowel Sounds instructional practice: 1. Teacher says: “Today, let’s start by listening to some words that have the same vowel sound. We’ll identify that sound and then examine all the ways we’ve learned this year to spell that sound. Knowing the different ways that a sound can be spelled will help us become better readers and spellers.” 2. Teacher says the following words aloud, pausing between each word: “make,” “lane,” and “page.” 3. Teacher asks: “What sound do we hear in all of these words?” (/ā/) 4. Teacher says: “Right! We hear the long vowel sound of ‘a’ in those words. Now let’s look at how that /ā/ sound is spelled.” 5. Teacher writes the words in a list on the board and asks: “How is the /ā/ sound spelled in the word ‘make’?” (The magic “e” is giving its sound to the vowel “a,” making it say its name.) 6. Teacher says: “Yes, we see the magic ‘e’ pattern in these words. We learned that the magic ‘e’ gives its sound so the vowel ‘a’ can say its name, which is the long vowel sound. I remember that the magic ‘e’ is one pattern we learned for long vowel sounds. Let’s see if we remember other patterns for long vowel sounds with some different words.” 7. Teacher says the following words aloud, pausing between each word: “so,” “code,” “hope.” 8. Teacher asks: “What sound do we hear in all of these words?” (/ō/) 9. Teacher says: “Right! We hear the long vowel sound of ‘o’ in these words. Now let’s look at how that /ō/ sound is spelled.” 10. Teacher writes the words in a list on the board and asks: “How is the /ō/ sound spelled in the word ‘so’?” (with the vowel alone, as the final sound in an open syllable) “How is the /ō/ sound spelled in the word ‘code’?” (The magic “e” is giving its sound to the vowel “o,” making it say its name.) “How is the /ō/ sound spelled in the word ‘hope’?” (The magic “e” is giving its sound to the vowel “o,” making it say its name.) 11. Teacher says: “Yes, we see the open syllable and magic ‘e’ patterns in these words. So these are two patterns we have learned for spelling the long vowel sounds we hear in words. I wonder if those are the only ways to spell those long vowel sounds. Let’s look at some new words today and find out!”	Consider using anchor charts from previous cycles to review the ways students have learned to spell each vowel sound.

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Vowel Sounds: Familiar Patterns for /ā/, /ō/, and /ē/ (Open Syllable and Magic “e”)

(Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”):

“Sit down and come together, together, together. Sit down and come together, together, right now. Open up your ears now, and listen for the vowel sounds. It’s time to hear the vowel sounds we’re making right now.”

Begin the Vowel Sounds instructional practice:

1. Teacher says: “Today, let’s start by listening to some words that have the same vowel sound. We’ll identify that sound and then examine all the ways we’ve learned this year to spell that sound. Knowing the different ways that a sound can be spelled will help us become better readers and spellers.”

2. Teacher says the following words aloud, pausing between each word: “make,” “lane,” and “page.”

3. Teacher asks:

“What sound do we hear in all of these words?” (/ā/)

4. Teacher says: “Right! We hear the long vowel sound of ‘a’ in those words. Now let’s look at how that /ā/ sound is spelled.”

5. Teacher writes the words in a list on the board and asks:

“How is the /ā/ sound spelled in the word ‘make’?” (The magic “e” is giving its sound to the vowel “a,” making it say its name.)

6. Teacher says: “Yes, we see the magic ‘e’ pattern in these words. We learned that the magic ‘e’ gives its sound so the vowel ‘a’ can say its name, which is the long vowel sound. I remember that the magic ‘e’ is one pattern we learned for long vowel sounds. Let’s see if we remember other patterns for long vowel sounds with some different words.”

7. Teacher says the following words aloud, pausing between each word: “so,” “code,” “hope.”

8. Teacher asks:

“What sound do we hear in all of these words?” (/ō/)

9. Teacher says: “Right! We hear the long vowel sound of ‘o’ in these words. Now let’s look at how that /ō/ sound is spelled.”

10. Teacher writes the words in a list on the board and asks:

“How is the /ō/ sound spelled in the word ‘so’?” (with the vowel alone, as the final sound in an open syllable)

“How is the /ō/ sound spelled in the word ‘code’?” (The magic “e” is giving its sound to the vowel “o,” making it say its name.)

“How is the /ō/ sound spelled in the word ‘hope’?” (The magic “e” is giving its sound to the vowel “o,” making it say its name.)

11. Teacher says: “Yes, we see the open syllable and magic ‘e’ patterns in these words. So these are two patterns we have learned for spelling the long vowel sounds we hear in words. I wonder if those are the only ways to spell those long vowel sounds. Let’s look at some new words today and find out!”

