Orton Gillingham Coaching on Schwa
Introduction
- Speaker: Jennifer
- Topic: Schwa in English language
Understanding Schwa
- Schwa is a common sound in English.
- Vowels typically have three sounds: Long, short, and schwa.
- Schwa Sound: Resembles a short 'u' or 'uh' sound.
- Can be produced by any vowel (a, e, i, o, u, y).
- Found in words like "lemon", "denim", "family", "among", "comma", "elephant".
- Schwa can occur in any position of a word (beginning, middle, end).
- Represented by an upside-down 'e' in dictionaries.
Characteristics of Schwa
- Most common in multi-syllable words.
- Typically occurs in unaccented syllables.
- Not considered present in one-syllable words according to traditional teaching.
- Often found at the end of words ending in 'a' (e.g., "mocha", "pizza", "umbrella").
- More frequent in words with 'a' than those with 'e' or 'i'.
Teaching Schwa
- Approach: Kinesthetic, visual, and auditory methods.
- Should be introduced simply; focus on schwa making a short 'u' sound initially.
- Progress to teaching schwa in unaccented syllables and eventually in r-controlled vowels.
- Schwa is an ongoing lesson, not a one-time topic.
- Important to incorporate schwa into various lessons and reinforce its concepts continually.
Activities for Teaching Schwa
- Use flashcards or concentration games to identify schwa sounds.
- Clap out syllables and locate schwa.
- Discuss schwa words as sight words.
- Incorporate art activities, like drawing objects with schwa sounds (e.g., elephant).
- Use tongue twisters and read aloud activities to highlight schwa words.
- For older students, perform scavenger hunts in texts to find schwa words.
- Storytelling exercises to identify and discuss schwa occurrences in their writing.
Key Considerations
- Schwa is challenging to discern by sound alone; needs visual and written reinforcement.
- Essential to ensure students can hear, see, and understand schwa in context.
- Use diverse, repeated activities to solidify understanding.
Conclusion
- Schwa requires repeated teaching and reinforcement in various contexts.
- Encouragement to further explore resources and engage with schwa lessons.
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