E (head, said) Sound Word List with “ea” and “ai” Spellings
By Rodney Everson
Four of the five basic code vowel sounds, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/, have one or two alternative spellings. The /e/ sound has two, ea and ai.
Of the 7,000 words in the database constructed from a popular children’s dictionary, 22 of them are one-syllable words in which the vowel sound /e/ is not spelled just "e".
Of the two alternative spellings, the "ai" spelling is only found in said among one-syllable words, so that word should just be treated as a sight word and the spelling memorized. The other spelling, "ea", occurs frequently enough to teach /e/ as one of its sounds.
Comprehensive Word Lists
Features over 100 word lists built from 7,000 words input from a children's dictionary. Lists are organized by vowel and consonant sounds and cover most common spellings. Useful in the classroom for building curriculum aids such as short stories that emphasize specific sounds and spellings. Multisyllable words are also included, chunked according to the method taught in the OnTrack Reading Advanced Code Phonics Workbook.