Unit 5 Vowel Patterns ai, ay
Instructional Goal To decode and write words with vowel patterns ai and ay
(page 1 of 2)
Lesson 1
Reading Rods Phonics Word-Building Kits &
Activity Trays
5a 5b
5a 5b
Activity Cards 5a/5b
Activity Mats 5a/5b
Snail
and Jay
ClearVu Paper Savers; Dry Erase Erasers; Move It,
Say It, Write It Mats; Sorting Mats
Teacher Materials
Review (Optional)
Review (Optional)
Review High-Frequency (H-F) Words
from the reading selection to increase
word recognition speed (fluency).
Review H-F Words from the reading
selection to increase word recognition
speed (fluency).
Teach the Concept
Teach the Concept
Model blending: day, maybe
Model blending: aim, rain
Practice blending: stay, pay,
say, tray
Practice blending: pain,
hail, rain, snail
Using Activity Mat 5a,
children build, read, write, and circle
vowel pattern ay words: hay, play,
tray, clay.
Using Activity Card 5a,
children build, read, sort, and write
vowel patterns ai and ay words. They
add one more word to each list.
Build Words J
Build Words J
Children use the Move It, Say It,
Write It Mat to build, read, and write
vowel pattern ay words: way, may,
pay, stay.
Children use the Move It, Say It,
Write It Mat to build, read, and write
vowel pattern ai words: wait, rain,
paint, trail.
Read Words
Read Words
Children quickly read a train of vowel
patterns ai and ay word cards while
moving a game piece from train car to
car (card to card). They repeat, reading
the words as quickly as possible.
Dry Erase Board
High-Frequency Word
Cards
Children “jump” over a pile of hay
(word cards) with their fingers as they
quickly read vowel pattern ay words.
They repeat, reading the words as
quickly as possible.
Game Chips, 10
per child
People Game Pieces,
1 per child
Sentence Dictation
Sentence Dictation
Dictate: Maybe the little boy
wants to play on Sunday.
Dictate: Don’t put the paint pail
on the tray.
Read Text
Read Text
Preview and read aloud Snail and Jay.
Ask questions to make predictions,
make connections, and check
comprehension.
Echo read Snail and Jay. Children
match pictures with ai and ay words
as they read the text and afterward.
Teacher Resources CD-ROM
• Phonics-Related Word Cards, Unit 5
• “Tail of a Stingray,” 1 per child
• Blank Sentence Strips
• Progress Monitoring Sentences, Unit 5
• Progress Monitoring Student
Tracking Form, 1 per child
• Family Letter, 1 per child
• Bingo/Lotto Board, 2 per child
The Reading Rods® teaching method is covered by U.S. Patent
Nos. 6,685,477 and 7,018,210. Other patents pending.
Student Materials
Lesson 2
• Dry Erase Markers, 1 per child
• Lunch Tray
• Scissors, 1 per child
• Shoebox
• Writing Notebooks, 1 per child
Unit 5
Reading Rods® Response Kits: Advanced Phonics & Word Study
(continued)
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© ETA/Cuisenaire®
Teacher-Provided Materials
Unit 5 Vowel Patterns ai, ay
Instructional Goal To decode and write words with vowel patterns ai and ay
(page 2 of 2)
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Review (Optional)
Review (Optional)
Review (Optional)
Review H-F Words from the reading
selection to increase word recognition
speed (fluency).
Review H-F Words from the reading
selection to increase word recognition
speed (fluency).
Review H-F Words from both reading
selections to increase word recognition
speed (fluency).
Teach the Concept
Teach the Concept
Play a Word-Study Game
Model blending with
phonograms: mail; discuss the
homonyms mail and male
Model blending with
phonograms: spray
Children play Word Detective with ai, ay
using the Phonics-Related Word Cards
and game chips.
Practice blending with
phonograms: day, gray, tray
Build Words J
Using Activity Mat 5b,
children build, read, sort, and write
vowel pattern ai words with long a
phonograms ail and ain.
Using Activity Card 5b,
children build, read, sort, and write
vowel patterns ai and ay words with
long a phonograms: ail, ain, ay. Then
they use the words to write a sentence
about Little Snail.
Build Words J
Build Words J
Read Words
Children use the Sorting Mat to build,
read, sort, and write vowel pattern
ai words with long a phonograms ail
and ain: sail, pain, mail, nail, rain,
stain, tail, trail, train.
Children build, read, and write words
with long a phonogram ay: day,
may, say, stay, play, pay.
Read Words
Read Words
Children use a shoebox as a mailbox,
quickly reading and “mailing” vowel
patterns ai and ay word cards by
placing them in the box. They reverse
the process to reread the words.
Children quickly read vowel patterns
ai and ay word cards sorted into three
decks by long a phonograms ail, ain,
and ay.
Children pretend that vowel patterns
ai and ay word cards are sandwiches,
and they quickly read and remove the
“sandwiches” from the lunch tray.
Read Text
Children read sentences, identify any
words with vowel patterns ai and ay,
cut apart and reassemble their sentence,
and create a new sentence combining
their words with a partner’s words.
Sentence Dictation
Dictate: Jay likes to play with clay
on a tray.
Sentence Dictation
Children build, read, sort, and write
vowel patterns ai and ay words:
tail, pail, trail, rail, rain, train,
tray, stray.
Dictate: We can not sail because
it is raining.
Read Text
Read Text
Chorally read “Tail of a Stingray.”
Children locate, circle, and chorally
read ai and ay words in the text.
Administer weekly Progress
Monitoring for reading and writing.
Record data on the Progress
Monitoring Student Tracking Form.
Connect School to Home
Review the take-home packet,
including the Family Letter, the Unit 5
Phonics-Related Word Cards, and the
Bingo/Lotto game.
© ETA/Cuisenaire®
Preview and read aloud “Tail of
Stingray.” Ask questions to make
connections, discuss the writer’s
technique, and check comprehension.
Monitor Progress
The Reading Rods® teaching method is covered by U.S. Patent
Nos. 6,685,477 and 7,018,210. Other patents pending.
Practice blending and sorting
with phonograms: (ail) pail, tail,
nail; (ain) chain, main, train
Unit 5
Reading Rods® Response Kits: Advanced Phonics & Word Study
www.etacuisenaire.com