Phonics

LESSON 62 Variant Vowel /ô/, Part 2 (caught, toss, thought)

• The variant vowel /ô/ category of phonetic elements focused on in this lesson includes
augh, o, and ough, as in the words caught, toss, and thought.
This lesson is divided into two sections. Section 1 is the core lesson, which can be used with most students
in a whole-class or small-group setting. The core lesson is designed to introduce, model, and practice the
phonetic element taught. Section 2 consists of optional activities designed to reinforce the element taught
in the core lesson. These optional activities work well for small-group and individual instruction.

TEACHER MATERIALS WORKSHEETS DECODABLE BOOK

Word cards Practice sheet A Crow with Flaws
Variant vowel /ô/ cards Workmats
Word-family cards
Letter cards
Bingo cards and place markers
Paper

SECTION 1
Student Objectives
• Introduce variant vowel /ô/ • Practice decoding
• Blend variant vowel /ô/ words • Introduce new high-frequency words:
• Blend onset and rime open, school, until
• Sort words • Read the decodable book

Introduce Variant Vowel /ô/

• Review: Write the word ball on the board. Have students say the word aloud. Cover the
letters b, l, and l. Have students say the sound that the letter a makes. Invite students to
share another letter combination they have learned that makes the same vowel sound
as in the word ball (the letters a and w together).
• Write the words ball and caught on the board and say the words aloud. Ask students to
tell you what they notice about the sounds they hear in the middle of the words. Point
to the letters augh on the card and tell them that the letters augh together stand for the
vowel sound they hear in the word caught.
• Explain that the augh letter combination is one of the letter combinations that stand for
a group of sounds called variant vowels. The other variant vowel /ô/ letter combinations
are o and ough. Cite examples of words that use these spellings to make the same sound
(toss, thought).
• Say the words caught and cat aloud. Ask students which word contains the same vowel
sound as in ball. Make sure students can differentiate between the two vowel sounds.

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LESSON 62 Variant Vowel /ô/ (caught, toss, thought) continued

Blend Variant Vowel /ô/ Words

Materials: Workmats, variant vowel /ô/ cards, letter cards

NOTE: If students have mastered individual sound/symbol relationships, you may

want to skip this section and go directly to Blend Onset and Rime.

• Write the word brought on the board. Point out the letter combination that stands for the
variant vowel sound and ask students to blend the letters o, u, g, and h together to make
the same vowel sound as in ball. Next, run your finger under the letters as you blend
the four sounds in brought: b/r/ough/t. Point out that even though there are seven letters,
there are four sounds blended together to form the word. Then have students blend the
word aloud with you as you run your finger under the letters.
• Repeat the blending activity with the words broth, moth, moss, and taught. Take one
word at a time, pointing out the letter combinations of the variant vowel /ô/ sound.
When blending the words broth and moth, remind students that the letters t and h
together stand for the /th/ sound they hear at the end of the words. When blending the
word moss, point out that the double s at the end of the word stands for the /s/ sound.
• When students have blended the words, ask volunteers to come up and circle the variant
vowel spelling in each word. Have a student point to each variant vowel spelling as the
rest of the group says the sound.
• If students need more work with blending words, have them use the letter/vowel
workmat, one of each variant vowel /ô/ card, and the letter cards to blend the words
above. Have students line up the card for each sound in each word under the boxes on
their workmat. Group the words according to each variant vowel spelling so that students
know which variant vowel /ô/ card to use for each word. Model how to push up the
variant vowel /ô/ card into the box on the workmat and indicate the sound the variant
vowel spelling makes. Have students push up and sound out the remaining letters of
each word in order on their workmat.

Blend Onset and Rime

Materials: Letter cards, word-family cards
• Tell students they are going to practice reading words with the variant vowel /ô/ spelling.
Model using the letter and word-family cards.
1 Place the aught word-family card in a pocket chart or along the ledge of a chalkboard.
Remind students that this is the aught word family. Place the c letter card in front of
aught. Have students listen while you model sounding out the word by blending the
sound in the onset with the sounds in the rime: c/aught. Have students repeat.
2 Replace the c card with the t card. Repeat the process with the new word.