Consider using anchor charts from previous cycles to review the ways students have learned to spell each vowel sound.

Work Time

Work Time	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Chaining: Decoding with Vowel Teams “ai,” “oa,” and “ea” (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”): “Now it’s time to decode words using the letter-sound connections; now it’s time to decode words; be careful, watch for a change.” Begin the Chaining instructional practice: 1. Teacher shows the word with movable letters and says the word aloud: “tail.” 2. Teacher asks: “What vowel sound do we hear in the word ‘tail’?” (/ā/) 3. Teacher says: “That’s right, but hold on! I don’t see an open syllable or a magic ‘e’ to make that /ā/ sound. I wonder what could be making that /ā/ sound? Let’s examine this word carefully as we read it.” 4. Teacher points to each letter representing each sound from left to right, making the /ā/ sound while sliding the finger under the letters “ai” as one unit, and blending the sounds to pronounce the word “tail.” 5. Teacher asks: “How many sounds do we hear in this word?” (three) “What do you notice about the letters in the middle of this word?” (two vowels next to each other, an “i” we don’t hear) 6. Teacher says: “That’s right! I think we’ve just found another way to spell the /ā/ sound! These vowels together are called a ‘vowel team’ because they stick right next to each other and work together to make one sound: the /ā/ sound.” 7. Teacher distributes whiteboards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers. 8. Students write the word on their whiteboards the word “tail.” Teacher emphasizes proper letter formation (see Letter Formation chart for suggested formation of each letter). 9. Students point to each letter sound connection from left to right, making each sound (/t/ /ā/ /l/) and blending to pronounce the word “tail.” 10. Teacher removes the “t” and replaces it with an “m” and asks: “How has the word changed?” (The first letter is an “m” instead of a “t.”) “And what is this new word?” (mail) 11. Students erase the “t” and write an “m” in its place to form the new word: “mail.” 12. Students point to each letter from left to right, making each sound and blending to pronounce the word “mail.” 13. Repeat steps 9–11 with “sail.” 14. Teacher says: “Now that we have learned about a vowel team to spell the /ā/ sound in words, I wonder if there are more vowel teams we can learn. Let’s look at another new word I found that has two vowels together.” 15. Teacher shows the word with movable letters: “oat.” 16. Teacher says: “In this word, I see two vowels together again, the ‘o’ and the ‘a.’” 17. Teacher asks: "What do we think these vowels do together?” (They are a vowel team to make the /ō/ sound.) 18. Repeat steps 9–11 with words “boat” and “coat.” 19. Teacher says: “I’m excited to learn about these vowel teams that will help me become a better reader. Let’s look at another new word I found that has two vowels together.” 20. Teacher shows the word with movable letters: “each.” 21. Teacher says: “In this word, I see two vowels together again, the ‘e’ and the ‘a.’” “What do we think these vowels do together?” (They are a vowel team to make the /ē/ sound.) 22. Repeat steps 9–11 with words “beach” and “teach.” 23. After teacher adds the last word to the list and students decode it, he or she guides students to read the entire list of words (as a group and/or individual volunteers). 24. Teacher says: “So we have learned a new way to spell the long vowel sounds that we hear in words.” 25. Teacher asks: “In each of these vowel teams, what do we notice happens with the vowels?” (The sound they make is the long vowel sound of the first vowel in the team.) 26. Teacher says: “Right! The first vowel in the team is like the team captain, so it is the leader of the team. The first vowel’s long sound is the one we hear in the vowel team.”	Guide students in discovering the relationship between vowels in the vowel team, reinforcing the language of “vowel team” and “vowel sounds.” Consider creating a chart or other method to record and display all the ways students have learned to spell the /ā/ sound. (This can be done with the “o” and “e” as well.) As of this lesson, this would include: Open syllable (example: “pa-per”) Magic “e” Vowel team “ai” Consider extending this work time lesson to included instruction on homophones such as “male” and “mail” or “tale” and “tail.” Consider making a small “captain” hat (or letter/armband) to place above the first vowel, which will reinforce the first vowel as captain in the vowel team. This can be used as a helpful visual for students to remember which vowel sound they hear in the word and will support students later in the module when they encounter multisyllabic words with vowel teams.
B. Chaining: Encoding with Vowel Teams "ai," "oa," and "ea" (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "The More We Get Together"): "Now it's time to spell the words, using letter sound connections. Now it's time to spell the words; be careful, listen for the sounds." Continue with the Chaining instructional practice, now focusing on the encoding portion: 1. Teacher says the first word: "tail." 2. Students say "tail." 3. Teacher writes the letters that correspond to each sound on the board, emphasizing proper letter formation (see Letter Formation chart for suggested formation of each letter): "t-a-i-l." 4. Teacher covers the word. 5. Students write the word on their whiteboards from memory: "tail." 6. Teacher uncovers the word. 7. Students check their spelling. 8. Students erase their whiteboards. 9. Repeat steps 1-8 with remaining words: "mail," "sail," "oat," "boat," "coat," "each," "beach," "teach."	Consider asking students to identify and annotate the vowel team in each word with an underline. Consider asking students to identify the captain of the vowel team in each word. Consider writing the list of words on the board and asking: "What do we notice about the position of the vowel teams in words (at the beginning or middle of the word)?"

