• These are some FREE samples from "Phonics Time." Some videos may be up for a limited time.
• ​If you like this set, please head to the Products Page for the complete version. You may also be interested in commercial-free streaming music featuring many top children's artists (including Miss Jenny) at HeidiSongs.

ABC Fun

Teaching Tips

• Knowing basic letter sounds is one of the greatest predictors of early reading success. In 2 minutes, "ABC Fun" exposes children to every letter in the English language, along with basic sounds. In addition, they learn to associate those letters and sounds with pictures. I chose simple examples to maximize letter-sound-pictorial associations.
• Use the chart in the Phonics Time book to chant this song out of order. Ask students how they want to chant...Backwards, vertically down the chart, etc.
• Students may:
  • Contribute simple observations, such as pointing out that "b says ball"
  • Demonstrate misconceptions, such as confusing "b" with "d;" 
  • Make high-level observations, such as noticing that "walrus has two syllables divided between the l and the r."
• Use all comments as mini-formative assessments as you expand all students' knowledge and clear up misconceptions.
  

That Magic E

Teaching Tips

• The "magic e" spelling is the most basic long vowel spelling pattern. This song explains how the magic e works with all five vowels, and it gives children many examples of the magic e "in action."
• Ask children to sort the words in this song (and/or other words) by their vowel sounds.
• I have a HUGE "Magic e" practice set, including flashcards, phonics readers, and more, available HERE. 
• As children begin to master the "magic e," teach them about short words that end in vowels, like "we," "be," and "no." We can "close" the vowels with consonants to make the vowel sounds short, as with "well," "bet," and "not." Of course, if we add "e" to "not," we get "note." 
• There are other reasons to add "e" to a word. I tell children that these are "other kinds of e's," but only the "magic e" makes short vowels long.
  • One reason is when a word should end with v. Someone somewhere decided that English words never end with "v." Therefore, "have," "give," and "love" end with "e." There is a "Have, Give, Love" song on "Early Phonics."
  • The letter "c" says /s/ when followed by "e," "i," or "y." The "e" helps it say the /c/ sound in words like "voice."
  • The letter "g" says /j/ when followed by "e," "i," or "y." The "e" helps it say the /j/ sound in words like "orange."
  • There is a vowel sound in every syllable. Therefore, syllables like "lit/tle" include an "e" for this reason.
  • The "e" can also be used to keep singular words from looking like plurals, as in "house" and "purse."
    
  • Other words have "e's" for unknown reasons, such as "some," "one," "come," "done," "were," and "where." Perhaps they were pronounced differently at some point. As children notice these types of words, I just say, "What an interesting pattern. Let's look for more words like that."
    

Sounds of C

Teaching Tips

• This song is intentionally similar to "Sounds of G" since the spelling pattern for "c" is similar.
• Teach the phonics pattern, "C usually says /k/. It also usually says /s/ when followed by e, i, or y."
• Stop the video to show charts about sounds of c. You'll notice that there are charts showing sounds separately, one that shows sounds together, and a Venn diagram that includes words with both sounds.
• Create charts similar to the ones in the video featuring students' suggestions for "c" words. 
• As you read with students, e.g., in reading groups, stop to discuss spelling patterns from this song.

Beginning Blends

Teaching Tips

• Children learned a skill called "blending" in "Build a Word:" They learned to put sounds together in order to make a word. A second definition of the word "blend" (often referred to as a "consonant blend") is when "2 or more consonants that retain their sound when blended." The letters "t-r" in "tree" keep their sounds and make a consonant blend. "S-h," on the other hand, makes a new /sh/ sound in the word "she." Children will be learning about these kinds of words (called consonant digraphs) in Song 22, "Letter Tricks."
  
• Make charts of other words containing the blends in this song.
• Students may comment on blends or connect to other learning. Sample comments include, "I see the 'f-l' blend in the word 'flag,'" "The word 'flag' has the 'short a' sound," "I notice two vowels together in the word 'spoon,'" or "I see the word 'rush' inside the word 'brush.'"

