Welcome to the Project Read Blog!

Well, we've done it; we've joined the "technology age" and started a Project Read blog--we're glad you're here to check it out. For now, we just have one blog; but ideally, I would like to have a blog for tutors, another for students, and a third for Project Read supporters. The thing I love about blogs is the living, breathing (okay, not really), but the interactive nature of a blog. On my personal blog, my favorite thing is to receive comments--so comment freely my friends and share your wisdom with one another. I would really like this to be a forum for Project Read tutors, students, and supporters to connect with one another in a real and meaningful way.

My initial idea was for tutors to be able to share tips and ideas for tutoring. Along those lines, I'm going to post something I recently received on a listserv and some of the responses that were sent in so we're all on the same page:

Tutor asks, "I'd like to know if you have anything that can help a student with the "a sounding like a short u" sound (such as in addition, amuse, about, around, etc.). Thank you very much for your help."

Responses:
"This is a sound that actually changes to "schwa", the upside down e in the dictionary. It's common in what are known as "open, unaccented a's". The vowel is "open" because when you divide the word into syllables the a will be by itself and of course the accent is obvious. Teach the student how to divide words. Teach them open syllables which usually have a long vowel sound. (For example the word "open"). Then teach them the exception, that open unaccented a's will switch to the "uh" sound or schwa. You can call this the vanilla rule or the banana rule if you like. Almost always an open unaccented a at the beginning of a word will follow this rule."

Susan Landrum
Central Georgia Technical College
Volunteer Tutor
salandrum@aol.com

That schwa sound is the bedevilment of absolutely everyone, and it is new information for many novice tutors. We introduce it as soon as there is an opportunity at every level...by sharing the name of the sound, writing the word in all its CCCCV glory, its history, and its universally confounding presence in the language. After the tutors know that it's there and lurking in the language, they feel more comfortable letting learners in on the inside track to that alternate sound for a, e, i, and o.Ordinarily, we'll post a list of the words that start with the letter a that make the schwa sound. Ahead, above, around, against, allow, Alaska...and note that the schwa is the secret sound that binds us all irrevocably together.

I especially like having this shared experience among long-term tutors, novice tutors, board members, audiences at public speaking opportunities, learners, and anyone who may have an interest in the literacy movement. The schwa is certainly one reason why we have Literacy councils, reading tutors, and ESL tutors.

Pointing it out, celebrating its presence in the language, and naming it for all to share, works for me.

Carole Sawchuck
Central PA Literacy Council
Lemoyne, PA
centralpaliteracycouncil@comcast.net

The short U sound is called the "schwa." It is substituted for vowels and always in unaccented syllables when words have two or more syllables. The symbol used for the sound is an unside-down e. Some examples are: a-about e-happen i-holiday o-onion

Margie Kinslow
Executive Director
Literacy Alliance of Brevard
Titusville, FL
brevardliteracy@bellsouth.net
http://www.brevardliteracy.org/

This is actually a very common occurrence. All vowels end up making thatshort "u" sound when they occur in unaccented syllables (check yourexamples to see that this is true for them). This is called the "schwa"sound. So what the tutor needs to do is teach the student that allvowels have three sounds: long, short and schwa. In the case of theletter "u", the short and schwa sounds are the same. Also be aware thatin some words, the vowel sound in the unaccented syllable(s) is closerto a short "i" but is still considered a schwa.

Gaylon Umbarger
Literacy Kansas City
GUmbarger@LiteracyKC.org

On an unstressed syllable or an unstressed word (such as the article"a") the "a" is reduced to a schwa (sounding like short u).

Christi Graff
Learning Lab Inc.
Garden City, Idaho
christig@learninglabinc.org

I agree that the best method would be to introduce Mary to the schwa and useit regularly in her instruction. The other four vowels, a, e, i, and o allhave the short /u/ sound known as the schwa in words such as above, the,pencil, and other. With adults I have had success teaching all the sounds ofa single vowel - so for a - in order of frequency - a as in at, a as inbaby, a as in father, and a as in above (schwa). Good luck.

Margaret Rogers
Adult Education Consultant
Sacramento, CA
marogers-princess@sbcglobal.net