Phonics  

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K-Wac gives your kindergartner the necessary basic skills

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Phonics skills for Levels 1 through 4

Providing effective instruction and strategies in word pronunciation is essential to a successful language arts programs.  VoWac phonics uses the Orton-Gillingham approach (1/3 visual, 1/3 auditory, 1/3 kinesthetic) to teach the necessary skills enabling children to unlock the English language.  It is this balanced approach along with discovery and developmental thinking skills that provide an effective method for teaching students life-long decoding skills.

VoWac uses direct instruction with structured, step-by-step methods to help students secure word attack skills that will carry them through reading development stages long after the vocabulary becomes too complex to pronounce by memory.  VoWac provides a reliable method to help students produce quality written work that often requires spelling of unfamiliar words.

CLOVER is the key!

CLOVER is an acronym representing the six vowel patterns taught in VoWac to decode unfamiliar words.  The labeling used in CLOVER is shown in parenthesis.

C = closed syllable as in "cat" ('C')
L = consonant -le syllable as in "ta/ble" ('L')
O = open syllable as in "we" ('O')
V = vowel team syllable as in "read" ('V')
E = vowel-consonant-e syllable as in "cake" ('V_E')
R = r-controlled syllable as in "barn" and "bird" ('R')

There are three basic objectives for labeling. First, the sound that the vowel or vowel team makes is often determined by the type of syllable in which it is located (open, closed, V_E, etc.).  Quick recognition of syllable types assists the reader in choosing the correct sound for the vowel pattern used.  Finally, spelling is aided by automatic realization of the syllable to be spelled being open, closed, V_E, etc.

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