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INTRODUCTION |
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These poems are for English-speaking
children learning to read and for
everyone learning English as a
foreign language. |
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In general, the
consonants are quite easy to read in
English. However, it is often very
difficult to read the vowel sounds.
There are two reasons for this.
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Firstly, there are 20 different
vowel sounds in English which is a
lot. Secondly, the same vowel sound
is often spelt in a lot of different
ways. Look at these: |
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/ai/ |
“Oh” |
/u:/ |
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cry |
bowl |
chew |
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night |
coal |
food |
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smile |
mode |
fruit |
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HOW WILL THESE POEMS HELP YOU? |
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Each poem contains a lot of words with
one particular vowel sound. Poets call
this assonance. When you read the poem,
you can guess how to read the words by
using the particular vowel sound. Here’s
an example: |
A knight
arrives on an island at
night
and the tribe invites him to
dine.
“How nice!” says the knight
in the evening light.
“It’s rice with a slice of
lime.” |
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CONTENT |
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VOWEL SOUND |
POEM |
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/i/
as in Chimp |
It is... |
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A
Tick Trick for Hippos |
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A as in Bat |
Bad Back Dad |
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Cat in a Flat |
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/e/ for Elephant |
The Mad Restaurant |
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/ei/ as in Grape |
The Ape Escapes |
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VOWEL SOUND |
POEM |
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O for Octopus |
Bob the Boss |
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/ai/ as in Smile |
A Knight on an
Island |
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U as in Nut |
Wanting Stuff |
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ee as in Free |
Cheese Thieves |
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Oh as in Mobile
Phone |
Ode to a Toad |
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oo as in Shoe |
A Rude Duke |
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Poo in a Shoe |
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VOWEL SOUND |
POEM |
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Or for Awesome |
The Lord Sean Story |
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Ear as in Near |
An Eel and a Seal |
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Ah as in Far |
Arthur and Marge |
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Urgh as in Bird |
Sir Bert and Lady
Bertha |
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Ow as in Cow |
The Lout |
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oo as in Book |
The Cook and the
Pudding |
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Air as in Bear |
When Claire is Sad |
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Oi as in Toy |
Our Daughter |
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Our Daddy |
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Potatoes |
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ALSO CHECK OUT BOB WILSON'S GRADED
READINGS: |
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