Phonology Unit 5 Interactive Guide: The Sounds of Y

Why oh why does <y> have so many roles?

Despite the fact that we teach our kindergarteners that "<y> says /y/", this is the least common role of the versatile<y>. Far more often, <y> functions as a vowel. Luckily, <y> isn't capricious and generally follows the rules below.

Below is the interactive Unit Plan where you can links to lessons. Each blog post includes the typical grouping, methodology, suggested duration, and rationale. The PDF column will take you to directly to TPT. You can download a hard copy of these plans here.

The Sounds of Y Mastery Goal:

Recognize and apply <y> as a vowel patterns.

Day	Blog Posts	The PDFs	Objectives
tool	None	Teacher Word Bank	Provide the instructor with a bank of words for dictation and brainstorms.
1	How To: Introduce a New Phonology Concept	Vocabulary Squares	Use Vocabulary Squares to develop shared definitions of key terms.
2	How To: Short Vowel Intensive	Short Vowel Intensive	Build fluency with short vowel sounds through auditory, visual, and kinetic responses.
2	How To: Explain Why	Explain Why	Apply phonological knowledge to analyze patterns in words
3	How To: Word or Syllable Only? (Collaborative)	None	Review grapheme to phoneme relationships in order to build blending automaticity and accuracy.
3	How To: Look Alike & Analysis	Look Alike & Analysis	Build fluency and accuracy through orthographic mapping.
4	How To: Sand Spell the Phoneme	None	Review known phoneme to grapheme relationships in order build automaticity.
4	How To: Syllabication	Syllabication	Apply phonological knowledge to syllabicate words.
5	Identify the Vowel by Mouth Position	Mouth Position ID	Identify the mouth positions unique to each short vowel sound.
5	How To: Spell & Sort	Spell & Sort	Recognize and apply phonological knowledge.
6	How To: Short Vowel Intensive	Short Vowel Intensive	Build fluency with short vowel sounds through auditory, visual, and kinetic responses.
6	How To: Spell & Sort	See Day 1 of Spell & Sort	Continue from day 6.
7	How To: Identify the Grapheme	Identify the Grapheme and Rime Drill	Review phoneme to grapheme relationships in order to build automaticity.
7	How To: Rime Drill	(above)	Recognize and use common rimes to build blending automaticity, accuracy, and fluency.
8	How To: Bags of Rimes	Bags of Rimes	Recognize and use common rimes to build blending automaticity, accuracy, and fluency.
9	How To: Marker Spell the Phoneme	Marker Spell the Phoneme	Review phoneme to grapheme relationships in order to build automaticity.
9	How To: Dictation	Dictation	Encode new phonological patterns.
10	How To: Identify the Vowel by Mouth Position	See Day 1 of Mouth Position ID (same doc)	Identify the mouth positions unique to each short vowel sound.
10	How To: Syllabication	See Day 1 of Syllabication (same doc)	Apply phonological knowledge to syllabicate words.
11	How To: Read & Sort Phonology Passages	Passage Sort	Identify and sort phonological patterns in a story.
12	How To: Dictation	See Day 1 Dictation	Encode new phonological patterns.
13	How To: Syllabication	See Day 1 of Syllabication (same doc)	Apply phonological knowledge to syllabicate words.
13	How To: Look Alike & Analysis	See Day 1 Look Alike & Analysis	Build fluency and accuracy through orthographic mapping.
14	How To: Pre-Quiz Power-Up	Quiz Review	Review content in preparation for the quiz.
15	How To: Quiz	Quiz	Assess understanding of the unit objective.