Avoid decoding confusions Teach the vowel sounds! Because vowels can be confusing. Vowels can be letters and vowels can be sounds. Every spoken syllable has a vowel sound and most written syllables have a spelling for the vowel sound. In English, there are many spellings for the vowel sounds. This is frequently confusing for students. For this reason, Readsters recommends explicitly teaching all students to hear and label the vowel sounds in spoken words. This ability supports future reading and spelling success. Lesson PlansTeaching Vowel Sounds lessons explicitly teach students to hear and label the vowel sound in spoken words. The lessons can be used with beginning readers, as part of intervention lessons for students struggling with decoding skills, and for all students to make reading and spelling less confusing. Readsters divides the vowel sounds into 4 categories: short, long, r-controlled, and other. Students learn each vowel sound, its label, and category. Then students practice hearing the vowel sound in 1-syllable spoken words. They do this using a routine called “stretching sounds”. The stretching routine is used when segmenting and when blending sounds in a spoken word. In the routine, students say each sound in a word while stretching a finger. Next, students blend the sounds into the word while pulling fingers into a fist. Finally, students say just the vowel sound while making a motion based on a guideword, and say the vowel label (e.g., short a). Lessons include ample practice of new skills, as well as cumulative review. The Teaching Vowel Sounds lesson plan book comes with a color, 8.5” x 11” vowel sounds chart which shows the sounds with guideword pictures in the 4 categories as an aid for teaching.   Scope and Sequence Optional: Vowel Sound PostersThe lesson plan book includes a full color, 8.5” x 11” vowel sounds chart. Vowel Sound Posters Support your lessons with posters of the Vowel Sounds Chart, available in 2