THE READING ROAD Chapter 9: Irregular Vowel Teams
Contents Introduction to irregular vowel teams... 2 The vowel team ow... 3 Recess in the Snow...5 Call on Me...14 The vowel team oo...25 Word Detention...26 No Cookies for My Brother Will...28 The Vowel Team ou...38 Word Detention...39 Noodle Soup... 40 The vowel team ea...53 Word Detention... 55 The Dream Team...57 Bacon: On Page 35...71 Detective Game... 85 Tower Game... 86 1
Introduction to irregular vowel teams Some vowel teams sound different in different words, and so they are called irregular vowel teams. In this chapter, you will look at the irregular vowel teams ow, oo, ea, and ou. You will learn what sounds they make so that you can read more words! These are the things we are going to do in Chapter 9: 1. Learn about how irregular vowel teams sound 2. Learn strategies for reading these vowel teams Read as much of the text as you can, but remember to ask for help if you get stuck. The words with irregular vowel teams are green. 2
The vowel team ow The vowel team ow makes 2 different sounds and only these two: 1) the long o sound, when you re surprised about something and say OH!, as in rope: 2) the ow sound, like when you hurt yourself and say OW!, as in cow: Here are some ow words that make the long o sound as in rope: tow own mow blow Here are some ow words that make the ow sound as in cow: brow clown howl now Here s how to read the ow letters. If you don t know the word, try the oh! sound; if that doesn t work, then try the ow! sound. 3
Read these sentences with ow vowel teams The bad, mad clown had a frown on his face. The kids who came to see him said, We did not know that clowns were mad or bad. You must feel so low right now. You are making us feel down. We need to feel glad. Why don t you just get out of town? 4
Introduction to Recess in the Snow Do you ever get snow in your school yard? Even if you don t, you must have thought about what fun things you could do with snow. But you can t always do what you want. This is a story about a kid who knew what he wanted to do, and he was hard to stop. You ve been learning about irregular vowel teams, and this story is full of them. Just to remind you, words with irregular vowel teams are green. Challenge Words Recess in the Snow has lots of words with soft-c and soft-g that you know how to read now. Before you start the story, make sure to practice these words: icicles principal bully Clancy touch supposed allowed Ladies and Gentlemen Gerald Cecilia VOICE George 5
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Gerald: Great! Recess in the snow. George: It s all icy! Ceclilia: City of snow and ice. George: Look at those icicles hanging down. Gerald: This snow packs good. This one is for Zeke. VOICE: BOYS AND GIRLS. WE ARE HAVING AN OUTDOOR RECESS. DO NOT TOUCH THE SNOW. YOU MUST BE GOOD LITTLE CITIZENS. YOU MUST PLAY ON THE CEMENT ONLY. 7
Cecilia: You re not supposed to make snowballs, Gerald. Gerald: I don t care. I m gonna get Zeke. George: There s Zeke all right. He s looking big and mean. Cecilia: He s right near Mrs. Clancy. VOICE: THIS IS YOUR VICE-PRINCIPAL SPEAKING. I WANT YOU ALL TO BE REAL LA- DIES AND GENTLEMEN OUT THERE TODAY. ANY BOY OR GIRL WHO PLAYS IN THE SNOW WILL HAVE RECESS IN THE GYM FROM NOW ON. 8
Gerald: I ve got a good one here. It s nice and hard. George: If Mrs. Clancy sees you throw it you ll be in trouble. Cecilia: If Zeke sees you throw it, you ll be dead! Gerald: He washed my face with snow. The big bully, I m gonna get him. VOICE: I SEE YOU, GERALD. YOU ARE TOO CLOSE TO THE SNOW. COME AWAY FROM THE SNOW, GERALD. 9
George: Come around behind Cecilia, Gerald. I ve got an idea. Gerald: I m putting a piece of ice in it. Zeke is going to get it from me. Cecilia: Oh, you re putting snow all over Gerald. George: Yeah, I m making him into a fake snowman. Cecilia: I ll put snow on his hat. Gerald: Hey, this is cold! George: Put it all over him. VOICE: GERALD WHERE ARE YOU? I CAN T SEE YOU. 10
Cecilia: I m putting it on his face. Gerald: Glub glub glub. Cecilia: He can t alk. George: He can t see where he s going. Cecilia: Move him closer. George: Point him the right way. Gerald: Glug glug. VOICE: WHO MADE THAT SNOWMAN? THERE ARE NO SNOWMEN ALLOWED IN OUR YARD. 11
Cecilia: He s trying to throw it. George: He threw it! Cecilia: He missed Zeke. George: Oh! He hit Mrs. Clancy! Cecilia: The snow is coming off. Gerald: Darn it. 12
George: I will not make snowmen during recess. I will not make snowmen during recess. Cecilia: I will not play with boys who get me into trouble. I will not play with boys who get me into trouble. Gerald: Next time I really am going to do better. Next time I really am going to do better. 13
