D. Initial Consonants
Levels 1 & 2 = Basic & Beginning, 52- & 72-Card Decks, 72-Page Activities & Ideas Book

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