PART I

Twenty Six Letters

Twenty – six cards in half a pack;

Twenty – six weeks in half a year;

Twenty – six letters dressed in black

In all the words you ever will hear.

Think on the beautiful things you see

On mountain, riverside, meadow and tree.

How many their names are, but how small

The twenty – six letters that spell them all.

Listen to this poem ”ABC” by Spike Milligan, read it and decide which letters of the alphabet are not included.

It was midnight in the schoolroom And every desk was shut, When suddenly from the alphabet Was heard a loud ‘tut-tut! Said A to B, ‘I don’t like C, His manners are a lack. For all I ever see I of C Is semi-circular back!’ ‘I disagree’, said D to B, ‘I’ve never found C so. From where I stand, he seems to be An uncompleted O’. C was vexed, ‘I’m much perplexed, You criticize my shape. I’ve made like that, to help spell Cat And Cow and Cool and Cape.’

‘He is right’, said E, said F, ‘Whoopee!’ Said G, ’Ip, ip ip ooray!’ ‘You are dropping me,’ roared H to G. ‘Don’t do it please I pray!’ ‘Out o f my way,’ LL said to K. ’I’ll make poor I look like ILL’. To stop this stunt, J stood in front, And presto! ILL was JILL. ‘U know said V’, that W Is twice the age of me, For as a Roman V is five I’m half as young as he’. X and Y yawned sleepily, ‘Look at the time!’ they said, ‘Let’s all get off to beddy byes, They did, then, ‘Z-z-x’.

1. Where is the story set? Who speaks?

2. Can you explain, in your own words, the two descriptions of C?

3. Can you tell the story in your own words in just one sentence?

4. What is your favourite letter of English alphabet and why?

5. How do letters help each other build a new word? Find examples in the poem and give your own.

We are very little creatures,

All of different voice and features;

One of us in glass is set,

One of us you find in jet,

T’ other you may see in tin,

And the fourth a box within.

If the fifth you should pursue,

It can never fly from you.

(Jonathan Swift)

1. Name the words in which the single vowels appear. What do these words have in common?

2. Who is speaking in the poem?

3. What is your favourite vowel? Name five necessary things for you which have this vowel.

See how quickly you can work out the following.

A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z
14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26

1. What’s the 14^th letter of the alphabet? _____

2. What’s the 7^th letter from the end of the alphabet? _____

3. Make three words starting with the 4^th letter of the alphabet.

___________ __________ __________

4. Make a word from the 12^th, 5^th, 9^th, 13^th and 19^th letters of the alphabet. _________

5. How many different letters appear in the word embarrassed? _________

6. Make three words that end the 20th letter of the alphabet.

___________ __________ __________

7. Which letter occurs twice in realise and once in scream? ______

8. Which letters occur most often in interesting? ______

9. What is the position in the alphabet of the middle letter in the word

advertisement? ______

10. Arrange the following words in alphabetical order:

crab comb carrot cream curious cotton

____________________________________________

11. Which letter in the word hair is closest to N in the alphabet? ______

12. Make three words that includes the 1^st and 16^th letters of the alphabet.

____________ __________ __________

13. What letter can read? ______

14. What letter grows in the garden? ______

15. What letter do people drink? ______

16. What letter likes honey? ______

17. In what words you can find a bus (eg. busker)_____ , a rain _____, a sin ______,

ice ______, ink ______, old _____, ill _____.

открытый слог [еi]	закрытый слог [æ]	a + r [α:]	ar + гласная [ә]
blame	map	car	stare
fame	matter	star	bare
fate	act	starve	declare
crane	active	art	fare
hate	happy	tart	dare
pale	flat	part	rare
state	black	arm	prepare

²Activity 1. Contrasting Sound Practice

A. Listen and repeat the words paying attention to the sounds:

[ ei ] [ æ ]

hape – hap skate – cat gape – gap

lady – lad trace – track mate – mat

safe – sad face – fact fate – fat

same – sale fame – fan late – lad

sane – sang save – savvy pane – pan

B. Listen and repeat the words paying attention to the sounds:

[æ] [еi] [α:] [ә]

rat – rate – rar – rare lack – lake – lark – lair

mat – mate –mar – mare fat – fate – far – fare

cap – cape – car – care hat – hate – hard – hare

pat – plate – part – pare shack – shake – shark – share

bat – bate – bar – bare stack – stake – star – stare

Activity 2. Read the words and sentences according to the reading rules.

[ә]

fare – fair	hare – hair	dare – dairy	flare – flair
stare – stair	pare – pair	declare – lair	rare – repair

Is it fare to pay high bus-fare? He stared at the hare.

These chairs need to be repaired. Her fair hair is beautiful.

Activity 3. Distribute the words according to the sounds given in columns.

	[еi]	[æ]	[α:]	[ә]		[еi]	[æ]	[α:]	[ә]
tart					pave
flat					bard
late					share
car					face
start					glad
mate					card
star					rage
state					rare
mare					nanny
mad					nape
mar					tag
bat					carve
barge					lack

Activity 4. Read the rhymes and continue them.