
Author: Elaine Kirn-Rubin
Suitable for: 3-8, Secondary, Young Adult, Adult
What They Are: Four more Decks E-H of Picture/Word Cards arranged into 52 "Quartets" (sets of four-of-a-kind vocabulary words that rhyme) + a 56-page Activities & Ideas Book that reviews reasons for teaching rhyming words; gives more creative, adaptable instructions on how to do so; and includes plenty of how-to supporting information
Why You Need Them: Students working on their reading and language skills, especially those that like considering "word families," will appreciate having materials that go beyond the most elemental rhymes. Here are four more classic-design 52-Card Decks to be used separately; in combination with or after lower-level cards; or combined with or before higher-level ones.
What They Do:
- Deck E contains 52 words of 3, 4, or 5 letters that all end in -m or -n or a cluster with one of those letters. Their 12 distinct vowel sounds include one that's "r-colored."
- Deck F 's 52 items all end in (a blend containing ) -l or -r. They include not only the most conventional vowel spellings but also some unusual ones.
- Deck G helps learners to distinguish among rimes that end in /d/, including many in simple-past verbs.
- Deck H's words all end in (sound combinations that include) / s z ch j th /. Many of these are relatively uncommon consonant clusters such as -nce, -rge, -ste, -ngs, -nge
- have self-teaching material on hand for breaks in routine that don't waste time because they deliver educational benefits, making them "worth the effort"
- engage competitors in helping themselves and others by enabling them to really "play cards"--as in classic (children’s) games and other popular pastimes that involve matching
- prepare for, reinforce, review, and aid retention through additional activities that require (almost) no preparation, like Fill-In Spelling, Paired "Quizzes," "Twenty Questions," "Hink-Pinks," and "Beyond the Deck Brainstorming.