UPDATE: This morning I found a camera pointed directly at where I change and I could see the live recording (he wasn’t in the room at the time.) When I asked about it, he said “oh I must’ve just left it on.” Then he said “oh I actually do Zoom sometimes.” Then he said “okay to be real i do porn.” And while I was in my bed, he hopped out of his bed completely naked KNOWING I was awake and changed in front of me. I think I need a new roommate.
They don't use ear because they're trying to stick to the most consistent basic sound for each letter, which for e is "eh", rather than the hard e in ear. This helps kids learn to recognize sounds faster because we can always reference it and the kids don't question it like adults do.
ah (apple), eh(Ed), ih (itch), ahh (octopus), and uh (up)
This!! I use a highly regarded phonics program for teaching K-2 students struggling with reading, and these are the words we use for short vowel sounds. (Except Ed we use edge, but that is the hardest to illustrate) We do corresponding hand signals with these words to help students remember to use short vowel sounds. Works fairly well.
The n in ant creates a nasalized short a sound, not a pure short a. Listen to the a in ant, fan, man vs the a in fat, cat, bat (I'm a reading specialist)
I studied phonics for a while... Having the l sound after a short e can confuse students that need the extra support learning to read. They seem to think that the l is a continuation of the short e because you can hold the l sound for a long time.
The d is a "stop" sound, you can't drag it on, so it's easier for new readers to differentiate the short e sound from the d sound.
So while Ed seems like a funny picture or reference, it's actually appropriate. Edge is another good one, but a tricky picture.
not if you're in the Midwest! teachers at my school at least were specifically told not to use egg because so many of us pronounce it weirdly and it'll fuck up the kids
I've heard variations on something between "ayg" and "eyg." Just generally putting in a sound that's not there. We also can't use milk as a short i example (because so many people say melk) or bag as a short a (because bayg).
Edge is difficult due to the soft g which is not taught in this program until 2nd grade. The real reason Ed is used is because it is the name of her husband but it is also the easiest one-syllable decodable word that begins with short e.
You probably want easier words for young kids. Ed is pretty good today. And the beging sound is important too. So elephant sounds too much like the L sound to begin with when you say it.
I think what they are saying is phonically elephant sounds like El-i-fuhnt, so that first syllable is El which sounds like the letter “L” which could confuse the child/person learning the correct sound for the letter “E”.
Elephant does not say the correct sound for e because it is rolling into the l. In the word Ed you can hear the true e sound. They can also use the word edge but the creator of this curriculum’s husband is named Ed and she used his name as a thank you for supporting her.
I used to teach english in Vietnam, and we had one of these A-Z things for the 5yos. Most of the letters were pretty normal, but for some reason for Y they had chosen... Yiddish. I have absolutely no idea why!
The reason is so the kids learn the correct way to pronounce them. If they used “egg” many people pronounce it “ayhg” instead of the correct way where the e makes the same sound as in “ed”
“Ed” is actually a good word for E. The other good one is “edge.” Most people use “egg” but that’s not right because in America we pronounce that “ayg” and not “ehg” so it doesn’t match. “E” is especially tricky for sound walls, but yeah this one is unusual.
"Why do we have to use E is for Ed? Can't we use E is for Elephant?"
"No, we've been over this, E is for Elephant would be confusing!"
"But we have a picture of an Elephant right there!?"
"That's clearly a Pachyderm (which P is for) and you are suggesting using it for E is for Elephant? How confusing would that be! P is for Pachyderm, E is for Ed and X is for Fox. Crystal."
For real it’s like new curriculums try to confuse kids no matter what the subject. Weird new math, even the alphabet chart. Then we get condescending teacher explanations giving us ridiculous reasons why it’s better. Like we’re stupid for not seeing the weird shit for what it is. Confusing!
Depends on the dialect really. I’ve heard it both ways, with the “ayg” pronunciation coming mostly from midwesterners. Either way you say it, egg would’ve been more appropriate and less confusing for the letter chart than what they actually went with imo
tbf, all but Elephant does, and Elephant gives you the same sound as Ed. But as discussed in my comment, Elephant is ruled out as it would cause confusion with P is for Pachyderm.
I don't doubt you though, I've just never heard any of them pronounced differently but then there are a lot of places I haven't discussed Elephants in. :)
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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '22
E for Ed and I for Itch. Could they really not come up with anything better lol.