Word lists for the sounds of y are very useful, as are lists that practise any sound-letter combinations that children are finding challenging. Remember “y” can be either a consonant (yes) or a vowel (my, happy, crystal, type …)
Even during the 2 or 3 years that my 9-year-old grandson was refusing to read even simple books, the one thing that he could sometimes be persuaded to read was lists of words. Each list concentrated on a particular pair of letters, or one or three letters, and their sound. This took away the stress of having to remember and apply so many different letter-sound combinations at once.
In our previous session together (breakthrough in reading) we started on the sounds of y. I realised that, in Gilead Success with Phonics, I had missed out printed word lists for the sounds of y so I put together lists for the /i/ and /I/ sounds. (Word Hippo to the rescue – https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/ending-with/5-letter-words-y.html?page=20.) (Updated to 3 vowel sounds for y in 2022.)
It was only when I was working on these lists that it actually registered for me that some longer words ending in “y” have an /I/ sound (the long sound of “I” or its name). For example reply and terrify, or compound words like pig + sty = pigsty. It also took me a little while to realise that the former were all verbs. I ended up with two quite extensive and challenging word lists for the vowel sounds of y. I wondered how he would cope. Would the words be too long and/or obscure?
He managed reading both lists of the vowel sounds of “y” fine. (The lists are now updated to “48 y my words”, and “49 y happy gym words” below). He had to work on most of the words, but it was visibly less stressful than the previous week.
On the list for the short /i/ sound, we needed to talk about the meaning of symbol and cymbal. He was still comfortable to treat the sound of “y” on the end of baby as /i/ from our previous discussion – we really say it somewhere between /i/ and /EE/, and if we say /i/ it makes it easier because we only have to learn three sounds for “y” – /y/ in yes, /i/ in happy and gym, /I/ in my. (He was right, I was wrong. I now realise that it is more accurate, and it is just as easy to have 3 vowel sounds for y.)
Even with the quite challenging list for y = /I/, he only had to ask the meaning of defy and unify. I was amazed.
His breakthrough in reading seems to have had a general effect. He is struggling less with each session that I have with him, as well as in at least one challenging social situation.
Here are the words lists from Gilead Success with Phonics. I hope you find them helpful.
48 y my words, 48 y_e words and 49 y happy gym words
(First part of my grandson’s story and the second part.)
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