Phonics: Vowel Teams, R-Controlled Vowels and Diphthongs

Say "rain" slowly. You hear one vowel sound in the middle. Two letters, "ai", work together to spell it. That group is a vowel team.

Look at letters and listen for sounds

The vowels are "a", "e", "i", "o" and "u". Other letters can join a team too. The "y" belongs to "ay" in "day". The "w" belongs to "ow" in "snow". All of "igh" belongs together in "night".

A phoneme is one sound you hear. A grapheme is the letter or letters that spell one sound. In "rain", you hear three sounds. Their spellings are "r", "ai", "n". You can see four letters on the page.

A digraph has two letters for one sound. The team "ai" is a digraph. A trigraph has three letters for one sound. The team "igh" is a trigraph. You already use the same idea when you read "sh" together.

Hear a long vowel

A long vowel says its letter's name. Long a sounds like the name "a". Listen as you say these pairs:

The first and last sounds stay the same in each pair. The middle sound changes. Short vowels are the sounds in "cat", "bed", "pig", "hot" and "cup".

Read one word, step by step

Look at "sheep". First spot "ee", the team for long e. Next spot "sh", which you already know. Say the sounds for "sh", "ee", "p". Blend them smoothly to read "sheep".

Tap a finger for each sound. You make three taps, although "sheep" has five letters. Both "sh" and "ee" stay together. Saying every letter by itself would break up those teams.

Now look at "night". Keep all three letters of "igh" together. Blend the sounds for "n", "igh", "t". Again you hear three sounds. If the team is hard to see, cover the other letters with your fingers first.

You already know silent e from "cake" and "bike". "Cake" and "rain" both have long a. Their spellings show two ways to write that sound.

Say "rain" and "play". Both words have long a. The teams "ai" and "ay" spell the same sound.

Find where long a comes

The word "aim" starts with "ai". The middle is its usual place, but a team can start a word too.

Read "snail" with your finger under the letters. Spot "ai" first. Say the sounds for "s", "n", "ai", "l". Slide them together to read "snail". The two letters in "ai" give one sound. You hear four sounds and see five letters.

Now read "tray". Keep "t" and "r" as their own sounds. Keep "ay" together for long a. Blend the three sounds. The vowel sound comes last.

Choose between the two teams

To spell "stay", first say the whole word. Stretch it gently and listen for long a. There is no sound after long a. Between "ai" and "ay", choose "ay" at the end. Write "s", "t", "ay". Read your word to check it.

For "paint", long a comes before the sounds for "n" and "t". It is inside the word, so choose "ai". Write the beginning "p", then "ai", then "n" and "t". Keep both sounds after the team.

A spelling like "stai" puts the wrong team at the end. A spelling like "paynt" puts the usual ending team inside this word. Use the sound's place to help you choose between "ai" and "ay".

Hear the change and read a sentence

Say "pan", then "pain". Now say "bat", then "bait". Each pair starts and ends alike. Changing short a to long a gives a different word.

Read: "The snail will stay in the rain." Find the three words with long a. They are "snail", "stay" and "rain". In "stay", the team comes last. In the other two words, it has a sound after it.

Read "feet" and "seat" out loud. The middle sound is the same: long e. You can spell it with "ee" or "ea".

Meet both teams

Both teams can come inside a word or at its end. The sound's place will not choose between them. Read these words often and notice how each one looks.

Blend a word and spell a word

Look at "beach". Spot "ea" in the middle and "ch" at the end. Say the sounds for "b", "ea", "ch". Blend them to read "beach". Five letters spell three sounds.

Now spell "green". Say it slowly and listen from the start. You hear the sounds for "g", "r", long e and "n". This word uses "ee" for long e. Write "g", "r", "ee", "n". Then read the whole word. One "e" would leave you with "gren", which does not spell "green".

You can keep a little word list with two groups. Put "sleep" under "ee" and "team" under "ea". Add each new word to its group. Look at the whole word when you check a spelling.

Let the sentence help

Some words sound alike but mean different things. Read these pairs:

• "See" is what your eyes do. The "sea" is salt water.
• You "meet" when you get together. "Meat" is food.
• A "week" has seven days. Someone who is "weak" is not strong.

Read: "I see the sea." Both words sound alike, but their jobs differ. Your eyes help you "see". The water is the "sea". Before writing one of these words, think about its meaning.

Listen for long and short e

Say "bed" and "bead", then "set" and "seat". The first word in each pair has short e. The second has long e.

