Student Objectives

• Student will make the correlation between the auditory sound /ē/ and the visual ei

• Student will decode (read) words with ei
• Student will encode (spell) words with ei
• Student will be able to identify the homophones for/four and choose the correct homophone to use in a sentence

Blue Practice Games

Here are some optional fun games to help reinforce the concept your student is learning. They are not required as part of the lesson:

Review Cards

Sound Cards 

Review and Drill – dge, ew

“When I hold up a letter, say the letter’s name, and give its sound.”

“Good job! We are going to learn to read and spell words with the vowel team ei today.”

Step 1

Picture Page

Student Workbook Page 23 – ei (ē) – ceiling

“We already learned that the /ē/ sound is made by the e-e, y, ee, ea, ey, and ie. Today we are going to learn another vowel team that also makes the /ē/ sound.”

“The vowel team ei makes the sound /ē/ like in the word ceiling. What is this sound? The picture card for ei is ceiling. Say ceiling. Good. When I point to the picture word, say the letter’s name, give its sound, and say the picture word. Watch me as I demonstrate.”  

Say ei, /ē/, ceiling then have student repeat three times.

“Sometimes it is difficult to remember whether a word is spelled with ie or ei. There is a very simple rule about this. I before E except after C. Now there are a few exceptions to this rule and we will learn the exception words today.”

Note: Going forward with the program if the student struggles with ie or ei spelling, remind the student of this spelling trick. You can also make and keep an anchor chart.

“The exceptions to the rule are:
either, neither, caffeine, leisure, protein, weird, seize, seizure”

Step 2

Phonological Awareness

“Close your eyes. I will say a word. You will repeat the word and listen for the /ē/ sound in the word. If you hear /ē/, raise your hand. Let’s practice. Say protein. Do you hear an /ē/ sound in the word protein? Yes, you do so you raise your hand. Good. Let’s practice some more words.”

Repeat this activity with:

ceiling, receipt, soup, either, neither, gel, deceive, receive, deceit, perceive

Step 3

Syllable Division

Say, “We are going to practice breaking up words into syllables.”

Say, “How many syllables do you hear in the word ceiling? Repeat the word and draw a line for each syllable.” Have the student make a line for each syllable on the whiteboard.

( ___  ___ )

Say, “Good. Write each syllable in the word on the lines you drew. Now, touch and say each syllable. Then glide your finger under the lines and say the whole word fast.”

( ceil  ing )

Repeat this activity with:  

ei-ther, nei-ther, con-ceit, pro-tein

Step 4

Reading

Student Workbook Page 24 – Word List: ei (ē)

“Put your finger under the first word. Put a line under the ei. What sound does it make? Now read the word.”

Repeat with the remaining words, reading left to right.

Step 5

Sound Dictation

Student Workbook Page 27 – Sounds

“Say /ē/. With your finger, write the sound /ē/ on your palm. Now pick up your pen and write the sound /ē/ on your paper. From now on whenever I dictate the sound /ē/ you will write the letters e, y, ee, ea, ey, ie, and ei. You can use the Sound Chart on Page 127 of your workbook to help you remember.”

Repeat with the following sounds:

/uh/, /s/, /eez/, /j/, /uhl/, /shun/, /ew/, /s/, /ē/

Step 6

Word Dictation

Student Workbook Page 27 – Words

“Say ceiling. Spell the word ceiling by writing the letters on your palm. Now pick up your pen and write the word ceiling on your paper.”

Repeat with the following words:

caffeine, neither, protein, weird, either, leisure, deceive, seize, conceit

Step 7

Sentence Dictation

Student Workbook Page 27 – Sentences

“Listen carefully as I say a sentence and watch as I make a dash on the board for each word in the sentence.”  

The athlete eats protein with each meal.

“Now, you say the sentence as you point to each dash. Now, you fill in each dash with each word from the sentence. Good. Now go back and read the sentence that you just wrote.”

Repeat the above with the following sentences, but this time in the student workbook instead of the whiteboard:

Neither Sam nor Dave could sleep in that noisy house.

I find that situation very weird.

Step 1

Phonological Awareness

“Say neither. Say each syllable.”

“Say deceit. Say each syllable.”

“Say perceive. Say each syllable.”

“Say receive. Say each syllable.”

“Say deceive. Say each syllable.”

“Say receipt. Say receipt again but this time, instead of /r/, say /d/. “ (deceit)

“Say receiving. Say each syllable.”