Introduction to Call on Me This story is about somebody who wants to get called on more than anyone else. You all know somebody like that, but the guy in the story is not really a bad guy. This story has a lot of words spelled with the irregular vowel team ow. This is the hardest one to deal with, because there just are not any rules. Half the time, ow sounds like long o, and half the time it sounds like OW! when you re hurt. You have to try both sounds and look at the whole sentence to figure out what ow sounds like. Just to remind you, words with irregular vowel teams are green. Challenge Words Call on Me has words with both ow sounds. Here are some words to practice that sound like OH!: row window grow Snow blow know slow show low flow Here are some words with the OW! sound: Brown Howard clown town down how flower now wow allowed take a bow 14
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My name is Howard Washington. I sit in the second row, next to the window. Khalil sits in front of me. He thinks he is so smart.he wears these real ugly looking pants. 16
David Snow sits on my right. He thinks he knows everything too. He is so skinny I could blow him down with one breath. Malika sits behind me. She is the teacher s pet. She gets to go to the bathroom anytime she wants to. 17
Mrs. Brown asked, Whose birthday is tomorrow? I said, Martin Luther King! Mrs. Brown raised her eyebrows. She said, Howard, you know that you are not allowed to call out. 18
I said, I got to go with the flow, Mrs. Brown. When I know it, I know it. She said, Next time, put up your hand, Howard. Mrs. Brown called on Khalil. He said, Martin Luther King. And then he said, Junior. He always got to play the clown. I told him in a low voice, You always got to show off! 19
Mrs. Brown asked, What town did he grow up in? I put up my hand, real slow, so she would think I didn t know the answer. But she called on Janine. Janine said, Philadelphia. Boy! That was so dumb! 20
I put up my hand again, showing Mrs. Brown I knew the asnwer. Mrs. Brown frowned. She called on Malika, and Malika said, Atlanta. Mrs. Brown said, Very good, Malika. Malika took a bow. 21
I wrote, Why don t YOU grow up? on a piece of yellow paper and I put it on her desk. Mrs. Brown asked, What year did he die? I put my hand up right away. She called on David. David said, 1968. That made me mad, because I knew that too. 22
Mrs. Brown said, Now I have a hard question. If Martin Luther King were alive today, how old would he be? I waved my hand up and down. I said I know, I know, Mrs. Brown! Please, Mrs. Brown, call on me! She said, All right, Howard. What s the answer? 23
Everybody looked at me. I was going to say the answer, but I just couldn t think of it. She said, Why did you put your hand up if you don t know the answer? I said, I DO know the answer, Mrs. Brown. I do! But I just forgot. 24
The vowel team oo The vowel team oo makes 2 different sounds. 1) oo usually sounds like moon. moon spoon tool hoop 2) Before k, it has a short sound, as in book. book hook look crook 25
hood flood good wood stood blood foot These words are in the detention room. They have short u but don t end in k. 26
Read these sentences with the oo vowel team Stan was in the mood for some food, so he looked in a cook book to see how to make something good. He looked up how to cook eggs and ham and muffins with jam. He took some time to find the tools to do it right. He got pans and forks and spoons too. When he was done, Stan ate that food up. It was so good! He made the best food he had ever cooked! 27
Introduction to No Cookies for My Brother Will This story is about an older sister who will not give her little brother what he deserves or wants - a cookie! If you have a younger brother or sister, would you treat them that way? The little brother does all kinds of crazy things instead. Challenge Words No Cookies for My Brother Will has words you might not already know. Practice these words before reading the story. share shoes 28
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Mom made me and my brother Will some cookies. Be good, and share the cookies, she said to us. I didn t want to share the cookies with my little brother. Then, Mom went away. I want a cookie, my little brother Will said. 30
No, I said. You re not getting any cookies, but you COULD eat your blue shoes and your socks, and your foot, too. So he ate his blue shoes and socks, and his foot, and I ate a cookie. 31
No cookies for my little brother Will! I want a cookie, my little brother Will said. No, I said. You re not getting any cookies. But you COULD eat all the trees in the yard. So he ate all the trees in the yard, and I ate a cookie. 32
No cookies for my little brother Will! I want a cookie, my little brother Will said No, I said. You re not getting any cookies. But you COULD eat Mom s new car. So he ate Mom s new car, and I ate a cookie. 33
