- Hello, readers.

Welcome to "Read, Write, Roar."

Today, we're gonna be focusing on a big question, how do our actions affect the environment, and of course, we're gonna continue reading words with more than on syllable, and reading a book with two languages!

Of course, you're gonna need something to write on, like maybe a scratch piece of paper or an envelope, and something to write with, like a crayon or a pencil.

Are you ready?

Come on!

Join us for "Read, Write, Roar."

- [Narrator] This program is made possible in part by the Michigan Department of Education, the state of Michigan, and the W.K.

Kellogg Foundation.

Additional support by... And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat electronic music) (lion roaring) - Welcome, readers.

Sometimes when I'm reading, even now that I'm grown up, I come across a tricky word that I have never read before.

When I find those tricky words, I like to remind myself that I don't need to read the entire word all at once.

Instead, readers can break words apart into syllables, or word parts, to read more accurately.

When we learn more about the different types of syllables, it helps us break words into syllables.

That helps us read challenging words, so it's good to know about the different types of syllables.

Our goal for today is to learn about the vowel-consonant E syllable.

We'll also practice using this syllable type to read words with more than one syllable.

We're going to get started by reminding ourselves what a syllable is.

Do you remember what a syllable is?

A syllable is a word part with only one vowel sound.

Read these letters with me.

A. E. I. O. U. Y.

These letters usually make a vowel sound when we find them in a word.

Now, you might, if you're looking very carefully, notice, you might notice that some syllables have more than one of these letters written in the same syllable.

That can only happen if the letters are working together to make one vowel sound.

We see that happening in syllables with vowel teams where more than one letter works together to make one vowel sound, like the IE team that can often work together to make the long E sound.

So far, we've learned about closed syllables where we find one vowel followed by one or more consonants.

We've also learned about open syllables where we find one vowel that is not followed by one or more consonants.

Do you remember what a vowel-consonant E syllable is?

It's similar to our closed and open syllables because it also has one vowel.

Now, this is one written vowel.

We don't find vowel teams in vowel-consonant E syllables.

Instead, you'll see only one of these letters written in the vowel-consonant E syllable.

After you see that one vowel, you'll notice that it's followed by a consonant, which is then followed by a final E. Do you remember what's special about that final E?

Well, first, that final E at the end of the syllable is silent.

It's not making a vowel sound because we can only hear one vowel sound in that syllable and we're going to hear the vowel sound from that first vowel.

Why else is that final E important in a vowel-consonant E syllable?

Well, it's also important because it gives us a hint about the sound that that first vowel is going to be making.

It's a clue to us that tells us we should try to read the syllable using a long vowel sound for the first vowel.

Do you remember the long vowel sounds?

A says A.

That's its long vowel sound.

E says E. I says I. O says O. U says, there are two, U or ooh.

And do you remember what sound the Y usually makes in vowel-consonant E syllables?

It's the long I sound.

Now, when we see this pattern in syllables, we can break that word apart into syllables right after the final E. Let's look at a word together and see if we can find an example of an vowel-consonant E syllable.

I have already broken this part into syllables, or this word into syllables, and there are two syllables here, the blue one and the red one.

Let's test these syllables to see if they are vowel-consonant E syllables.

Look only at this first syllable here that's written in blue.

What is the first vowel that you see in that syllable?

It's the vowel A, isn't it?

Now we need to test it.

Is that one vowel followed by a consonant?

The A is followed by a K. Is that a consonant?

It is.

And then, is our consonant followed by a final E?

It is.

This is a vowel-consonant E syllable and the syllable says lake.

That E at the end of this syllable reminds us to use the long A sound.

It also tells us that we can split this word apart into syllables right after that final E. Now let's test the second syllable.

What is the first vowel that you see in the red syllable?

It's the letter I, isn't it?

Is the letter I followed by a consonant?

It is followed by a consonant, isn't it?

The consonant D makes a consonant sound.

Is that consonant followed by a final E?

It is.

Vowel, consonant, E. This E reminds us that our vowel is going to say I.

Usually when we have a vowel-consonant E syllable, that first vowel will make the long vowel sound.

This syllable says side.

When we put those two syllables together, we have the word lakeside.

Lakeside.

One word with two vowel-consonant E syllables.

Factories and farms that are lakeside, or by the side of a lake, can pollute those waters if they aren't very careful.

Now that we've practiced finding a word with a vowel-consonant E syllable, let's see if we can break another word apart into syllables and then read it using the vowel-consonant E syllable that we find.

(upbeat electronic music) (lion roaring) As we start to read a word with a vowel-consonant E syllable, there are some tips that we can follow to break this word apart into syllables correctly.