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Chaining: Decoding with Vowel Teams “ai,” “oa,” and “ea”

(Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together”):

“Now it’s time to decode words using the letter-sound connections; now it’s time to decode words; be careful, watch for a change.”

Begin the Chaining instructional practice:

1. Teacher shows the word with movable letters and says the word aloud: “tail.”

2. Teacher asks:

“What vowel sound do we hear in the word ‘tail’?” (/ā/)

3. Teacher says: “That’s right, but hold on! I don’t see an open syllable or a magic ‘e’ to make that /ā/ sound. I wonder what could be making that /ā/ sound? Let’s examine this word carefully as we read it.”

4. Teacher points to each letter representing each sound from left to right, making the /ā/ sound while sliding the finger under the letters “ai” as one unit, and blending the sounds to pronounce the word “tail.”

5. Teacher asks:

“How many sounds do we hear in this word?” (three)

“What do you notice about the letters in the middle of this word?” (two vowels next to each other, an “i” we don’t hear)

6. Teacher says: “That’s right! I think we’ve just found another way to spell the /ā/ sound! These vowels together are called a ‘vowel team’ because they stick right next to each other and work together to make one sound: the /ā/ sound.”

7. Teacher distributes whiteboards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers.

8. Students write the word on their whiteboards the word “tail.” Teacher emphasizes proper letter formation (see Letter Formation chart for suggested formation of each letter).

9. Students point to each letter sound connection from left to right, making each sound (/t/ /ā/ /l/) and blending to pronounce the word “tail.”

10. Teacher removes the “t” and replaces it with an “m” and asks:

“How has the word changed?” (The first letter is an “m” instead of a “t.”)

“And what is this new word?” (mail)

11. Students erase the “t” and write an “m” in its place to form the new word: “mail.”

12. Students point to each letter from left to right, making each sound and blending to pronounce the word “mail.”

13. Repeat steps 9–11 with “sail.”

14. Teacher says: “Now that we have learned about a vowel team to spell the /ā/ sound in words, I wonder if there are more vowel teams we can learn. Let’s look at another new word I found that has two vowels together.”

15. Teacher shows the word with movable letters: “oat.”

16. Teacher says: “In this word, I see two vowels together again, the ‘o’ and the ‘a.’”

17. Teacher asks:

"What do we think these vowels do together?” (They are a vowel team to make the /ō/ sound.)

18. Repeat steps 9–11 with words “boat” and “coat.”

19. Teacher says: “I’m excited to learn about these vowel teams that will help me become a better reader. Let’s look at another new word I found that has two vowels together.”

20. Teacher shows the word with movable letters: “each.”

21. Teacher says: “In this word, I see two vowels together again, the ‘e’ and the ‘a.’”

“What do we think these vowels do together?” (They are a vowel team to make the /ē/ sound.)

22. Repeat steps 9–11 with words “beach” and “teach.”

23. After teacher adds the last word to the list and students decode it, he or she guides students to read the entire list of words (as a group and/or individual volunteers).

24. Teacher says: “So we have learned a new way to spell the long vowel sounds that we hear in words.”

25. Teacher asks:

“In each of these vowel teams, what do we notice happens with the vowels?” (The sound they make is the long vowel sound of the first vowel in the team.)

26. Teacher says: “Right! The first vowel in the team is like the team captain, so it is the leader of the team. The first vowel’s long sound is the one we hear in the vowel team.”

Guide students in discovering the relationship between vowels in the vowel team, reinforcing the language of “vowel team” and “vowel sounds.”
Consider creating a chart or other method to record and display all the ways students have learned to spell the /ā/ sound. (This can be done with the “o” and “e” as well.) As of this lesson, this would include:

Open syllable (example: “pa-per”)
Magic “e”
Vowel team “ai”

Consider extending this work time lesson to included instruction on homophones such as “male” and “mail” or “tale” and “tail.”
Consider making a small “captain” hat (or letter/armband) to place above the first vowel, which will reinforce the first vowel as captain in the vowel team. This can be used as a helpful visual for students to remember which vowel sound they hear in the word and will support students later in the module when they encounter multisyllabic words with vowel teams.