No cookies for my little brother Will! I want a cookie, my little brother Will said. Good luck, I said. You re not getting any cookies, but you COULD eat the sun in the sky and the moon, too. So he ate the sun in the sky and the moon, and I ate a cookie. 34
No cookies for my brother Will! Then, Mom came back. Hey! she said. Who ate all the cookies? Not me, I said. Look, did you eat all the cookies? Mom asked my little brother Will. 35
Nope, he said. I ate my blue shoes and socks and my foot, all the trees in the yard, your new car, and the sun and the moon in the sky. 36
Then, Mom got mad at me. She shook her head. I got mad, too, because she made some more cookies for my little brother Will. He didn t share ANY with me. NO MORE COOKIES FOR ME! 37
The vowel team ou The vowel team ou makes the ow! sound as in cow most of the time. Try reading these ou words: loud our noun proud Try reading this sentence: Strike three, you are out! called the umpire. Foul ball, you made a bad call! our coach yelled out loud when Jack swung at the ball at the Youth League baseball game. 38
your soup group double trouble soul These words broke the rule. They don t have the ow! sound for ou. 39
Introduction to Noodle Soup Have you ever made dinner for yourself or your family? If you have, you might know that cooking is harder than it looks! As you read Noodle Soup, think about whether you would like to eat what the character is cooking and if you could do better! Challenge Words Noodle Soup has words you might not already know. Practice these words before reading the story. ketchup chocolate 40
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My mom was at work, and it was getting late. I said, It s my turn to cook dinner. I said, Make room for the good looking cook! 42
My brother said, Oh no! I will throw up. He was not in a good mood. I said, Get out! Don t be a fool. You don t know what s good! 43
I looked on the shelf for some good food and I saw a big bag of noodles. Good! I said. We will have noodles for tonight. I will make noodle soup. 44
I stood on a stool to get the noodles down. I tried to put the noodles in a pot, but they were too long. So I took a wooden spoon and I broke the noodles into little bits. 45
Then I looked for something to make the noodle soup. There was a can of chocolate sauce. I said, No, chocolate is no good for noodles. 46
The I saw a big bottle of ketchup on the shelf. Good, I said. I like ketchup. Ketchup will make a good noodle soup. 47
I took the top off the bottle of ketchup and I shook it into the pot but nothing came out. I shoot it again and still nothing came out. So I picked up a hammer and I hit it hard and he ketchup came out good. 48
It came out all over the place. It was like a big pool of blood. So I took the broom off the hook and I swept the ketchup onto a pan. Then I shook the pan into the pot with the noodles. 49
Good, I said. Now I am ready to cook the noodles. I turned on the gas and I went into the living room to watch T.V. I said, Mom will be home soon. Everything was cool. 50
I woke up and Mom was there. She asked, What is for dinner? I said, I cooked you some noodle soup. She went into the kitchen and she said, The noodle soup looks very good, but I have to fix it up a little. 51
When she put the noodle soup on the table it was very good. My brother liked it too. I didn t see any ketchup - it must have all cooked away. 52
The vowel team ea The vowel team ea makes 3 different sounds: 1) Most of the time, ea makes the long a sound, as in peach. 2) When ea comes before d or f, ea, it usually makes the short e sound, as in head or bread. The ea vowel team sometimes makes the long a sound when it comes before r, as in pear. 53
The vowel team ea can also make the long e sound before r, as in dear. Just remember to sound out the words and make the best decision! Here are some ea words that make the long e sound, as in peach: seat real steal leak Here are some ea words that make the short e sound before d as in head: deaf bread spread dead Here are two ea words that make the long a sound as in pear: bear wear 54
flood steak blood you soup bead steak foot great break These words all broke the rules! Can you figure out why? 55
Read these sentences with ea vowel teams: Neal got a rip on the seat of his pants. He did not want to wear them anymore, so he went down to the store to see if he could get a good deal on a pair of jeans. He found a great deal there. He bought a good pair of jeans! 56
Introduction to The Dream Team Here is a story about a kid who has a little trouble staying awake in school, but he gets a lot of help from his friends, as you will see. This story has many ea words. As you have learned, most words spelled with ea have the long e sound, except before d, when most of them are short e. Challenge Words Here are some words that you might not already know. Practice them with your tutor. geology economy meteor astronomy thread violence streams underneath pleading environment edge handle apart hissing 57