First, we have to remember that every syllable has one vowel or vowel team.

We also say this by saying that every syllable has one vowel sound.

We can keep track of the vowel sounds that we have in a syllable in two ways.

First, we place a dot under each vowel.

Then, we underline any vowel teams that we see.

Remember, vowel teams are made with more than one letter, but they only make one vowel sound.

This way, when we have those dots and those lines, it helps us check each syllable and make sure that we don't have two or more vowel sounds in the same syllable.

After we do those two things, we need to know where to divide the word into syllables.

We sometimes divide words between two consonants.

We split those consonants apart and put them in different syllables.

Sometimes we split between a consonant and a vowel.

We move the consonant to the first syllable and the vowel to the next syllable.

Sometimes when we separate between a consonant and a vowel, we put the vowel in the first syllable and the consonant in the next syllable.

Another way to divide words into syllables is to divide between two vowels.

You split those vowels apart because they're making their own vowel sounds and they go in different syllables.

Something else that we want to keep in mind is that when we see digraphs, two letters that make one sound, like TH or CH, those digraphs have to stay in the same syllable.

And consonant blends often stay together in the same syllable, not always, but often.

Let's practice these tips as we separate a word with the vowel-consonant E syllable into syllables so we can read it more accurately.

We're going to start by placing a dot under each vowel.

What vowels do you see here?

First, I see the letter U.

Then what?

The letter A is also a vowel.

And E is a vowel.

Now that we found those, I'm thinking that we might have three syllables in this word.

That might not be true if the vowels are working together to make one vowel sound.

Do you see any vowels that work together here to make a vowel sound?

Well, I'm not sure quite yet because these vowels aren't right next to each other like most vowel teams usually are.

So, let's just keep an eye out for vowels that might be working together to make one sound as we start to separate this word into syllables.

Now we need to decide where to divide this word into syllables.

I know that the letter U is going to be in the first syllable and it will not be in a syllable with the letter A because these are going to be making their own vowel sounds.

That leaves me with these two consonants here in the middle.

How do you think we should separate these syllables?

What should we do with those consonants?

Usually, when we have two consonants side by side, especially if they're not digraphs or blends, we see those and we split the word into syllables between the consonants.

We separate those consonants and put them in separate syllables.

So let's try that here.

Remember, when you're separating words into syllables, if you do it and then that word doesn't make a real word when you're done, you can go back and change the syllable a little bit to try to find the real syllables to read the word.

Now I've got a syllable with one vowel sound and I see the second syllable already has a vowel sound.

Do you think that this here at the end will make our third syllable?

I'm thinking that it won't because I'm remembering that we're practicing vowel-consonant E syllables, and here, I see a vowel, a consonant, and then a final E. I think that the E and the A are going to be working together in the same syllable.

I think this is an example of a silent E that's going to tell the main vowel what sound it should make.

That means the A will probably make the long A sound in that syllable.

Let's read this word to see if we made a real word.

Read with me.

Un.

Safe.

Unsafe.

This word is unsafe, and that is a word that I know.

I think that we correctly separated this word into syllables to find a vowel-consonant E syllable and to read a real word.

It's unsafe for fish, and birds, and other animals that live in water when there's pollution in that water.

Now that we have practiced reading words with the vowel-consonant E syllable, it's going to be your turn next.

The next time that you're reading, see if you can find a word that has an example of a vowel-consonant E syllable, and as you read that, remind yourself that you can use what you know to make the correct vowel sound as you read that syllable.

The more that you practice this and you practice separating words into syllables, the more accurate you will become as you read new and tricky words.

(upbeat electronic music) - Ani.

Today, we are joined again by our special guest reader, the author of "Ajijaak the Crane," Cecelia LaPointe.

They're gonna be reading our book to us today.

On bay.

Let's go!

(upbeat electronic music) (lion roaring) - Robin lands a branch of a cedar tree.

Robin cares about the water.

Robin cares about the creek.

Crane, Robin, and Eagle are sad for the creek.

Crane, Robin, and Eagle ask Creator to help all of us to be strong.

Crane, Robin, and Eagle ask Creator to heal all of us.

- I have a question.

How do we know the animals care for the creek?

How do we know they actually care for the creek?

It says in the book that they care, but what did the author... That's right.

I can hear you.

Well, let's start here.

How do we know the animals care for the water?

Let's keep going.

- [Cecelia] Help us stop this.

Help us fly together.

Help us tell every creature.

Help us stop the factory.

- I have a question.

Well, it says that the animals want help, but what?

How?

Let's go with what.

What will the animals do to help the creek?

What are they gonna do to help the water?

Is that a question you have?