When you meet "ea" in a new word, try long e first. It is the sound this team spells most often. Some "ea" words use another sound, so check the word you read.

The long i in "night" uses three letters. In "pie", it uses two. Both teams stay together when you read.

Keep all of igh

"igh" is a trigraph: three letters for one sound. Read "high", "night", "light", "right" and "bright". Say long i for the whole team. The "g" and "h" do not get sounds of their own here.

You often see "t" after "igh", as in "fight". But "igh" can also end a word. Read "high" and "sigh" to hear this.

Work through "bright". First find "igh". Next look at "b" and "r" before it, and "t" after it. Blend the sounds for "b", "r", "igh", "t". You hear four sounds. You see six letters because "igh" uses three letters for one sound.

To spell "light", say the sounds slowly. Write "l", then the whole team "igh", then "t". Check the team letter by letter: "i", "g", "h". A try like "ligt" has lost the "h". The missing letter matters even though it has no sound of its own.

Read ie at the end

The team "ie" spells long i in "pie", "tie" and "lie". Read "tie" by blending the sound for "t" with long i. You hear two sounds and see three letters.

You also meet "ie" in "cried" and "tried". These words have the ending "-ed" added. Keep the long i as you read the whole word.

Compare spellings you know

Long i does not always need "igh". The word "bike" uses silent e, and "my", "sky" and "try" use "y". Learn which spelling belongs in each word.

Say "fit" and "fight", then "sit" and "sight". The short i changes to long i. The "gh" in the second word is part of the team, so keep it quiet when you blend.

You hear long o in "boat", "snow" and "toe". The teams "oa", "ow" and "oe" spell that sound.

Notice the team's place

Some words use these teams in other places. "Oak" starts with "oa". "Bowl" has "ow" inside, and "own" starts with it. The usual places are hints for spelling.

Read and spell with the hints

Read "float". Spot "oa" and say long o. Blend "f", "l", "oa", "t". There are four sounds and five letters. Keep the beginning sounds for "f" and "l" separate as you blend.

To spell "toast", say the word slowly. Long o comes before the sounds for "s" and "t". Try "oa" inside the word. Write "t", "oa", "s", "t", then read it back. Listen for both sounds after the team so you keep the "s".

For "blow", the vowel sound comes last. Try "ow". Write the sounds for "b" and "l", then the team "ow". A try like "blo" leaves out part of this word's spelling. Check it against "blow" on your word list.

The word "toe" also ends with long o, but it uses "oe". There are only a few common words like this. Notice and remember them as whole words.

Check the sound you tried

"ow" has another sound, the one in "cow". If you read "snow" to rhyme with "cow", pause. Look again at the same team and try long o. You get the word "snow" that you know. You keep the letters and change the sound you try.

Say "cot" and "coat", then "rod" and "road". The added team changes short o to long o. Read: "The goat has a coat." Both "goat" and "coat" use "oa" inside the word.

Read "moon" and "book". Both have "oo", but their vowel sounds differ. You need both sounds to read "oo" words.

Listen and sort

Say a few words from each group out loud. The "oo" in "food" is the moon sound. The "oo" in "good" is the book sound. Although the words look much alike, they do not rhyme.

Many words ending in "ook" use the book sound. Read "book", "cook", "look" and "took". This is a useful hint. "Spook" uses the moon sound, so the hint does not fit every word.

Try, then check

Look at "foot". Keep "oo" together and try the moon sound. That does not give the word for the part at the end of your leg. Now try the book sound. Blend the sounds for "f", "oo", "t" and say "foot".

You changed the sound of the team. You did not change the letters or leave any out. When one try fails, use the other sound and check the whole word.

Read: "The cook took a good look at the food." Go slowly at "food". The four earlier "oo" words have the book sound. "Food" needs the moon sound. Each word gets its own check.

Write a whole team

To spell "spoon", say it slowly. You hear four sounds: the sounds for "s", "p", "oo", "n". Write those spellings in order. You see five letters when you finish. The two "o" letters share one job.

To spell "wood", use "w", "oo", "d". Read it back with the book sound. You still write two "o" letters even though this is the shorter "oo" sound.

People can say a few words differently. Some say "roof" with the moon sound; some use the book sound. Both pronunciations use the same spelling. Use clear words like "moon" and "book" to remember the two groups.