“How many syllables does the word receiving have? Say each syllable.” (3) 

Step 2

Letter Tiles

“Say ceiling. Bring a letter down for each sound in the word. Now read the word. Put all the letters back where they belong in the alphabet, and we will build a different word.”

Repeat this activity with:

receipt, caffeine, perceive, either, neither, conceit, deceive, receive, protein, deceit

Step 3

Reading

Student Workbook Page 24 – Sentence List: ei (ē)

“Look at the first sentence.”

1. Caffeine constricts the blood vessels in your body.

“Put your finger under the first word in the sentence. Now read the sentence quietly in your head and look at me when you are finished and I will ask you a question.”

When the student looks up at you ask: 

“What does caffeine do?” (constricts the blood vessels)

“Good. Now go back and read the sentence out loud.”

Repeat with:

2. As an athlete, he needs extra vitamins and protein. 

“What do athletes need?” (protein)

3. After the construction, there was a hole in the ceiling.

“What do you think caused the hole?” (answers will vary)

4. Keep your receipt in case you need to return something.

“Why do you think you should keep a receipt?” (in case you want to return something)

5. I received flowers and candy in the mail.

“What did you receive in the mail?” (flowers and candy)

6. We all need to save the money that we receive.

“What should we all save?” (our money)

7. Either candidate will make a great president.

“Which candidate will make a great president?” (either)

8. Neither of the children are able to play the piano. 

“Can either child play the piano?” (no)

9. How do you perceive the world around us?

“How would you answer this question?” (answers will vary)

10. The story had a weird ending.

“What was weird? What does weird mean?” (the story, not normal)

Step 4

Spelling Practice

Student Workbook Page 24 – Word List

Give your student a sheet of paper and multi-colored writing utensils containing the colors: red, yellow, green

OR

Use a writing application for this activity. (ex: google doc, microsoft word, etc.) 

“Write/type each word three times each. The first should be written in red, the second should be written in yellow, and the third should be written in green.”

Step 1

Homophones: For and Four

On the whiteboard write: for / four 

“When words sound the same but have different meanings, they are called homophones. Today we are going to learn about the homophones for and four.” 

Point to the word for and say, “The word for is commonly used and easy to spell.”

Point to the word four and say, “The word four refers to the number 4. It is easy to spell the word four if you remember that the word four has 4 letters in it.”

Create a pair of index cards, or pieces of paper, with the words for and four written on them. Place them in front of the student.  

“I am going to say a sentence, you are going to pick up and wave the homophone card that has the correct spelling of the word.”

You can also use a fly swatter and have the student swat the correct answer or tape both cards to the wall and have the student high-five the correct answer.

1. She swam four laps.
2. He turned four years old today.
3. Those cookies are for her.
4. There are four letters on the desk.
5. I am waiting for him to get here.

Point to the word for. Say, “Write a sentence using the word for.” Wait for student to finish.

Point to the word four. Say, “Write a sentence using the word four.” Wait for student to finish.

Step 2

Phonological Awareness

Write the word ceiling on the board. ”What is this word?”

“What letter says /s/?”

“What letters say /ē/?”

“What letter says /l/?”

“What letters say /ing/?”

“What letters say /ling/?”

“What does the letter c say?”

“What does the letter l say?”

“What do the letters ing say?”

“What do the letters ei say?”

“How many syllables does the word ceiling have? Say each syllable?”

Step 3

Reading

Student Workbook Page 25 – Seize the Day!

“Look at the title of this story. Can you read it out loud? What do you know about the topic of this story?” Have you ever seen, known, or been…Help student connect to the text.

“Now, read the first paragraph quietly in your head and look at me when you are finished and I will ask you a question.” When the student looks up at you, ask “Why do you think Jake’s dad doesn’t want him to have caffeine?” (answers will vary)

“Now, read the next paragraph quietly in your head and look at me when you are finished and I will ask you a question.” When the student looks up at you, ask “What promise did Jake make to his dad?” (he would have a protein shake for lunch)

“Now, read the last paragraph quietly in your head and look at me when you are finished and I will ask you a question.” When the student looks up at you, ask “What do you think was making Jake feel weird?” (answers will vary)

Go back to the beginning of the story and have the student read the entire story from the beginning to the end out loud.  

Step 4

Retelling the Story

Student Workbook Page 26 – Story Summary

Have the student verbally express what happens at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Help student summarize the story. Then have the student fill out the graphic organizer with a pen.  

It is time for a Progress Check!

Student Workbook Page 118 – Progress Check: ei (ē)

Have your student read the words and sentences out loud. If they get approximately 80% or more correct, then they are ready to move on to the next unit.