
Author: Elaine Kirn-Rubin
Suitable for: K-8, Secondary, Young Adult, Adult
What It Is: 2 packs of Picture/Word Cards arranged into 31 sets of "Quartets" (four-of-a-kind vocabulary items beginning with the same initial consonants) + 72-page Activities & Ideas Book of product descriptions, pedagogy, activity steps, game rules with variations, reference lists, integrated skills lessons, and more
Why You Need It: Phonics instruction and practice often begins with initial consonant sounds and spellings. That's because
- in contrast to vowels, consonant sounds are most often written with the same single letters or digraphs. Also, consonant letters usually spell (represent) the same sounds.
- in early lessons that instill "phonemic awareness," students learn to isolate and recognize beginning consonant sounds first--long before tackling more challenging word elements.
- "Spelling Alphabets" (sets of words used to stand for letters in oral communication) rely on the initial letters (5 vowels + 21 consonants)--in patterns like "B as in boy."
What It Does:
- at Basic Levels, displays one-syllable words that start with b, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, p, r, s, t, w; at Beginning Levels, reviews those 13 sounds & spellings while introducing ch, j, k, n, sh.
- develops ability to categorize and to distinguish parts of speech by providing one item in each Quartet for each of these meanings: People or Animals, Places, Things, Actions
What It Can Help You Do:
- have self-teaching material on hand for breaks in routine that don't waste time because they further educational aims
- engage competitive spirits in cooperative learning by enabling learners to really "play cards"==as in classic (children’s) games like P-I-G, Snap, Concentration, Go Fish, Old Maid, I Doubt It, Rummy, and many others that involve matching and sequencing items
- prepare for, reinforce, review, and help others retain material through additional activities that require little or no preparation, Fill-In Spelling Tests, reproducible Worksheets, and whatever else is bound to work.
2 PAGE TOC and 6 Sample Pages