The sound in "moon" can wear other spellings. Read "grew", "blue" and "fruit". Their teams are "ew", "ue" and "ui".

Find the teams

Look at "fruit". Find "ui" before you start to blend. Say the sounds for "f", "r", "ui", "t". Blend them into one beat: "fruit". Saying the "i" separately would break the team and add a beat.

Now read "screw". The sounds before the team are the sounds for "s", "c" and "r". Blend those with "ew" to read the whole word. Five letters spell four sounds.

Some words start the sound with y

Say "few" slowly. You hear a little y sound before the moon sound. Together they say long u, the name of the letter "u". "Cue" has this sound too. Some people say "new" with the little y sound, and others do not.

Look at all the letters as you read each word. Remember that "ew" and "ue" can have this little y sound. The spelling does not add another beat to "few" or "cue".

Choose a spelling for a word

Both "ew" and "ue" come at the end of words. The sound's place cannot tell you which one to write. Learn "grew" with "ew" and "glue" with "ue". Read the words, cover them, write them, and check.

"Blew" and "blue" sound the same. Their meanings help you choose:

• "The wind blew." Something moved in the wind.
• "The sky is blue." This tells you a color.

To write "fruit", remember "ui" inside the word. A try like "froot" uses a spelling for the right sound, but this word needs "ui". Check the word on your list and replace the team. Leave the other sounds in their places.

Say "saw", "haul" and "caught". The teams "aw", "au" and "augh" can spell the same vowel sound. Keep each whole team together.

Where the teams go

Very few English words end with "au". For an aw sound at the end, try "aw". "Paw" needs "aw", not "pau". Inside "sauce", the spelling is "au", not "aw".

Blend the whole word

Look at "launch". Find "au" and then "ch". Say the sounds for "l", "au", "n", "ch". Blend them to read "launch". There are six letters but four sounds. Both teams stay together.

Now look at "crawl". Blend the sounds for "c", "r", "aw", "l". There are four sounds. This word has "aw" before "l", so "aw" does not always have to end a word.

To spell "straw", listen from the beginning. Write the sounds for "s", "t" and "r". The vowel sound comes last, so write "aw". Read the whole word to check that you kept every beginning sound.

A four-letter team

In "caught", "augh" has four letters for one sound. The "g" and "h" do not make their own sounds. Blend "c", "augh", "t". When you write "taught", keep all four letters between the first "t" and the last "t".

A few words, including "thought" and "bought", spell this sound "ough". Notice the spelling when you read them.

Let speech and meaning help

Many Americans say "caught" and "cot" with the same vowel sound. If you do, listen to your own speech and learn the word's spelling by looking carefully.

"Paws" and "pause" sound the same. Read: "The cat licked its paws." Now read: "Press pause to stop the show." Think about feet on an animal or stopping a show before you choose the spelling.

Say "cat", then "cart". Adding "r" changes how the vowel sounds. A vowel with "r" right after it is an r-controlled vowel. You may hear it called "bossy r".

Hear ar in a word

The letters "ar" spell the sound in "car". Read "star", "farm", "park", "shark" and "arm". Keep the vowel and "r" together as one chunk.

Compare "had" with "hard", then "pack" with "park". The vowel in the first word is short a. In the second, "r" changes it. You do not read "ar" as ordinary short a or long a.

If you skip "r", you can change a word's meaning. "Cart" can carry things. "Cat" is an animal. Look for the whole "ar" chunk before you blend so you keep the right word.

Put chunks in boxes

When you use sound boxes, put an r-controlled vowel in one box. For "shark", the boxes hold "sh", "ar", "k". That is three boxes for five letters.

Work through "start":

1. Spot "ar" in the middle.
2. Notice "s" and "t" before the chunk.
3. Notice the last "t" after it.
4. Blend the chunks for "s", "t", "ar", "t".

You need four boxes. The two "t" letters each have their own place. The "ar" stays in one box.

Write the vowel too

The name of "r" sounds a lot like "ar". If you say "star" and write "str", you have left out the vowel. Write "s", "t", "ar" to spell the whole word. Read your writing while you point under each chunk.

For "car", write "c" and "ar". Seeing an "r" on the page is not enough: the "a" belongs just before it. Check that both letters are there and in order.

After the "ar" chunk, write "k", not "ck", for the last sound in "park", "dark" and "shark". "Fork" ends with "k" too. Check the ending as well as the vowel chunk.

People in some places say less of the "r" in these words. Use the way you speak while you notice and remember the letters.

