Multisensory Monday: Chameleon Y Can Eat A … Fry?

The letter Y has so many sounds, it’s no wonder our students stumble on it! In this activity, letter Y turns into a chameleon. Just like a chameleon changes its color depending on where it lives, Chameleon Y changes its sound depending on where it “lives” in a word. We take it up a notch and discover a treat Chameleon Y enjoys, and it’s not the typical “fly.”

Y As a Chameleon FREE DOWNLOAD 

The Y as a Chameleon chart is a helpful tool to organize the sounds the letter Y can make in one spot. It can help students understand when the letter Y makes different sounds in different types of words. When a new Chameleon Y sound is introduced, students can look forward to a fun story of why it makes the sound it does.

Here is an example of a fun story and activity you could give when introducing Y as the long I sound:

Chameleon Y generally likes to eat a fly for a snack. Letter Y at the end of a one syllable word says the long I sound, such as “fly”. On occasion, however, Chameleon Y really likes to splurge. She may indulge in a french fry, or maybe even a few. Let’s listen to some words that have the long I sound at the end. If the word is one syllable, and we hear the long I sound at the end, the word in most cases is spelled with Chameleon Y at the end.

As you say words, have students listen for the Y as Long I sound, trying to identify the spelling rule. Students can hold their fry carton, and give Chameleon Y a fry for every word that applies to this spelling rule. Below is an example …

fly, try, my, shy (feed the chameleon a fry for each of these words)

If the word ends in Y, but the student does not hear the long I sound at the end, the chameleon does not feed another fry (baby, today, etc.).

Enjoy!

Written by Angelina Spiteri-Bender, CDP

Angelina is an Instructor with Brainspring Educator Academy. She is also the director of Brainspring’s Grosse Pointe Learning Center.

Bring Brainspring Orton-Gillingham multisensory instruction to your classrooms, transforming struggling K-12 readers into skilled learners through our effective, evidence-based approach.

For more information please visit brainspring.com or call 1-8007323211