I love Lucky...and Lucy too. Try a Different Letter Sound to the Rescue

When I was young, I watched I Love Lucy after school. I can still hear the theme song in my head and see the pen writing I Love Lucy in its flowing script on the big heart. I remember wondering why they would name the show I Love Lucky when there was no one in it named Lucky. Ah, if only my teachers had taught me to Try a Different Letter Sound.

Try a Different Letter Sound is a simple but powerful accuracy strategy. When students read a word that doesn't sound right, they can often resolve the issue by backing up and trying the alternative sound one of the letters makes.

The secret to being successful is having a strong phonics foundation and monitoring comprehension while reading.

Here is how the strategy helped a second grader I was recently working with:

He was reading Curious George Rides a Bike by H.A. Rey and read aloud, "Today we are going to kelebrate because just three years ago this day I brought you home with me from the jungle."

I asked him if any of those words sounded funny.

He repeated kelebrate while pointing to the word.

"I agree," I said. "I'm thinking that trying a different letter sound is going to help you with this word. Sometimes c sounds hard, like in cake, cute, and cartoon. We know that c sometimes makes another sound. What is it?

He said "s."

"Yes. Try the soft c sound and see if the word makes sense."

"Today we are going to celebrate because just three years ago this day I brought you home with me from the jungle."

A huge smile broke out on his face.

"Does celebrate make sense?"

"Yes."

"Today, and from now on, whenever you read a word that doesn't sound quite right, stop, go back, and see if trying a different letter sound will help you discover what it really says. It's a great way to build accuracy in your reading."