Read "corn" and "shore". The chunks "or" and "ore" spell the same sound. A few words use "oar" or "oor" too.

Find the whole chunk

Keep the "r" with its vowel spelling. The "e" in "ore" is silent. The whole chunk in "shore" goes in one sound box.

Blend and spell

Look at "storm". First find "or". Next say the chunks for "s", "t", "or", "m". Blend them into "storm". You use four boxes for five letters.

To spell "shore", say the word slowly. You need the "sh" chunk and the sound in "corn". Here that sound comes last and uses "ore". Write "sh", then "ore". Read it back and check the silent "e". Five letters fit into two boxes.

"ore" usually comes at the end of a word. Try "or" first when the sound comes inside, as in "corn". "Or" can also come at the start or the end. These places help you try a spelling, and your word list helps you check it.

Remember "board", "door" and "floor" as whole words. You cannot hear the extra letters in their vowel chunks. Look carefully at the spellings as you read them.

Watch the letter order

Read "form" and "from". They have the same four letters, but the middle letters change places. In "form", "o" comes before "r", so "or" stays together. In "from", "r" comes first. Move your finger from left to right as you read each word.

Meaning can also choose between spellings that sound alike. Read "A gift for you" and "four cats". "For" shows who gets the gift. "Four" tells how many cats there are. "Board" is a piece of wood; "bored" tells how you feel when nothing interests you. Use the whole sentence to choose.

Say "her", "bird" and "burn". The chunks "er", "ir" and "ur" spell the same sound. Your ears alone cannot choose the spelling.

Read three spelling groups

You will also meet "er" at the end of many longer words. For now, look carefully at the chunk inside each short word.

Read "third". Spot "th", then "ir", then "d". Blend the three chunks. Each chunk gets one sound box. Five letters fill three boxes.

Read "church" next. It has "ch" at both ends and "ur" in the middle. Blend "ch", "ur", "ch". Six letters fill three boxes. Each "ch" and the "ur" stay together.

Choose the spelling you have learned

Listen to "shirt". You hear the same vowel chunk as in "her", but that does not mean you should write "er". This word uses "ir". You can try "shert", "shurt" and "shirt", then check a word list. Keep the spelling the list shows.

Read the correct word again, cover it, and write it. Uncover it and compare every letter. This helps you remember the word's look as well as its sound.

A word family can help. "Dirt", "shirt" and "skirt" share "irt". "Burn" and "turn" share "urn". But rhyming does not settle the spelling. "Hurt" rhymes with "dirt" and uses "ur".

Keep the vowel before r

A try like "gerl" uses a real spelling for the sound. The word you need is "girl", with "ir". Check each word instead of writing "er" every time.

Watch the order too. "Bird" has "i" before "r". Writing "brid" puts "r" first and changes how you would blend it. When checking your writing, point to the vowel letter and then to "r".

You can keep three letters together when you read a vowel with "r". Listen for the chunks in "hair" and "hear". They have different sounds.

Read the hair and hear groups

These three-letter teams are trigraphs. Put the whole r chunk in one sound box.

Look at "chair". Find "ch" and "air". Blend those two chunks. Five letters fill two boxes. For "clear", find "ear" after "c" and "l". Blend "c", "l", "ear" using three boxes.

Check the last e

Compare "car" and "care". The extra "e" changes the vowel chunk. "Car" has "ar"; "care" has "are" and rhymes with "hair". Read "star" and "stare", then "scar" and "scare". Look all the way to the end so you see the "e".

The little word "are" is different. In "We are here", "are" sounds like the start of "art". Learn this little word by heart. Its sound differs from the "are" in "share".

The letters "ure" occur in "pure" and "cure". Say "cure" slowly. A little y sound comes after the sound for "c". The last "e" is silent. Keep the whole ending as you read.

Try another sound of ear

"ear" has the sound in "hear", the sound in "bear", and the sound in "learn". "Earth" uses the sound in "learn" too. If your first try sounds wrong, keep the letters and try another of these sounds.

Use the word's meaning

"Hair" grows on your head. A "hare" is an animal. A "pear" is a fruit. A "pair" means two. These pairs sound alike, so think about the sentence before you write.

To remember "hear", find "ear" inside it. You hear with your ear. Read: "I can hear you here." The first word tells what your ears do; the second tells where.

Say the vowel sound in "boy" slowly. Your mouth moves as you say it. A gliding vowel sound is called a diphthong.

