The English Language Gets A Little Kooky - Consonants

Teaching different ways to spell the same sound.
Hap Palmer

This song is available on Hap Palmer's Two Little Sounds: Fun with Phonics And Numbers.

Subjects:
• Different ways to spell the same sound
• Different spellings for consonant sounds: J, S, K, and SH
• Changes in mood and tempo of music

Teacher Note:
This song shows that letters are symbols for sounds and that there is often more than one way to spell the same sound. The song is most effective when you place the key words on the board or on a word chart. For example, in the first verse, display the words: jelly jam ginger giraffe page cage fudge gee jolly genius judged logic. Point to each word as it is sung in the song.

Activity:
Look at the words on the board and read along with the song. When the music suddenly speeds up, jump up and create a kooky dance. When the music slows down, sit back down and get ready to read more words.

‘J’ makes the /j/ sound in jelly and jam
But ‘G’ says /j/ in ginger and giraffe
‘G-E’ says /j/ in page, and cage
And ‘D-G-E’ says /j/ in fudge
Gee, what jolly genius judged the logic of this??
Oh,

Chorus:
The English language gets a little kooky
Gets a little kooky now and then
The English language gets a little kooky
Now and then, my friend.

‘S’ makes the /s/ sound in singer and song
But ‘C’ says /s/ in cereal and city
‘S-S says /s/ at the end of glass and kiss
And ‘SC’ says /s/ at the start of scissors
It’s senseless, yes,
but just accept this silly song and sing . . . Oh,

Repeat Chorus

‘C’ makes a /k/ sound in cat and cow
But ‘K’ says /k/ in kitten and kazoo
‘C’ and ‘K’ together say /k/ in sack and wacky
And ‘C-H’ says /k/ in chorus and choir.
La, ah . . . Oh,

Repeat Chorus

‘S-H’ says /sh/ in ship and shark
But ‘T-I’ says /sh/ in motion and potion
‘C-E’ says /sh/ in ocean, ‘C-H’ says /sh/ in chef
‘C-I’ says /sh/ in special, and ‘S’ says /sh/ in sure
There surely should be fewer ways
to show the sound of ‘shhh’ . . .

Repeat Chorus Softly

There are many more examples
we can’t fit them in this song
The rules are sometimes right,
and sometimes they are wrong
When spelling makes no sense
and you’re frustrated and incensed
Take a breath, count to three, 1, 2, 3,
and sing this little song . . . Oh,

Repeat Chorus
Ho, ho, ho, ha, ha, ha, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!

Follow-up:
Let’s review some of the ideas covered in this song. Can you think of three ways to spell the the sound /s/? /k/? /sh/? Name 2 different sounds you can spell with the letter ‘G.’ There are many examples not shown in this song. For example, can you think of two ways to spell the sound /f/? (‘f ’ ‘gh’ ‘ph’ examples: fish, laugh, philosophy).

Book Suggestions for this Song: