Don’t Stress it!

Page
Numbers

Facts about the Schwa 3

Lesson Plans 4-11

The Schwa
The Schwa is a sound that VOWELS can
make when they are in the UNACCENTED
syllable. They make a LAZY /UH/ sound.

Teaching Poster The panda ate his

12-13
pretzel in the wagon.

Headers for Sorts 14-17

Word Cards 18-39

Picture Cards 40-47

Printable
48-63
Activities

Phonetic Phrases 64-70

Game 71-72
 Facts about the Schwa
What is it?
• It’s the most common vowel sound.
• Any vowel can make the schwa sound.
• It sounds like /u/ but weaker.
•It’s a lazy sound (you hardly open your mouth).
When do we hear the Schwa sound?
• It’s found in the unstressed syllable of words.
• English is a stress-timed language (as opposed to a syllable-timed language
where all the syllables are the same length).
• Words with more than one syllable have stressed and unstressed syllables.
• Syllables are different lengths: Unstressed syllables are usually said faster and
quieter than stressed syllables.
• Which is the stressed syllable in the word content and present?
• That’s good content. I am feeling so content.
• The two kids had a conflict. His story conflicted with hers.
Tips to help identify a Schwa:
• If long and short vowels both don’t work, try the schwa sound.
•Bacon, button, wagon, banana, camel, husband
•The schwa sound is found in the unaccented syllable(s).
• The letter A at the beginning of multi-syllable words is often a schwa when it is an
open syllable on its own: a-gain, a-bout, a-way, a-round, a-head, a-go
• A at the end of words is always a schwa: comma, coma, panda
• When a word ends with a vowel then L (tunnel, pencil, dental)
• Accents are usually on the root of the word (instruct)
• Nouns often accented 1st syllable while verbs are often accented in the 2nd syllable.
(Say the word object as a noun and a verb.
Lesson 1. introducing the schwa
• During this lesson you will introduce the concept of the schwa and accented/unaccented syllables.
• Students will listen for accented and unaccented syllables and point out examples of schwa.
•This lesson does not include reading or spelling words with schwa.

Key Concepts:
• The schwa is the most common vowel sound.
• Any vowel can make the schwa sound.
• The schwa sounds like /u/ but weaker (sometimes sounds like /i/).
• English is a stress-timed language, which means that not all the syllables are equal in length and
sound. One syllable is always pronounced more. This is the stressed syllable.
•Because of this, often the vowel in the unstressed syllable doesn’t make its usual sound.
Instead it makes a lazy /uh/ sound.
Review
• Short and long vowel sounds. (Point to vowels and ask the two main sounds they make.)
• Syllable types (at this point, it is helpful to at least know open and closed syllable types).
• What is a syllable? (Practice clapping words and counting syllables as a reminder.)

Teaching Skill:
Introduce: You have probably noticed that the vowels do not always make the sound that they are supposed to make. Today we are
going to learn about the most common vowel sound. You will be surprised to learn that every vowel letter can make this sound.
1. Show the picture card of a wagon.
2. Clap the syllables orally: wag-on.
3. Draw two lines on the white board to represent each syllable.
4. Ask, What is the first syllable? (wag).
wag
5. Write wag on the first syllable line.
6. Ask, What is the second syllable? (students may say “un” or “in”).
7. Say, In this word, I hear “un”, but the spelling is o-n. Write on for the 2nd syllable. wag on
8. If I were to sound out this word, I might say wagOn (enunciate the short o)
because this is a closed syllable and closed syllables make the vowel say its short
sound. But we don’t pronounce it like that. We pronounce it like this: wagun. We
barely hear any vowel before the n.
9. Highlight the o in wagon (or just point to it). This is an example of a schwa.
Teaching Skill (continued):
10. Show teaching poster. Say, A schwa is a vowel sound that we sometimes use. Any The Schwa
The Schwa is a sound that VOWELS can

vowel can make the schwa sound. The schwa sound like this: /uh/ and sometimes make when they are in the UNACCENTED
syllable. They make a LAZY /UH/ sound.

like this: /i/ (make a very soft /i/ sound), like in wagon. In English, not all syllables
are the same length. Some are longer and louder than others. We call the longer The panda ate his

and louder syllables stressed or accented. The shorter or quieter syllables are pretzel in the wagon.

called unstressed or unaccented. We say those syllables quicker, quicker, and not as pronounced.
Schwas can be found in these unstressed syllables. Refer to poster for more examples.
11. Let’s first practice listening for accented and unaccented syllables. You will hear the schwa
sound somewhere in each of these words.
Guided Practice:
12. Use some of picture cards. Say the word in the picture. Say it naturally. Try to determine which
syllable is more enunciated, longer, and/or louder (accented).
• This is very difficult at first. If you are unable to hear the accented or unaccented syllables,
then focus on identifying the schwas. That is why I put the spelling of the word on the picture
cards. I wanted that visual of how it is spelled with how it is pronounced.
• Compare each picture, the spelling of the word, and the pronunciation. You may want to
repeat the steps you used with wagon, where you clap the syllables, draw the lines to represent
the syllables, and write the letters you hear with each sound (then identify and fix the schwa).
• Choose from the picture cards below. (You will not need to use all of them for this first lesson)

These two pages of picture cards This page uses open, closed, silent e, These pages have 3 syllable words
only use closed and open syllables. vowel teams, and bossy r syllables. (may have more than one schwa)

Independent Practice:
12. Use some of picture cards from above that you haven’t already used. Give each student 1-2
picture cards and a dry erase marker. Have them say the word and highlight the letter that they
think is the schwa.
Lesson 2. Reading & Identifying words with a schwa
• During this lesson your students will practice reading words with a schwa sound.

Key Concepts:
• Any vowel can make the schwa sound.
• Use syllable division rules to sound out the word. If it doesn’t sound right, try the schwa sound
for one of the vowels (usually in the 2nd syllable).

Review
• Short and long vowel sounds. (Point to vowels and ask the two main sounds they make.)
• The schwa sounds like /u/ but weaker (sometimes sounds like /i/).
• The schwa is always in the unaccented syllable of a word.
• Every multi-syllable word has a stressed/accented syllable and an unstressed syllable (or more).

Teaching Skill:
Introduce: Today we are going to practice reading words with the schwa.
For the following activity, you can use letter tiles found here or write the words on the board.
1. Build or write the word. Use syllable division rules to decode this b a c o n
word. (For more information on syllable division, click here.)
2. Ask, What are the vowels in this word? (a, o)
3. Use syllable division rules to break the word up into two syllables. b a c o n
4. Begin with the 1st syllable. Ask, Is this an open or closed syllable?
(open.) So what sound should the a make? (long a sound.) Together b a c o n
read the first syllable: “ba.”
5. Point to the second syllable. Is this open or closed? (closed.) So
what sound should the vowel make? (short o, /o/.) Together, b a c o n
nd
sound out the 2 syllable: con.
6. Ask, Does ba-con sound like a word you recognize? (Make sure you use the short o sound not
the sound you normally make when you naturally say bacon.) Students will likely figure out the
correct pronunciation. If not, tell them the real word.
7. Ask, Which vowel did not make the sound it was supposed to make? (o.) What sound did it make
instead? What do we call that sound? (Schwa.)
* Explain to students that when sounding out a word, they may need to try the schwa sound if the word
they read doesn’t sound right. Often the schwa is in the second syllable, so they can try that first.
Substitute the vowel that is there with the /uh/ sound (only after they have tried the real sound first).
Teaching Skill (continued)
8. Continue those same steps with some or all of the following words.
d a t a a g o d r a g o n

p i l o t i t e m p r o b l e m

Guided Practice:
Pocket chart activity:
1. Use the word cards provided. Display one at a time.
2. Have them copy the letters on a white board or notebook.
3. They will divide the word into its two syllables using syllable
division rules. Give them time to read the word.
4. Call on a student to read the word to the group.
5. Ask students to identify the schwa. Use highlight strips or a dry
erase marker to highlight the vowel.
• Highlight strips can be made by cutting transparent
colored overlays plastic sheets into smaller strips (you
can search that on Amazon).
• If you laminate these cards, you can use a dry erase
marker to highlight. That way, you can erase and reuse.
•NOTE: There are several cards to use so you can repeat this activity several times, as needed.
Syllable division and labeling on word cards
1. Use the word cards provided.
2. Give each student a different laminated word card.
3. They will use a dry erase marker to split the word into its syllable parts
and label the sounds of the vowels.
4. They will share the words with the group.

Independent Practice:
• Complete one of the syllable division and labeling worksheets.
•There are two versions of the same three worksheets. The first includes syllable
division and labeling of vowels. The other version is just to highlight or circle the schwa
(no labeling or splitting syllables).
Lesson 3. Common schwa sightings
• During this lesson you will show students some common times when the schwa occurs.
• This lesson can be broken in several days.

Key Concepts:
• Any vowel can make the schwa sound, but some are more common than others.
• You can usually find the schwa in these cases:
• Vowel then L (tunnel, gravel) • Open A at the beginning of words (a-go, a-bout)
• When a word ends in A (tuba, comma) • Often with –on or –an.
Review
• Short and long vowel sounds. (Point to vowels and ask the two main sounds they make.)
• The schwa sounds like /u/ but weaker (sometimes sounds like /i/).
• The schwa is always in the unaccented syllable of a word.
• Every multi-syllable word has a stressed/accented syllable and an unstressed syllable (or more).

Teaching Skill:
Introduce: Today we are going to learn some common places for a schwa.
1. Show the headers: Beginning and Ending A, Vowel –L, Vowel –n, and other.
1. Tell your students that the schwa can be anywhere, but there are some common places we find
them: When a word begins with A and is an open syllable on its own, when a word ends in A, in the
final syllable when a word ends in a vowel and then L, and when a vowel (usually a and o) comes
before an N.
Vowel -L
1. Use the picture cards. Use a picture card with Vowel –L (pencil, camel).
2. Identify the schwa.
3. Ask students if the schwa sound fits any of the categories. Place under the header Vowel –L. Tell
your students that whenever they see a word end with this pattern, that vowel will be a schwa and it
will be pronounced /ul/ with the L. Show a few more examples of vowel –l and practice using that
sound.
Ending Open A
5. Use a picture card ending in the letter A (like panda).
6. Clap the syllables. Identify where the schwa is. Ask, Does the vowel in the 1st syllable pan make the
correct sound? (Since it is closed, it should make the short a sound and it does make that sound
here.) Does the vowel in the 2nd syllable make its correct sound? (No. It is an open syllable, so the a
should say its name but it does not. It says /uh/.)
Teaching Skill (continued):
7. Place the picture card under the correct heading. Tell your students, English words are not supposed to end in
the letter u (there are a few exceptions of course, like flu, menu, you). If you hear the /uh/ sound at the
end of the word, you will not use the letter u. Instead you usually use the letter a. Therefore, when you see
a at the end of a word, it is likely the schwa a, pronounced /uh/.
•Note for the teacher: At the end of words, ay usually makes the long a sound. The letter A alone at the end of a word usually says /uh/.

Beginning Open A
8. Show the picture card that begins with an A (like across).
9. Clap the syllables. Identify where the schwa is. Notice that the 1st syllable is only one sound and one
letter- A. When a word has an open syllable that is just the letter a, it will be a schwa. You see this in
a lot of common “sight words”: ago, about, again, away, amount, around.
10. Show more examples of the open beginning A and place under the correct column.
Vowel –n
8. Show the picture card that ends with a vowel then –n (like lemon).
9. Clap the syllables. Decide where the schwa sound is. Place under the column Vowel –n.
10. Tell students that often at the end of words if you see a vowel (usually an A and O) and then an N,
the vowel will be schwa. This is most commonly true for the last syllable.
Other
11. Show examples of “other” that do not fit into any of these categories
(there are more examples in the word cards than in the picture cards).

Guided Practice (There are so many word cards, you can repeat this activity as much as your students need.)
12. Use the word cards.
•If working with a small group, divide the cards among students and provide a dry erase marker to help split
the word into syllables. If working with a larger group, have students copy the word onto their white boards or
notebook. There, they can each practice dividing the word into syllable parts and can identify the schwa.
13. Use syllable division rules to help decode the word.
14. Decide which vowel doesn’t make its usual short or long sound. Teach
students to read the vowels with their usual sounds first. If it doesn’t make
sense, try the schwa sound. Identify where the schwa sound is.
15. Sort word cards under the correct header (Use following page as a guide.)

Independent Practice
12. Complete sorting worksheet.
Beginning A Ending A Vowel –L Vowel –N Other
ago scuba April bacon bottom
attack extra rascal button husband
across sofa rental human wisdom
attend zebra postal ribbon method
attest comma common lesson pilot
coma channel gallon salad
alone China metal melon item
alike magma pencil crayon gallop
aware soda tunnel apron problem
assume cobra model dragon seldom
amaze sandal wagon canvas
awake pretzel bison Texas
arise travel falcon infant
away nickel summon kingdom
account dental Boston infant
alarm fossil taken gallop
camel golden second
signal mitten item
chapel salmon event
gravel stolen atlas
rotten dozen
Hidden
prison
cannon
broken
cotton
Follow up Activities
• Another word sort you can do is sorting by vowel: A, E, I, or O.
•Use the phrase cards to build sentences.
• Use the game board or spinner to make word card reading into a game.
• Complete the other printable activities.

• Use the 3 syllable picture cards and word cards to show more examples of schwa.
•Sort placement of the schwa: 1st, 2nd, 3rd syllable, or More than One.
•Things to know when using 3 syllable word and picture cards:
•There can be more than one schwa, like in banana, Alaska, and pajama.
•Only one syllable is accented/stressed so the other 2 are not stressed. However, an
unstressed syllable doesn’t necessarily have to have a schwa sound.
•Sometimes a sound is a schwa, but to me it sounds just fine. For example, in the word
continent, the I and e are both technically schwas. However, I pronounce it in a way that
doesn’t make the I a schwa sound. Linguists would probably disapprove, but I am very
loose about these. If a student doesn’t think a sound is a schwa, then I let it go because
the whole point is to be able to read and write words. If they can figure it out with the
letters given, then it’s all good!
•Technically, bossy r vowels are schwas because you don’t really hear their usual sound.
However, I do not include those when I’m teaching because I teach all of the bossy r
sounds and I feel like those don’t stand out as much to students as a schwa. For me, it’s
easier just to leave those alone, but if you want to, you could teach those as schwas too.
•Dictionaries will often tell you where the schwa sounds are in a word, using the upside
down e symbol.
•Schwa for a 3 syllable word is often an A or I in the middle syllable when it is open.
 The Schwa
The Schwa is a sound that VOWELS can
make when they are in the UNACCENTED
syllable. They make a LAZY /ŭ/ sound.

The panda ate his

pretzel in the wagon
 The Schwa
The Schwa is a sound that VOWELS can
make when they are in the UNACCENTED
syllable. They make a LAZY /UH/ sound.

The panda ate his

pretzel in the wagon.
 Headers
Use these headers with the word cards and picture cards.

Ideas for sorts:

•2 syllable word cards: Sorting common types of schwa
(Vowel –L, Vowel –N, Beginning A, Ending A, and other)
•Which letter is the schwa: A, I, O, E
•3 syllable words: where is the schwa: beginning, middle,
or end
Where is the Schwa?
Which syllable is stressed?
 1 st 2 nd

Syllable Syllable
3 rd More
Syllable than One
Beginning Vowel
A -n
Ending Vowel
A -L
Open A Other
(Beginning or Ending A)

A O

E I
 Word Cards

1. Use these word cards to practice finding the schwa with a small or large group.
• Together, read each word card.
• Repeat the word, this time clapping the two syllables.
• Listen for the vowel that makes its usual long or short sound and the vowel that
makes the schwa /uh/ sound.
2. For tutoring or small group, use these cards as a way to practice splitting the word
into its syllable parts and labeling the vowel sounds.
** See lesson plans for more information.
The following list show you where the
Schwa is found for all of the 2 syllable
picture cards.
Bacon Sofa Pencil Item
Ago Dozen Tunnel Event
Husband Zebra Model Taken
Random Offend Sandal Atlas
Bottom Comma Pretzel Soda
Button Coma Travel Cobra
Attack Canvas Nickel Item
Wisdom Across Dental Golden
Method Texas Fossil Mitten
Pilot China Data Salmon
Lemon April Camel Stolen
Salad Rascal Wagon Rotten
Human Rental Kingdom Bison
Ribbon Yoga Infant Hidden
Scuba Rental Bison Prison
Lesson Magma Falcon Cannon
Extra Apron Gallop broken
Item Postal Signal Cotton
Gallon Common Second kitten
Gallop Infant Chapel
Melon Level Summon
Canyon Channel Boston
Problem Metal Gravel
Seldom Dragon
bacon ago
husband random
bottom button
attack wisdom
method pilot
lemon salad
human ribbon
scuba lesson
 extra item
gallon gallop
melon canyon
problem seldom
sofa dozen
zebra offend
comma coma
cobra across
Texas China
April rascal
rental yoga
soda magma
apron postal
common infant
level channel
metal dragon
pencil tunnel
model sandal
pretzel travel
nickel dental
fossil canvas
data camel
wagon kingdom
infant bison
falcon gallop
signal second
chapel summon
Boston gravel
atlas item
event taken
golden mitten
salmon stolen
rotten basin
hidden attest
cannon broken
cotton attend
The following list show you where the Schwa is
found for all of the 2 syllable picture cards.
Before using these words, make sure you have
taught the following syllable types:
•Silent e •Vowel teams •Diphthongs •Bossy r

Alone Balloon Captain

Alike Freedom Bargain
Aware Garden Fountain
Assume Alarm Certain
Amaze Carpet Curtain
Awake Complain Mountain
Arise Obtain
This could be a follow up
away Complete lesson: -ain at the end of
multi-syllable words is
often pronounced /un/ or
even just /n/ because the
ai makes the schwa
sound.
Use these cards only if you have taught silent e syllables.

alone alike
aware assume
amaze awake
arise away
Use these cards only if you have taught bossy r, vowel team, and diphthong syllables

balloon freedom

garden alarm

carpet complain

obtain complete
Teach students that in two syllable words, when the unaccented syllable
contains –ain, then it will be pronounced /un/.
Examples:
•Words with –ain in the accented syllable: contain, complain, explain
• Words with –ain in the unaccented syllables: (words below)

captain bargain

fountain certain

curtain mountain
The following list show you where the Schwa is
found for these 3 syllable words.

Enemy Elegant Gorilla Compliment

President Enemy Africa Cabinet
America Hospital Spatula Habitat
Family Resident Unicorn Pajama
Another Festival Camera Diploma
Medical Cavity Kangaroo Consider
Capital Difficult Computer Flamingo
telescope continent envelope Domino
 enemy president

America family

another medical

capital telescope
Use these after you have taught 3 Syllable words
 elegant enemy

hospital resident

festival cavity

difficult continent
Use these after you have taught 3 Syllable words
compliment cabinet

habitat pajama

diploma consider

flamingo domino
Use these after you have taught 3 Syllable words
 gorilla Africa

spatula unicorn

camera kangaroo

computer envelop
Use these after you have taught 3 Syllable words
 Picture Cards

Use these word cards to practice finding the schwa with a small or large group.
• Together, say each word.
• Repeat the word, this time clapping the two syllables.
• Listen for the vowel that makes its usual long or short sound and the
vowel that makes the schwa /uh/ sound.
See lesson plans for more details about how to teach with these.
The following list show you where the
Schwa is found for all of the 2 syllable
picture cards.

nickel pencil Across

infant gallon fossil
apron Scuba Against
bacon tuba afraid
dragon Camel Around
carrot salad Above
lemon soda Pizza
wagon Pretzel tunnel
bagel Panda Dozen
sofa ribbon Awake
zebra canyon Carton
comma button Agree
nickel infant apron

bacon dragon lemon

carrot wagon bagel

zebra sofa comma

pencil gallon scuba

tuba camel salad

soda pretzel panda

ribbon canyon button

across fossil against

afraid around above

pizza tunnel
12
dozen

awake carton agree

The following list show you where the
Schwa is found for all of the 3 syllable
picture cards.