Hear the glide

For the sound in "boy", your lips start round and end in a smile. The teams "oi" and "oy" both spell this sound. Say "coin" and "toy". Each word has one beat, even though your mouth moves through the vowel sound.

In phonics, you will often hear "diphthong" for the sounds in "boy" and "cow". Other vowels can glide too. Here, use "boy" to help you hear the sound of "oi" and "oy".

Match the team to its place

"Oil" starts with "oi". When you add "s" to "toy", keep "oy" and write "toys". The team stays even though "s" now comes after it.

Blend without splitting the team

Read "spoil". Find "oi" before you start. Blend the sounds for "s", "p", "oi", "l". You hear four sounds. You see five letters. The "o" and "i" share one sound, so do not turn them into two beats.

Now read "coil", "foil" and "soil". They share the letters "oil" after the first letter. Each has the same vowel sound and ending. The words "boy", "toy" and "joy" share "oy" in the same way.

Spell with the place hint

Say "join" slowly. You hear a sound after the gliding vowel: the sound for "n". Choose "oi" inside the word. Write "j", "oi", "n" and read it back.

Now say "joy". The gliding vowel comes last. Choose "oy" at the end. Write "j", "oy". A try like "joi" puts the usual inside team at the end. A try like "coyn" puts the usual ending team inside "coin". Listen for where the sound comes, then check the letters you wrote.

Say "out" and "cow". Their vowel sound starts with your mouth open. It ends with your mouth small and round. The teams "ou" and "ow" spell this gliding sound.

Choose a place to look

The "n" or "l" after the vowel is a useful clue. Read "down" and "clown", then "owl". The "ow" comes before that last sound.

Read and write step by step

Look at "cloud". Spot "ou" inside the word. Blend the sounds for "c", "l", "ou", "d". You hear four sounds and see five letters. Keep "ou" as one gliding sound.

To spell "frown", listen from start to end. Write "f" and "r". The gliding sound comes before final "n", so try "ow". Finish with "n". Read "frown" back to check all four sounds.

For "shout", the sound comes before "t". Try "ou" and write "sh", "ou", "t". A try like "showt" uses a spelling for the sound, but this word uses "ou". Check a word list when you need to.

These hints fit many words, but not every word. "Crowd" uses "ow" before "d". Learn the spelling of the whole word when it does not follow your first hint.

Give ow two tries

"ow" also spells long o in "snow". Read "brown" and "grow". In "brown", use the gliding sound in "cow". In "grow", use long o. If one sound does not make the word you know, try the other.

Sometimes both sounds make a real word. Read "Take a bow" and "a red bow". A bow after a show is a bend forward, so it has the sound in "cow". A red bow tied on a gift has long o. Read the sentence to choose.

You can hear the same vowel sound in words with different spellings. "Rain", "day" and "cake" all have long a. Spelling a word means choosing the letters that belong to that word.

Keep a sound chart

Some common words have other spellings. Hear long a in "great", "they" and "eight". Hear long e in "chief", "key", "me" and "we". One "o" spells long o in "go" and "no". Add words to your chart as you learn them.

Work through a spelling

Say "tray". Listen for its vowel sound: long a. It comes last. The place hint points to "ay". Write "t", "r", "ay", then read "tray" back.

Now say "train". Long a comes inside the word. You know "ai" and silent e can both spell long a there. A try like "trane" follows a sound pattern, but this word uses "ai". Check the word list and write "train".

Use four steps when you spell:

1. Say the word and listen for its vowel sound.
2. Think about where that sound comes.
3. Write a spelling and look at the whole word.
4. Check a word list when you are not sure.

"ai", "oa" and "oi" usually come inside words. "ay", "oy" and "aw" often come last. "ow" often comes last too. These hints tell you what to try first; checking tells you whether the word is right.

Think about meaning

"Sail" and "sale" sound the same. So do "tail" and "tale", "road" and "rode", and "meet" and "meat". Read: "We will meet at the store to buy meat." You get together when you "meet". The food is "meat". Choose the meaning before you choose the spelling.

Sometimes you know every letter in a word, but your first try sounds wrong. The same spelling can make more than one sound. Keep looking at the word while you try again.

Learn the sound choices

Read "bread" and "thread" with short e. Read "steak" and "break" with long a. Long e is the most common sound of "ea", so try it first in a new word.

