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

Homophone	Pronunciation	Part of Speech & Meaning	Digraph Pattern & Cognates
blue	/bluː/	Adjective / Noun • The color of clear sky, sapphire, ocean	Digraph ue • Cognates: bluish, blueberry
blew	/bluː/	Irregular Past Tense Verb • Expelled air, moved by wind	Digraph ew • Rhymes with: grew, threw, flew

Complete Answer Key & Solutions WHEELER'S EXERCISES

Exercise 1 (Transcription & Isolation):
Couplets transcribed correctly. Target words isolated: blue (Larcom line 1 & 2) and blew (Riley line 1).

Exercise 2 (Application Sentences):
• blue: “The robin laid four bright blue eggs in her straw nest.”
• blew: “The chilling north wind blew the autumn leaves across the lawn.”

Exercise 3 (Wheeler's Inquiries):
• Inquiry 1: “The color of the sky is blue.” (Must use blue).
• Inquiry 2: “The wind blew hard and whisked my hat right off my head.” (Must use blew).

Socratic Guiding Prompts & Pedagogical Insights INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Listen closely: 'blue' and 'blew'. Do your ears hear any difference? Why must our eyes see the difference?
Look at Riley's line: 'where the ripe grain grew'. What digraph in 'grew' helps us remember how to spell 'blew'?
When the wind blows today, we say 'blow'. When it happened yesterday, what word must we write?

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

1. The bright blue sky was clear until the cold wind blew in from the sea.

2. Lucy Larcom wrote that blue was her favorite color of all.

3. A sudden autumn gale blew across the orchard and shook the ripe apples from the trees.

4. The sailor wore a dark blue coat against the icy wind that blew all night.