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It was near the end of the year. Mrs. Neal was teaching us about geology: how water turns into ice and steam and rain and streams and stuff. I wasn t really asleep, but... It was like our team was near the edge of a big stream. The water was going fast, tearing along; it was full of white foam. A boat hit a rock in the middle of the stream, and was about to break apart. There was a little girl hanging onto the boat. You could hear her mother pleading with the cops to let her jump in and swim, but they wouldn t let her. 59
The water was too fast. I said to Kobe, Go ahead, baby. You re great in the water. Kobe took one breath and leaped in; he was across that stream in twenty seconds. You could see him swimming with the girl on his back. Her mother had tears in her eyes. My dear little girl would have been dead if it wasn t for you! Kobe just smiled. 60
Mrs. Neal was teaching about the environment and how the birds needed trees for their nests and stuff. I wasn t really asleep but... It was like we were underneath this huge tree. And this little kid was screaming, My cat is stuck up in the tree! Please get my cat down! I looked up. The first branch was about fifty feet off the ground. You couldn t see any cat. You could hear it spitting and hissing. There was a rope hanging down. 61
I turned to Michael. Go ahead, Michael. You re the best in gym. No sweat, said Michael. He was up that rope, hand over hand, and he was back before you knew it. He had the cat, too. It was a mean little beast, but the kid gave it a big hug. 62
Mrs. Neal was taching us about violence and fighting and how we should be nice to each other. I wasn t really asleep but... It was like we were all on the playground, the whole team. Zeke was there, with his boys, acting real mean. I m not sure what it was about, but it was clear that Zeke was about to lean on me. 63
I turned to Vince. Vince is big as a house. I mean, he looks down on Zeke. I said, Vince, would you please speak to Zeke for me? Vince did that thing with his shoulders, just spread them out, you know. And Zeke was gone! He was nowhere near, let me tell you. 64
Mrs. Neal was teaching us about the economy and prices and sales and if each peach costs 25 cents how much do five peaches cost? I wasn t really asleep but... It was like our team was walking around downtown. And we saw this guy in black Gap jeans. I mean, he was neat and real clean. But he was sneaky too. He snuck up on this lady. He grabbed her bag and he took off. 65
I said, Allen go ahead! Let me tell you, Allen is fast. He ran down that boy before he could reach the corner. And he came back with the bag. The lady was nice. She gave us each a dollar. 66
Mrs. Neal was teaching us about astronomy and the planets and how they go around the sun and all. I was really interested but... It was like we were in a rocket ship and going real fast, twice the speed of light. You could see Mars out of the rear window. Then there was a streak of light and a bang. A meteor had hit the ship. I said, We ve got a leak! You could hear the air whistle. It was leaking out fast. 67
I turned to Shaquille. You re the smart one, Shaquille. Fix it. No sweat, said Shaqille. He spit out his bubble gum and laid it over the weak spot in the side of the ship. The bubble gum was sucked into the hole. He took the bead out of his earring and stuck it into the bubble gum. It almost filled the hole. Then he took a spool of thread out of his pocket and put the end in the edge of the hole. It stated unwinding. When it stopped, the air stopped leaking. On to Mars... 68
Then I heard Mrs. Neal say, Lamar, please spell APPEARANCE. I sat up. I said, Team, stand back. I got to handle this one all by myself. I thought, I know this is an EA word. So I said, Appearance. A. P. P. E. A. R. Then I had to stop and think. Was it E or A? Something in side me said A. So I said, A. And I said, N. C. E. 69
Mrs. Neal said, Very good, Lamar. It appeared to me that you weren t paying attention, but it seems I was wrong. So I said to Kobe, Allen, Vince, Michael, and Shaquille, Thanks for backing me up, guys. Everything is cool. 70
Introduction to Bacon: On Page 35 At the end of the last story about Bacon and Clara, Clara wound up on page 35 and nobody wants to end up on page 35! In this story, you will find out why. By now, you have learned to handle the vowel pairs that do not always have the same sound. You know that in these vowel pairs: ou, ow, ea and oo, that you have to try different sounds. Remember, words with these vowel pairs are in green. Challenge Words Here are some words to practice reading before you read the story: eyebrows windows underneath realized brighter pictures pronounce answer 71
