PRIMARY SPELLING & PHONICS • CURRICULUM ARCHITECTURE TEACHER MASTER KEY INSTRUCTOR REFERENCE • PAGE 2 OF 2

Word	IPA	Syllabication	Teaching Prescription
baker	/ˈbeɪkər/	ba-ker	Base bake + -er. Open first syllable: long ā.
lady	/ˈleɪdi/	la-dy	Old English hlǣfdīġe (loaf-kneader). Open first syllable.
cradle	/ˈkreɪdəl/	cra-dle	Consonant d joins -le, leaving cra- open and long.
table	/ˈteɪbəl/	ta-ble	Consonant b joins -le, leaving ta- open and long.
paper	/ˈpeɪpər/	pa-per	Latin papyrus. Open syllable pa- = long ā.
maple	/ˈmeɪpəl/	ma-ple	Consonant p joins -le; ma- is open.

Complete Answer Key & Solutions WHEELER'S EXERCISES

Exercise 1 Syllabication:
• ba-ker, ma-ker, la-dy, ba-by.
• cra-dle, ta-ble, sta-ble, gra-vy.
• pa-per, ta-per, va-por, ma-ple.
All 12 feature open accented first syllables.

Exercise 3 Solutions:
1. baby / cradle.
2. maple.
Open Syllable Test: Have children contrast ba-ker (1 consonant, long) with bat-ter (2 consonants, short).

Socratic Guiding Prompts & Pedagogical Insights INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Why is the 'a' in 'baker' long, but the 'a' in 'batter' short?
Look at 'cradle'. Where do we divide the syllables? Does the first syllable end with a vowel or consonant?
Can you think of another word that ends in '-ple' with a long vowel?

Dictation & Oral Application Sentences (Read slowly at normal speaking pace):

1. The kind baker made fresh loaves of warm wheat bread.

2. Mother placed the sleeping baby gently into her cradle.

3. Sweet syrup dripped slowly from the tapped maple tree.

4. He wrote his spelling lesson neatly upon clean white paper.