Rosemarie Hester is a learning specialist in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Her new website will be up and running this weekend.

     Learning all the vowel sounds is a daunting task!  Here is something you can do to help your child learn the short sounds which he or she will need to know for words like “cat,” “sit,” “led,” as well as all the many longer words containing them. 

    Work with your child to find a word with a ‘short a’ sound that has meaning to him or her, like the name of a family cat (Al) or a favorite food (apple).  Help your child write the word on an index card and then draw a picture.  Brainstorm other words with the “short a.”  The child should then use a highlighter or a crayon to trace over it to make it stand out.

    If your child has enough stamina, go on to ‘short e’ and perhaps ‘short i,” each time identifying a key word and drawing a picture on an index card.  

It’s probably best not try to do all the vowels in one sitting!  Always review the previous vowels when you add the next. 

Review and practice in short sessions, making a game of it, to help your child picture the image on the card, say the key word and isolate the short sound. 

The next step for the beginning reader is for you to make short lists of words like “hat, Ted, fan, cup, top, sit,” mixing up the vowels.  Here’s the important part–Keep the index cards available next to the list so the child can refer to them.

  If the child has started to read, be sure to have the index cards available, then, also . Eventually, the short sounds will become automatic–but it’s not helpful to rush the process.   This can really take time! 

This activity utilizes what is called a multi-sensory approach and personalizes learning because it involves the child brainstorming, making choices, drawing something original, writing, reading out loud, practicing and repeating.  Another time, I’ll explain how to use a multi-sensory approach to teach vowel pairs–of which there are many!