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It was pitch black on page 35. Clara couldn t see or hear anything. She said aloud, I don t want to be on page 35. Could you please tell me how to get to page 36? 73
Then she saw letters glowing in the air. They said, READ ME. Clara read them. She said, I have read you. What do I do now? She heard no answer. She said, Please somebody, do you know how to get to page 36? She saw a pair of eyes under a pair of eyebrows. They were looking at her. 74
Slowly, she began to see around her. The letters were the cover of a book. The book was on a table. The table was in a big room. The room had no windows. The eyes and the eyebrows were on a cute little brown-eyed girl at the other end of the room. She was wearing a sign that said, Powie. 75
Clara said, Hello. Are you Powie? The furry little person said, How did you know my name? Clara said, I read it. Powie said, I wish I could read. 76
Do you know Bacon? asked Clara. Nobody on page 35 knows anything, said Powie. Well, said Clara, can you show me how to get to page 36? 77
Powie shook her head. You have to read page 35 before you can go to page 36. And nobody on page 35 can read. The book was very thick. Clara tried to find page 35, but every page was Page 35. 78
She went to the first page. It was headed How to get to page 36. Underneath were three rows of funny-looking letters. The first read 1. Ask Bacon. Clara said, That s no good. Bacon s not here. The second row read, 2. To find Bacon, go to page 35. That s no good, said Clara. Every page is page 35! She was close to tears. 79
The third row said, 3. Try again. She turned the pages. She found one page headed, Slicing bacon. Another read, Cooking bacon. Another read, Eating bacon. Then she got to, Finding Bacon. 80
That s it! said Clara. She read on. To get Bacon to page 35, have someone who lives on page 35 read the word: NOCAB. Please, Powie, said Clara, read the word. I don t know how, said Powie. It s easy! All you have to do is say BAY- CON backwards. Powie said, Con-bay. 81
Clara realized that she had to teach Powie about the letter N, and the long sound of the letter O, and the hard sound of the letter C (because it came before A), and the short sound of A and the sound of B. And as she did, the room got brighter. There were all kinds of neat pictures on the walls. Powie said, Look! I m getting smarter! 82
At last Powie knew enough to read NO- CAB. And no sooner did she say the word than Bacon was in the room. He said, Page 36 is your home page. Just pronounce the letters H-O-M-E, and you ll be home. 83
Clara said, Home. Page 35 grew dark. Powie cried out, Clara! Will you come back and teach me the rest of the leters? There wasn t time to answer. She was back in her own room, and Bacon was at ease on her bed. Clara said, It s great to be home, Bacon. But I do have to go back, you know. 84
The Detective Game Now you are almost finished with this chapter, and it s time to play the Detective Game! Detective Mack Jackson is very busy, so he needs more people on his team to help get some information about the story in this chapter. Use your memory and your detective skills to help him get some answers! You read Recess in the Snow, Call on Me, No Cookies for My Brother Will,Noodle Soup, The Dream Team and Bacon: On Page 35 in this chapter. Pick your favorite story, and go find Detective Jackson s list of questions for that story. You might want to spend a couple minutes reviewing the story with your tutor before moving on, and you might need to look at it again after you start the questions. That s okay! The better you know the story, the better your answers will be. Before you start, read the directions and make sure you know the meaning of all of the words in the Detective Game Dictionary. 85
The Tower Game Let s play the Tower Game! You get two dominoes to start. Every time you read a word right, you get another domino from your tutor. See how tall you can make your tower and don t let your tutor win! 1. out 2. brown 3. bean 4. loud 5. book 6. wow 7. blow 8. mean 9. spoon 10. leather 11. root 12. beat 13. door 14. blood 15. ready 16. break 17. broom 18. group 19. you 20. foot 86
The Tower Game: 2 Let s play the Tower Game! You get two dominoes to start. Every time you read a word right, you get another domino from your tutor. See how tall you can make your tower and don t let your tutor win! 1. foul 2. fear 3. cloud 4. bloom 5. cook 6. now 7. flow 8. seal 9. down 10. grow 11. death 12. leaf 13. soon 14. clear 15. bread 16. droop 17. soup 18. stood 19. zoom 20. steady 87