Banana Flamingo
Animal Domino
Hospital Lemonade
Family Spatula
Telescope Africa
Vitamin Gorilla
Umbrella Octagon
Spaghetti Unicorn
Computer Kangaroo
Elephant Tomatoes
Potatoes Camera
Envelope pajamas
banana animals hospital

family telescope vitamin

umbrella spaghetti computer

elephant potatoes envelope

flamingo domino lemonade

spatula Africa gorilla

octagon unicorn kangaroo

tomatoes camera pajamas

Printables

These are the same

worksheets, but one
set involves labeling
vowels. The other is
just finding the schwa

Use these printables for independent practice.

 The Schwa
Open A Vowel- L Other

ago metal apron data

model method comma channel

hammock blossom gravel canyon

Name

Which has the Schwa?

A O E I

husband mammoth April pencil

connect tuba final fossil

person passage nickel tunnel

 Where’s the Schwa?
Split each word into two syllables. Label the vowel sounds: short, long, or schwa. Every
word in this list will have one vowel sound that uses the schwa. Remember, the schwa
says /u/ instead of the long or short version that a vowel is supposed to make.
Short Vowel Sounds Long Vowel Sounds Schwa Sounds
e e e e e

a e i o u a e i o u a e i o u

e
bacon husband random

ago b ot to m b u t to n

alone at ta c k wisdom

m et h o d p i l ot lemon
 Where’s the Schwa?
Split each word into two syllables. Label the vowel sounds: short, long, or schwa. Every
word in this list will have one vowel sound that uses the schwa. Remember, the schwa
says /u/ instead of the long or short version that a vowel is supposed to make.
Short Vowel Sounds Long Vowel Sounds Schwa Sounds
e e e e e

a e i o u a e i o u a e i o u

e
c o n n e ct cannon signal

dragon spinach at te n d

salad human g r a ve l

fa l c o n second gallop
 Where’s the Schwa?
Split each word into two syllables. Label the vowel sounds: short, long, or schwa. Every
word in this list will have one vowel sound that uses the schwa. Remember, the schwa
says /u/ instead of the long or short version that a vowel is supposed to make.
Short Vowel Sounds Long Vowel Sounds Schwa Sounds
e e e e e

a e i o u a e i o u a e i o u

e
d ata wagon c a n va s

i n fa nt p r et z e l summon

gravel sandal China

yo g a model common
 Where’s the Schwa?
Split each word into two syllables. Label the vowel sounds: short, long, or schwa. Every
word in this list will have one vowel sound that uses the schwa. Remember, the schwa
says /u/ instead of the long or short version that a vowel is supposed to make.
Short Vowel Sounds Long Vowel Sounds Schwa Sounds
e e e e e

a e i o u a e i o u a e i o u

e
p en ci l B oston fossi l

tunnel bi son n ovel

ap r on c h ap e l Pi lgr i m

n i c k el d ental r i bbon
Name ________________________

Where’s the Schwa?

Read each word. Color the vowel that makes the schwa sound.

bacon husband random

ago b ot to m b u t to n

alone at ta c k wisdom

m et h o d p i l ot lemon
Name ________________________

Where’s the Schwa?

Read each word. Color the vowel that makes the schwa sound.

cannon c o n n e ct signal

dragon spinach at te n d

salad human g r a ve l

fa l c o n second gallop
Name ________________________

Where’s the Schwa?

Read each word. Color the vowel that makes the schwa sound.

d ata wagon c a n va s

i n fa nt p r et z e l summon

gravel sandal China

yo g a model common
Name ________________________

Where’s the Schwa?

Read each word. Color the vowel that makes the schwa sound.

p en ci l B oston fossi l

tunnel bi son n ovel

ap r on c h ap e l Pi lgr i m

n i c k el d ental r i bbon
Name ________________________

Where’s the Schwa?

Read each word. Color the vowel that makes the schwa sound.

p i l ot o bta i n salad

camel panda agree

i te m c o l l e ct zebra

b u t to n across c o n n e ct
 3 syllable words
Name ________________________

Where’s the Schwa?

Read each word. Color the vowel that makes the schwa sound.

flamingo animal hospital

telescope vitamin umbrella

pajamas envelope family

chocolate garbage mountain

 3 syllable words
Name ________________________

Where’s the Schwa?

