Think of a blue tongue to remind you how to correctly spell the word tongue. They both have the same /ue/ ending.
Teaching with card games.
Spelling tip today.
Think of a blue tongue to remind you how to correctly spell the word tongue. They both have the same /ue/ ending.
The other day we were playing the CVCC Uno card game after our reading group. The word tong, was one of the cards that we took the time to discuss vocabulary and meaning. That brought us to the word tongue and blue, in a roundabout way. One student was thinking the word (tong) might be “tongue.”
They were surprised when I wrote the words tongue and blue on the whiteboard. I underlined the ue and told them to think of the word blue to remind themselves how to spell this tricky word.
There are many teachable moments in these small reading groups. It is pure joy for me to hear them working out new words that they have never read before and discuss their meanings during our games. Teaching the students with flashcard games helps them to sound out new words that they may not find in regular reading passages. When they have confidence in their decoding abilities, then they can stop guessing with the whole word strategy. It is awesome, to hear the shock in their voice when they realize they can read a new word they never knew before.
C Pirate Letters: Handwriting Storybook Lowercase Letter Formation
This is the second book in the series Pirate Handwriting.
Discover the Hidden C Shape: A Visual Approach to Lowercase Handwriting
What do a pirate’s hook and a coconut have in common? They both reveal the secret shape behind a group of lowercase letters!
In this second Pirate Handwriting adventure, the pirates discover that a familiar C shape is hidden within eight lowercase letters:
c · a · g · d · q · o · s · e
The Coconut Discovery
The pirates find a coconut on their island. When they cut it in half, they discover a shape that looks just like a pirate’s hook!
This becomes the visual foundation for exploring the C-shaped letter group.
Follow the C Shape!
Through the story and illustrations, children discover how the familiar C shape provides a foundation for forming different lowercase letters.
A curious monkey helps bring these discoveries to life.
As the monkey jumps down to grab a coconut, children discover how the shape develops into the hook of the letter g.
When the monkey drops whole coconuts from the tree, the pirates notice the round impressions left in the sand. They trace around the circular shape, beginning with the familiar C-shaped movement, to discover the letter o.
Two coconut halves provide another visual clue for exploring the letter s.
And there’s a special little surprise with the letter e! The monkey rolls a round coconut and pushes it, creating the C shape that completes the letter.
Visual Clues for Letter Formation
The pirate coins mark the starting positions, while the coconut shapes and playful illustrations help children recognise the familiar formation pattern.
By seeing the C shape repeated throughout the group, children build familiarity with the handwriting movement, develop muscle memory and gain a visual reference to help guard against letter reversals.
One familiar shape. Eight lowercase letters. A whole new pirate discovery!
Letter e has the c-shape with an extra step first.
And the pirates discover the first set of vowels. Now they are really on the path to reading.
Get handwriting letter strips, worksheets and posters on TPT.
The vowel discovery continues throughout the four-book Pirate Handwriting series.
Book 2 introduces a and o, Book 3 adds i, and Book 4 reveals u.
Together with the earlier discovery of the consonants, the pirates are gradually uncovering another important part of learning to read and spell words.
The pirates thought they were searching for treasure. They didn’t realise that some of the most valuable treasure was made of letters!