I wonder, too.

We're gonna have to read to find out, aren't we?

- [Cecelia] The creek is sick.

Heal this creek so Eagle can eat.

Heal this creek so Salmon can swim.

Heal this creek so Crane can walk.

Heal this creek so Toad can sit.

- Why?

Why do they need help healing the water?

Why do the animals need to help the creek heal?

- [Cecelia] The winged ones fly together.

The winged ones use their voices to be heard, the blue jays, crows, kingfishers, robins, cardinals.

Singing and saying: "Stop the factory.

Stop the factory.

Stop the factory."

The pine tree shakes.

The forest shakes.

Finally, their voices are heard.

- What do you think the big lesson of this story is so far?

The factories have poisoned the water, the salmon don't swim in the creeks, the Eagle, the Crane, the Toad, they all need help.

What could the big lesson of this story be?

Let's keep reading.

- [Cecelia] The factory closes.

No more pollution.

No poison.

No greed.

No disrespect to the land.

No disrespect to the water.

No disrespect to the creek.

The creek begins to heal.

- When does the creek begin to heal?

I'm gonna keep reading.

Let's keep that question in our head, okay?

'Cause there are probably a couple of answers.

Let's keep reading.

- [Cecelia] They collect cedar.

They collect sweet grass.

They collect the traditional medicines.

Medicines that heal.

Medicine is sacred.

Medicine is sacred for the creek.

Medicine we believe is sacred for us to heal.

Medicine is sacred for the creek to heal.

- I think I have two answers already in my head.

When does the creek begin to heal?

That's a good one.

Let's keep going.

- [Cecelia] All the winged ones join in together, happy, content, grateful, joyous the creek is healed.

Crane flies back to the great sea.

Crane cares for friends.

Crane cares for the land.

Crane cares for the water.

Crane cares to see the land healed.

Crane cares to see the water healed.

Do you care?

- How do the animals feel right now?

How do you feel right now?

Do you care?

What an amazing story, "Ajijaak."

Friends, what is the moral of the story?

Remember, as you read any of your books, you could be thinking about the questions, who, what, where, when, why, and how, to deepen your understanding and your comprehension.

(upbeat electronic music) (lion roaring) Writers, we've been reading the story "Ajijaak" and we've been asking questions and answering them using text evidence as we go.

It's now time to think about our focus.

Today, our focus is, what do you think the big lesson or the moral of this story is, friends?

I went ahead and I got started with the big lesson about the story "Ajijaak" and then I thought maybe you could help me with that evidence part, friends.

The big lesson of the book "Ajijaak" is to take care of the water and the land.

We should do this... That's what I need help with, friends.

Why should we do this?

I'm thinking back to the book "Ajijaak" and I'm thinking about what happened when the factories polluted the water.

Are you making connections?

I'm thinking the animals got sick and then they had to do something.

They had to heal the water, they had to stop the factories, and then they had to give the water the healing medicines, didn't they, friends?

So, why should we take care of the water and the land?

I agree.

I think I heard you.

Because why?

We should do it because we wanna keep the animals, like in the book "Ajijaak," and ourselves healthy and safe.

So how could that sentence go?

We should do this... Maybe it could go something like this.

To keep the animals and ourselves safe.

What do you think?

Okay, let's try.

Let's write it down.

We should do this to keep... We should do this to keep.. Oh, that's right.

The animals and our... Is it ourself or ourselves?

Let me reread and see what sounds good.

We should do this to keep the animals and ourselves healthy?

I think so.

Ourselves.

What do you think?

Yeah?

Should I add the and safe part?

We should do this to keep the animals and ourselves healthy and safe.

Maybe.

Let's try.

Are we done?

That's right.

We need to tell our reader to stop.

Let's put a period.

So, our writing would look something like this.

The big lesson in the book "Ajijaak" is to take care for the water and the land.

We should do this to keep the animals and ourselves healthy and safe.

What do you think, friends?

Did we do a good job?

I think so!

We talked about what the moral of the story was, we added the story's name, and we gave some evidence, a good reason why we should probably take care of the water and the land.

Excellent job.

Scholars, you have done a fabulous job.

You've worked really hard learning about syllables and you've asked questions and answered them using a story and text evidence with the book, "Ajijaak".

Nishin.

Good job.

Remember, readers, as you ask and answer questions in text, you could be thinking about, what is the author really trying to teach me?

It just might be a life lesson.

We'll see you next time on "Read, Write, Roar."

(woman speaking in foreign language) - [Narrator] This program is made possible in part by the Michigan Department of Education, the state of Michigan, and the W.K.

Kellogg Foundation.

Additional support by... And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) (bright piano music)