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LESSON 62 Variant Vowel /ô/ (caught, toss, thought) continued

3 Take out the cards and replace the aught card with the oss card. Invite students to
say the sound that the letters s and s together stand for. Have students name the new
word family. Place the t card in front of oss. Model sounding out the word by blending
the sound in the onset with the sounds in the rime: t/oss. Have students repeat.
4 Replace the t card with the b card. Repeat the process with the new word.
5 Take out the cards and replace the oss card with the ought card. Have students name
the new word family. Place the b card in front of ought. Have students listen while you
model sounding out the word by blending the sound in the onset with the sounds in
the rime: b/ought. Have students repeat.
6 Replace the b card with the s card. Repeat the process with the new word.
7 Take out the cards and replace the ought card with the ong card. Invite students to
share the sound that the letters n and g together stand for. Have students name the
new word family. Place the s card in front of ong. Have students listen while you
model sounding out the word by blending the sound in the onset with the sounds
in the rime: s/ong. Have students repeat.
8 Replace the s card with the l card. Repeat the process with the new word.
9 Take out the cards and replace the ong card with the aw card. Have students name
the new word family. Place the l card in front of aw. Have students listen while you
model sounding out the word by blending the sound in the onset with the sounds in
the rime: l/aw. Have students repeat.
0 Replace the l card with the c card. Repeat the process with the new word.
a Take out the cards and replace the aw card with the all card. Have students name the
new word family. Place the c card in front of all. Have students listen while you model
sounding out the word by blending the sound in the onset with the sounds in the
rime: c/all. Have students repeat.
b Replace the c card with the f card. Repeat the process with the new word.

Sort Words
Materials: Word-family cards, word cards
• Place one of each word-family card on the top row of a pocket chart or along the ledge
of a chalkboard. Ask students to come up one at a time, select a word card, say the
word, and place it under the correct word family. Continue until all the word cards are
placed correctly. Once all the words have been sorted, have students read aloud the
words under each word family, pointing to the variant vowel spelling in each word.

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LESSON 62 Variant Vowel /ô/ (caught, toss, thought) continued

Practice Decoding
Materials: Decodable book A Crow with Flaws, practice sheet
• For students who seem to have a grasp of decoding variant vowel /ô/ words and
previously taught decodable and high-frequency words, provide extra practice with
the text by allowing them to independently read:
the practice sheet
the decodable book A Crow with Flaws
• Some students may benefit from having the decodable book introduced and pre-taught
before they read the book. Strategies might include introducing and practicing
high-frequency words used in the book, teaching special word structures, and doing
a book walk.

Introduce New High-Frequency Words: open, school, until

• Tell students they are going to learn three new words that they need to be able to
recognize and read quickly. Write the word open on the board and read it as you point
to the word. Then have students read the word with you.
• Have students write the word open in the air with their finger as you spell it out loud with
them, pointing to each letter on the board as you say the letter name. Repeat the process
with the words school and until.
• Use each high-frequency word in a sentence. Have students make up their own
sentences using each of the high-frequency words. You might want to challenge them
to make up a sentence that uses more than one high-frequency word.

Read the Decodable Book

Materials: Decodable book A Crow with Flaws

NOTE: See the “Elements Used in This Book” section, found at the start of the
decodable book, for a list of words and skills covered in the book. Pre-teach these
elements as necessary.

• Show students the cover of the book. Have them read the title with you as you run your
finger under each word. Ask students what they see in the picture and what they think
the story might be about. Ask a student to point to the variant vowel spelling in the
word Flaws.
• Give students a copy of the book. Have them preview the pictures and predict the story.
When they get to page 7, ask them to name the flaw that the crows have.
• Have students read the book. You may want them to whisper read so you can monitor
their progress. When they have finished reading, take time to discuss the book and check
for understanding. Ask students why the crows could not caw.
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LESSON 62 Variant Vowel /ô/ (caught, toss, thought) continued

SECTION 2 Optional Lesson Activities (for students who need additional practice)

Student Objectives
• Blend variant vowel /ô/ words
• Blend onset and rime
• Spell and write variant vowel /ô/ words
• Complete learning center activities

Blend Variant Vowel /ô/ Words

Materials: Workmats, variant vowel /ô/ cards, letter cards
• Give students the letter/vowel workmat, one of each variant vowel /ô/ card, and the letter
cards. Say the word caught and have students listen for the sounds in the word. Have
them select the augh variant vowel /ô/ card and the letter cards they need to spell caught.
Provide help as needed. Have students line up the card for each sound on their workmat.
Have them blend the sounds as they push up the letters into the boxes. Then have them
say the word caught aloud.
• Repeat the process with the words cost and loss. Make sure to tell students which variant
vowel /ô/ card to use. Invite students to share what they know about the letters needed to
make the /s/ sound at the end of the word loss.