B. Chaining: Encoding with Vowel Teams "ai," "oa," and "ea"

(Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "The More We Get Together"):

"Now it's time to spell the words, using letter sound connections. Now it's time to spell the words; be careful, listen for the sounds."

Continue with the Chaining instructional practice, now focusing on the encoding portion:

1. Teacher says the first word: "tail."

2. Students say "tail."

3. Teacher writes the letters that correspond to each sound on the board, emphasizing proper letter formation (see Letter Formation chart for suggested formation of each letter): "t-a-i-l."

4. Teacher covers the word.

5. Students write the word on their whiteboards from memory: "tail."

6. Teacher uncovers the word.

7. Students check their spelling.

8. Students erase their whiteboards.

9. Repeat steps 1-8 with remaining words: "mail," "sail," "oat," "boat," "coat," "each," "beach," "teach."

Consider asking students to identify and annotate the vowel team in each word with an underline.
Consider asking students to identify the captain of the vowel team in each word.
Consider writing the list of words on the board and asking:

"What do we notice about the position of the vowel teams in words (at the beginning or middle of the word)?"

Closing & Assessments

Closing	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Reflecting on Learning Emphasize that successful learners keep track of and reflect on their own learning. Point out that they are doing this each time they consider how what they did today helps them become more proficient readers. Invite students to reflect and share with a partner (or whole group). Ask: "What did you do today that is helping you become a more proficient reader?" (Responses will vary. Example: "I looked for the vowel team and remembered to read the long vowel sound for the first vowel.")	For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Examples: "When I saw two vowels together, I _____." "When I wrote the letter _____, I _____." "When I heard the sound _____, I _____."

Closing

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning

Emphasize that successful learners keep track of and reflect on their own learning. Point out that they are doing this each time they consider how what they did today helps them become more proficient readers.
Invite students to reflect and share with a partner (or whole group). Ask:

"What did you do today that is helping you become a more proficient reader?" (Responses will vary. Example: "I looked for the vowel team and remembered to read the long vowel sound for the first vowel.")

For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Examples:

"When I saw two vowels together, I _____."
"When I wrote the letter _____, I _____."
"When I heard the sound _____, I _____."

Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher

Suggested Plan: Teacher works with the Pre-Alphabetic and Partial Alphabetic groups. Teacher may meet briefly with the Full and Consolidated groups to provide a weekly Word List and exit ticket or possibly set up a management system allowing these students to find the list and exit ticket and begin work independently.

Note: Groups not working with the teacher at a given time should be engaged in purposeful independent rotation work. Refer to the Independent and Small Group Work Guidance document for more details (see K-2 Skills Resource Manual).

Pre-Alphabetic:

Aim small group instruction at building students' knowledge and skills of letter identification and phonological awareness.
Use the Assessment Conversion chart to determine appropriate Kindergarten lessons and Activity Bank ideas to use in daily small group instruction.

Partial Alphabetic:

Students in the early to middle Partial Alphabetic (PA) phase may need to spend more time with long vowel sound patterns than the whole group lessons provide. Those working within the middle to late PA phase may be comfortable using the vowel team patterns introduced in this cycle. If so, small group work might include extended practice of work time.
Suggestions for working with students at the early to middle PA phase:

Use the Decodable Reader from the current cycle and Cycles 14-18 to examine spelling patterns for long vowel sounds.
Spend time on lessons and/or patterns from a previous cycle that may need more practice. Consider using the Assessment Conversion chart to determine an appropriate previous cycle.

Related Activity Bank suggestions:

An Activity Bank activity from the Vowels category (V) or from the Affix category (A)

Full and Consolidated Alphabetic:

Establish weekly Word Lists and exit tickets for independent work time (see supporting materials).
Additional Supporting Materials:

Word List Guidance (for teacher reference)
Word List (one per student or per pair)
Word Card Template (one per student or per pair)
Sorting Words Template (one per student or per pair)

EL Education Curriculum

ELA G1:S4:C21:L106

Chaining: Vowel Teams "oa," "ai," and "ea"

In this Lesson

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Help us improve!

Daily Learning Targets

Ongoing Assessment

Agenda

In Advance

Vocabulary

Materials

Opening

Work Time

Closing & Assessments

Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher

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