Letter Tricks

Teaching Tips

• In 2 minutes, "Letter Tricks" exposes children to 26 advanced letter combinations, their sounds, and examples. Note that Advanced Phonics (available HERE) gives children more practice with these challenging combinations.
• I placed interesting spellings next to each other to help children to generate insightful observations. Expect student comments like "I notice that 'her,' 'bird,' and 'surf' all have the /er/ sound, but they're spelled differently," or "The letters 'o-i' say 'oi' in 'boil,' and the letters 'o-y' say 'oy' in 'boy.'"
• Here are some more phonics patterns to discuss with children:
  • The letters "ck" say /k/ after short vowel words. 
  • The letters "ea" say "short e" in "bread" and "long e" in "eagle." Note that they can also make the "long a" sound in "steak."
  • The "ng" sound at the end of "sing" is considered to be one sound. Teach children to say "n" by placing their tongues on the roofs of their mouths, while the tongue is in the back of the mouth for "ng."
  • The letters "ou" have many sounds. They say /aw/ in cough, /ö/ in "you," /ü/ in "should," /ŭ/ in "cousin," /ow/ in "house" and /ō/ in "soul."

Word Families Part 1: Short Vowel Words

Teaching Tips

• This song gives children exposure to many short vowel spellings in a very short time. It's a great introduction and/or review of some of the most common spellings that (together with Word Families Part 2) make up over 550 of the most common words in the English language.
• Choose to focus on certain target spelling patterns, or encourage students to point out different spellings to discuss after singing. Brainstorm lists of words that are spelled similarly.
• Review the pattern that "ck says /k/ after short vowel words." In this song, children can see this pattern in words that end in "ack," "ick," "ock," and "uck."
• Play sorting games in which children sort words with two or more spelling types.
• You may also want to hand out cards and ask children to find their word family partners. Once children find their partners, they can share words with the class.
  

Who, What, When, Where, Why

Teaching Tips

• This song teaches children to read and spell some of the most difficult "sight words," or words that do not follow phonics patterns. Through repetition, they learn the words "who," "what," "when," "where," "why," "about," "because," and "always."
  
• Don't be surprised if you hear students repeating spellings as they write, and even with friends in the playground--with the same inflection from the song.
• Use flashcards to reinforce learning.
• As always, ask students to point out interesting findings. One may notice that "wh" makes a different sound in "who," while another may notice that "ou" says /ou/ in "about."

_ight

Teaching Tips

• The song "_ight" intentionally sounds similar to "That Magic E." Teach children that the words 'sit' and 'sight' are similar to 'at' and 'ate' because in both cases, something causes the short vowel sound to become a long vowel sound.
• As with other songs in this set, encourage children to point out all interesting spelling patterns and connect to learning from other songs. For instance, a child may point out that the "gh" in "rough" is spelled like the "gh" in "enough" from "Letter Tricks."
  

Compound Word Whiz

Teaching Tips

• Children can benefit from listening to this song and "becoming" a compound word: Teach them to hold up one fist for each individual word. They can move their fists together to create the compound word.
  
• Comments may focus on compound words or connect to other songs. One child may point out that "starfish" is easier to read if you read one word at a time, while another may recognize the "all" spelling pattern in "baseball" from "Phonogram Funk."
  

A Contraction Has an Apostrophe

Teaching Tips

• Teach children that a contraction is made up of two words. An apostrophe takes the place of some of the letters.
  
• As with "Compound Word Whiz," children can benefit both from acting out, and from reading, this song. Teach them to clasp their hands together when they hear a contraction. They can move their hands outward to demonstrate the 2 words that make up the contraction.
• Students may notice that "n't" always means "not," and that "won't" is a bit more complex than the other words.

Homework Time

Teaching Tips

• This song gives children the message that homework time is a "wonderful time of the day." Where in society do they get this message? Let's try to instill a love for school learning, and yes, homework, into our children at an early age. Let your child have
  fun with this song! Of course, you can also discuss the print sometimes...
  
• Students may notice that homework is a compound word, point out the "magic e" in "home," comment on the "ight" in "right," or clap the syllables in "wonderful."