Read each word. Color the vowel that makes the schwa sound.

element hospital telephone

banana calendar elephant

vanilla celebrate relative

capital president difficult

Name ______________________ [||||||||
SCHWA
Color the circle that makes a real word when combined with the first syllable.

cel net neb

can chan sig
pel nel nal

el dot ben
grav ran la
en dom bel

bol vet ton

rib ri cot
bon val tob

on al con
wag met fal
ot ap cot
Name ______________________

Read, Think, Phrase

Who Did What Where/When

Anna’s husband put a red ribbon on the

rabbit at the chapel.
Mason relaxed in a hammock at his
cabin in the canyon.
The seven bison had to rest by the
tunnel after pulling the big canvas
wagon.
In an old kingdom in China, a dragon
attacked a falcon to get its pretzel.
Name ______________________

Read, Think, Phrase

Who Did What Where/When

Jason’s infant slept well in the wagon

on the gravel path.
Frugal Emma did not cancel her travel
plans to Boston.
The pilot did see a bunch of camels on
his way to Kansas.
The pilgrim lost her apron at the
bottom of the well.
Name ___________________________
1. Connect syllables: Match one circle from each column to correctly spell one of the picture
words. Use a different color for each word or draw a line to connect those syllables.
2. Write the word on the line next to the picture.

1st Syllable 2nd Syllable

wag grim ``````

pi bon ``````
ba on
``````
rib gel
``````
pil lot
``````
 Say the word that matches the picture. Clap the syllables. Then
write the first syllable in one column and the second syllable in
the next column. Last, write the whole word in the last column.
Name ___________________________ HINT: All of these words use an O for the schwa sound.

1st Syllable 2nd Syllable Whole Word

 Phonetic Phrases

Mix and match who, what, and where to create realistic and silly sentences.
 Print on pink

The infant Emma

Jason Mason

Anna The dragon

The zebra The camel

The panda The falcon

 The pilot The human

A big bison A little rascal

A dozen kids My husband

The mammoth The model

Print on pink
 Print on yellow

lost a nickel put on an apron

had some bacon bit into a carrot

sucked a lemon munched a bagel

was in a coma broke a pencil

played the tuba had some salad

 Print on yellow

drank my soda had a pretzel

did gallop got extra sandals

had a big problem will travel

will do yoga learned a lesson

did attack will give wisdom

 Print on blue

on the sofa. in a canvas wagon.

on a gravel path. in the canyon.

across a river. by the chapel.

in Boston. in a kingdom.

in a tunnel. in Texas.
in a hammock. long ago.

at the bottom
in China.
of a pond.

last April. in Kansas

Print on blue
 2nd Open A Vowel
Vowel
Syllable -N
O -L
Vowel E
-L
Vowel
Start -N
Vowel
-L
Vowel 1st Open
Open -L Syllable O 2nd Vowel A
A Syllable -N

2nd
Syllable Beginning
Vowel Open Vowel
I A
-L Vowel A -L Vowel
O
-L -N
1st
Directions: Syllable
Place the word cards face down.
finish On turn, draw and read a word card. Move to the closest 2nd
space that describes the schwa in that word. Syllable
Vowel
-L E
O nd
Open 2
Vowel Vowel
A Syllable
-L -N
 Spin and
Vowel
Open

Read
A

L
Vowel

Other
n

Automaticity Activity for 2-syllable word cards:

•After completing all of the lesson plans and worksheets, this activity can
be used to help gain automaticity with reading word cards.
•Place word cards face down.
•Spin the spinner.
•Say aloud what you landed on. For example,” Ending A.
•You will then draw cards from the deck and read them. Keep drawing
cards until you come to a card with the pattern you spun. Keep all the
cards.
•Winner is the person at the end with the most cards.
 More Resources
This FREE ebook gives more
information about how to effectively
teach phonics.

Free letter Tiles Assessments

Visual Aids
 Full Phonics Sequence
Below is an image of the full scope and sequence that I use. I work with K-2 students, so this is as far as I have gone with phonics
instruction. I would recommend focusing more on morphology after these phonics skills are taught. The schwa is not on this chart but
I do teach it while I teach 2 syllable words and syllable division. It will come up while kids are trying to decode and spell!

2-Syllable Words: Morphology:

Closed Syllables Open Syllables Open & Closed Syllables Suffixes –s, -es, -ed, and –ing
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