Reading Specialist, Savannah Campbell from Campbell Creates Readers, provides a helpful reference guide to phonic acronyms.
There are A LOT of acronyms in education. IEP, IDEA, NCLB, NRP. I could go on and on and on. If you are a teacher or parent, it can feel overwhelming! Today, I want to walk you through some important acronyms that you might find when researching instructional materials for your classroom or child.
The terms I’m discussing relate to phonics rules. These terms could show up when locating decodable books, so it is helpful to know what they mean and whether or not the skill aligns with your own students’ needs. You may or may not want to teach these terms to your students. There is no consensus on whether or not these terms are beneficial, so teacher/parent choice should be utilized.
The following acronyms typically relate to single-syllable words, although all of these configurations are found in multi-syllabic words as well.
CVC: This stands for consonant-vowel-consonant. The vowel sound is short. These are our most basic closed syllable words.
Examples: sit, red, bug, top
CCVC: This stands for consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant. This type of word is more difficult than CVC words because it includes an additional consonant. When two consonants are together, but maintain their individual sounds, we call it a blend.
Examples: slip, trap, frog, clip
CVCC: This stands for consonant-vowel-consonant-consonant. Although it includes the same number of letters, this type of word can be trickier than CCVC words, where the two consonants are at the beginning of the word. Isolating ending sounds can be more difficult than isolating beginning sounds. A CVCC word is a closed syllable that ends with two consonants. The vowel sound is short.
Examples: west, pact, gift, last
CCVCC: This stands for consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant-consonant. There will be two consonants both before and after the vowel sounds. The vowel sound is short.
Examples: stand, plant, trunk, stomp
CVCe: This stands for consonant-vowel-consonant-silent e. In a CVCe word, the silent e is making the other vowel make a long vowel sound. This kind of word is often called magic e or silent e. The vowel sound is long.
Examples: make, line, rude, frame (This last word is CCVCe)
This reference guide is meant to help navigate the materials you may come across when you are deciding which activities and books are appropriate for your classroom/child. Not all companies use this language, but you will find it in many places. Make sure you save this link to come back the next time the acronyms are too much!
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#decodablebooks #structuredliteracy #cvcwords #beginnerreaders #phonics
This guest blog is by K-5 reading specialist, Savannah Campbell. Savannah has taught her entire career at the school she went to as a child. She holds two master’s degrees in education from the College of William and Mary, and is both Orton-Gillingham and LETRS trained. Her greatest hope in life is to allow all children to live the life they want by helping them to become literate individuals.