Point with a sharpened pencil to each of the large black letters listed across the
top of the page: H h, W w, V v, and J j. Ask your student to say each letter’s sound: h says |h| (not |hŭh|); w says |w|; v says |v|; j says |j|.

Point at the left side of the words at Roman numeral I. Remind your student to
focus on reading the letters from left to right. Be sure he pronounces the letter h with no |ŭh| sound (just breath or air), and that he limits (clips or snips) the sound of |ŭh| in w, v, and j. Discuss the meaning of the words and illustrate the words in sentences. “It’s cold outside. Please put on your hat.” “At Easter, Brittany and Parker like to eat ham.” “Ivan likes to make jokes in class—he is a real ham.” “Our dog, Lily, loves to wag her tail.” “Hilario and Jesse will ride in a van to school today.” “I have a friend named Val.” “The toy factory has a vat filled with plastic for making toys.” “Jan likes to eat jam.” “Chelsea and Kenzie were almost late due to a major traffic jam this morning on the way to school.” “Did you jab your finger into the banana pudding?” “We will jig and jag as we run.”

Ham and jam differ by one letter. Each letter is vital to the meaning. It is critical that you help your student understand the importance of paying attention to each letter. After your student has correctly read these ten words, mark the completion chart accordingly. If more documentation or detail of student progress is needed (as is usually required of RTI instructors), consider using the progress monitoring table.

Call out and have your student spell on notebook paper all of the words
at Roman numeral I. Use the words again in sentences and mark the progress chart.

Review
Direct your student to read, discuss the meaning of, and spell all of the words
at rows II, III, IV, V, and VI. Notice that in Roman numeral III, mass is spelled with a double s. This pattern is common for short-vowel words that end in s. This doubling is also usually true for words ending in f, l, or z. However, there are a few exceptions to this pattern. For example, gas ends with only one s.

Mark the date on the completion chart and reward your student with a 100.
Most students like to accumulate 100s on their completion charts. Placing a sticker can also be motivating but may or may not be suitable for all. Ask your student, or use your judgment, about the use of stickers as motivators.

Equivalent Letters

It might help you and your student to know that there are a number of so-called equivalent letters. These are letters pronounced exactly the same with only one difference—one letter is voiced (as with b), while the other letter is voiceless (as with p). A list of equivalent letters is found on the Basic Terms page. [For a definition of voiced and voiceless letters, see also the Basic Terms page]