In "field" and "thief", "ie" spells long e. "Ou" has the moon sound in "soup" and "you", short u in "young" and "touch", and the book sound in "could", "would" and "should".

Use try-and-check

Read: "My head hurt." First try long e for "ea". That makes "head" sound like "heed". It does not fit this sentence. Try short e and blend again. Now you get "head", which fits with "hurt".

Follow these steps:

1. Try the team's most common sound.
2. Ask whether you made a word you know.
3. Read the sentence and check its meaning.
4. Try another sound of the same team if needed.

A real word still needs to fit the sentence. "Read" has long e in "I will read a book". It has short e in "I read that book last week". "A tear fell" uses the hear sound, but "Do not tear the page" uses the hair sound.

Notice nearby letters

After "w", "or" often has the sound in "her": "word", "work", "worm". After "w", "ar" often has the sound in "or": "war", "warm". Look at the letters around the vowel chunk too.

The saying about the first vowel doing the talking works for "rain" and "boat", but fails for "head", "book", "out" and "coin".

A decodable text mostly uses spellings you have learned. You can sound out its words. The story gives you a place to use your vowel teams together.

Get ready to read

Look through the story below. Find teams you know. Look for tricky words too. "The", "said" and "was" have a part you learn by heart. Knowing that part helps you read without getting stuck.

"Joy and Roy sat in a boat in the rain. A brown owl flew down to the boat. It took a seed from Joy and flew far up to a tree."

Find "oy" in "Joy" and "Roy". Find "oa" in "boat" and "ai" in "rain". Read those words before starting the whole story. The word "owl" has "ow", "flew" has "ew", "took" has "oo", and "far" has "ar".

Point, spot and blend

Point under the first word. Read from left to right. At a hard word, stop your finger and look all the way through it. Spot its team, say the team's sound, then blend the word.

Work through "brown". Find "ow" before "n". Blend the sounds for "b", "r", "ow", "n". Now read the whole phrase "a brown owl". The "ow" in both words has the sound in "cow".

At "took", use the book sound of "oo". Read it with the next words: "It took a seed". The action makes sense, and the letters fit the word you said.

Fix a reading slip

Suppose you see "boat" but say "boot". Both words begin with "b" and end with "t". The middle team makes the difference. Look again: you see "oa", which spells long o. Blend "boat", then reread the sentence.

A picture or the first letter cannot show you every sound in the word. Look at each part. Meaning helps you notice a slip, and the letters help you fix it.

Tell what happened

After reading, say what the owl did. It took a seed from Joy and flew up to a tree. If you lose track of the story, read it again slowly.

Read the story two or three times. You can spend less time on a word as it becomes familiar. Let the words flow more like talking while still checking what is on the page.

You can use your new teams in your own sentences. Say the sentence before you write. Then work on one word at a time.

Say each word before writing

Try: "The brown owl can hear the rain." Say it out loud and count its seven words on your fingers. Keep them in order as you write.

For each word, say it slowly and listen for its sounds. Write a spelling for each sound. In "brown", the vowel comes before final "n", so try "ow". In "owl", it comes before final "l", so try "ow" again. "Hear" uses "ear". "Rain" has long a inside, so try "ai".

Leave spaces so you can point under each word when you read back. Keep the sentence in your head, but check the words that are really on the page.

Read what you wrote

Put your finger under each word and read slowly. If a word is missing, add it where it belongs. If a team is missing a letter, fix that part.

Check each word with a team:

• Have you written a spelling for every sound?
• Does the whole word look right?
• Does your spelling hint or word list agree?

A word can sound right when you read it back and still need a spelling fix. Use a word list for spellings you cannot choose by sound.

Fix three teams

Read this writing try: "The boi saw a berd in the rayn."

Start with "boi". The gliding vowel comes at the end. Use "oy" and write "boy".

Next look at "berd". "Er" spells the sound you need, but this word uses "ir". Check "bird" on your word list and replace the chunk.

Finally look at "rayn". Long a comes inside the word before "n". Between "ai" and "ay", use "ai" here. Write "rain".

The checked sentence is "The boy saw a bird in the rain." Read it once more, pointing to each word you changed.

Build a word list you can use

Keep one page for a sound, such as long a. Give "ai" and "ay" their own groups. Add words as you read them. Sort word cards by spelling and read each group out loud.

Try your own short sentences with a long vowel team, a vowel with "r", and a gliding sound. Use your word list when a word is hard to spell.