Blend Onset and Rime

Materials: Workmats, letter cards, word-family cards
• Give students the onset/rime workmat, the letter cards, and the word-family cards. Say
the word bought. Ask students what rime they hear at the end of the word. Have them
place the ought word-family card in the box on the right of their workmat. Have them
identify the onset they need to put at the beginning of ought to make the word bought.
Have them place the b card in the box on the left. Write the word on the board. Have
students check their spelling of the word on their workmat with the word on the board.
Then have students blend the sound in the onset with the sounds in the rime.
• Say the words sought, caught, taught, toss, boss, song, long, law, caw, call, and fall one at
a time, and have students use the letter and word-family cards to spell the words on their
workmat. Have them blend the onset and rime as they make each word. Write each
word on the board as students finish making the word on their workmat. Have students
check their spelling of each word on their workmat with the word on the board.
• Once all of the words have been made, have students read the words on the board.
You can extend the activity by having students make their own words on their workmat.

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LESSON 62 Variant Vowel /ô/ (caught, toss, thought) continued

Spell and Write Variant Vowel /ô/ Words

• Dictate augh variant vowel /ô/ words and have students write or spell them
(caught, taught).
• Dictate simple sentences for students to write.
He caught the fish.
She taught me how to play the game.
• Repeat the process with o variant vowel /ô/ words (cost, floss).
The cost is too much.
I floss my teeth each day.
• Repeat the process with ough variant vowel /ô/ words (bought, thought).
I bought a top.
We thought of a name for the dog.

Learning Center Activities

Materials: Paper, word cards, Bingo cards, place markers
• Have students choose four to six variant vowel /ô/ words and use them to create a story
about another animal that overcame a problem.
• Give each student a blank Bingo card. Have them write variant vowel /ô/ words from
the word cards on their Bingo card. Place the word cards face down. Have students take
turns drawing a word and saying it aloud. Have them put a place marker on their card if
they find a word that matches the one read. Continue playing until a student has marked
three words in a row on his/her card.
• Laminate two sets of word cards and place them face down in the center of the table.
Have pairs of students play Go Fish with the cards. To start, have them each draw two
cards. Then have them take turns asking each other if they have the card they need to
make a pair. If the player has the card, he/she can take the card and lay down the pair.
If not, the player should tell his/her partner to “Go Fish,” or draw another card from the
pile. Repeat the process until one player no longer holds any cards.

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WORD CARDS Set 1 Phonics Lesson 62: Variant Vowel /ô/
#

caught taught

toss boss

bought sought

song long
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WORD CARDS Set 2 Phonics Lesson 62: Variant Vowel /ô/
#

law caw

call fall

brought moss

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VARIANT VOWEL /ô/ CARDS Phonics Lesson 62: Variant Vowel /ô/
#

o o o o

ough ough ough ough

aughaughaughaugh

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WORD-FAMILY CARDS Phonics Lesson 62: Variant Vowel /ô/
#

aught ought

oss ong

aw all

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LETTER CARDS Phonics Lesson 62: Variant Vowel /ô/
#

m ss b r

th t c s

l f t

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BINGO CARD Phonics Lesson 62: Variant Vowel /ô/

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PRACTICE SHEET Phonics Lesson 62: Variant Vowel /ô/

tall • flaw • long

1 bawl • taught • lost
New
words
straw • talk • thought
2 cooler • true • crow • Joe
Reviewed
words told • dream • each • peeped
3 open • school • until
New
h-f words

4 about • their • know • could

Reviewed
h-f words how • look • want • does
taught how to talk
5 crow has a flaw
Phrases

all the crows

Joe Crow sat on a long wall
6 by the mall.
Sentences
“I have not lost my caw,”
thought Joe Crow.
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WORKMATS Phonics Lesson 62: Variant Vowel /ô/

Rime
Letter/Vowel Workmat

Onset/Rime Workmat

Onset

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