Flippy Dolphin Reading Strategy: Is It Important?

When kids are learning how to read, several reading strategies are used to help them develop the skill. Flippy Dolphin's reading strategy is one such strategy that makes it easier for kids to learn how to read.

What Is the Flippy Dolphin Reading Strategy?

Kids' Flippy Dolphin reading strategy revolves around flipping the vowel sounds to pronounce a word. Before learning the Flippy Dolphin reading strategy, kids might read "cake" as "cak" or "kite" as "kit." When kids understand the Flippy Dolphin strategy online, they try the long vowel sound if the words don't make sense.

You need to be patient before introducing the Flippy Dolphin strategy to kids. You should not teach the Flippy Dolphin strategy unless you are ready to introduce your kids to long vowel sounds. Before teaching this strategy, you should practice spelling words with your kids for some time.

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Why Is the Flippy Dolphin Reading Strategy Important?

Young readers quickly become acquainted with the short vowel sound while pronouncing words. But the English language does not always focus on the short vowel sound. Readers need to keep switching between short vowel sounds and long vowel sounds for pronouncing words in the English language. Therefore, young readers find vowels to sound tricky and struggle with them.

The Flippy Dolphin reading strategy reminds kids to flip short vowel sounds. When words don't make sense with the short vowel, they learn to switch to long vowel sounds automatically. Teaching the Flippy Dolphin strategy introduces beginning readers to a whole set of new words. Beginning readers also understand language patterns when the Flippy Dolphin strategy is presented.

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How to Introduce the Flippy Dolphin Reading Strategy?

Before introducing the Flippy Dolphin reading strategy to your kids, talk to them about dolphins. Ask them how much they know about dolphins. To understand the concept of the Flippy Dolphin strategy, kids should know that dolphins are good at flips. You can also show your kids a few dolphin videos to make them understand more about the creature.

After that, begin practicing with various long vowel sound words, including vowel teams and silent e. You also need to discuss how some letters can be a little tricky to pronounce with your kid. You can take the example of "y" and discuss how it at times says "i" and at other times says "e."

Tips for Flippy Dolphin Reading Strategy Practice

After introducing your kids to the Flippy Dolphin reading strategy, you need to make them practice. Choose some fun activities to practice the reading strategy and see whether your kids have understood how to use it. Some fun and interesting for Flippy Dolphin reading strategy practice are as follows:

Flip-it Fast: The game revolves around writing long vowel words on a whiteboard and getting your kid to decode them. You should set a thirty to sixty seconds timer and see how many words your kids can decode. If the timer puts too much pressure on your child, you can play the game without it. In that case, you should reward points to your child when they get it right. In the beginning, you don't have to be too harsh on them, and you can give them some clues to guess the words.
Flip or Not: Write some long and short vowel sounds on index cards to play this game. Ask your child to flip each index card and identify if they are long vowel or short vowel words. If you want to make the game challenging, you can add a timer.
Level D - F Books: Long vowel words can be found only when the level of books rises. You are not likely to find too many long vowel words in level A-C books. Therefore, make your kids read level D - F books and see if they can successfully decode words with the Flippy Dolphin strategy. You can also ask your kids to categorize the words in a particular paragraph into long vowel or short vowel sounds.
Long Vowel Word Hunt: The game revolves around making your kids look for long vowel words in different types of printed materials. Whether it's a newspaper or a leaflet, the game will help you identify if you have been successful at teaching the Flippy Dolphin strategy to kids.
Flip it Board Game: Any board game is an interesting way to test the Flippy Dolphin strategy. You can write both short vowel and long vowel words on different cards. Make your kids identify to which term belongs before they play their turn in the board game. If they fail to make a correct choice, they will lose a turn in the game.

Points to Remember for Teaching with Beginning Reading Strategies

Some points to remember for teaching with beginning reading strategies are as follows:

Focus on letter sounds: Before teaching decoding strategies to kids, you must ensure that they can identify every letter. But more than focusing on the names of the letters, you should make them understand how the letters sound. When kids understand the link between letters and their sounds, they will be able to read small words on their own. Gradually, you can introduce the Flippy Dolphin reading strategy so that they understand the use of long vowel sounds in the English language.
Create phonemic awareness: Songs and rhymes for kids are a great way to make kids develop phonemic awareness. The rhyme and rhythm are not just fun. They can also teach kids about the sounds and syllables in words. If you make your kids recite nursery rhymes, you will help them learn new words. If there are long vowel sounds in the nursery rhymes, it will be easier for you to introduce the Flippy Dolphin strategy. The playful nursery rhymes will ensure that kids develop their reading and speaking skills with a vocabulary of new words.
Talk with your kids: The more you talk to your kids, the more they will be introduced to new words. You will see that kids who grew up with a lot of people talking to them learn how to speak fast. A child is like a sponge, absorbing everything that they see and hear. When you talk to your kids, they will be able to listen to the correct pronunciation of words. It can also help them form sentences on their own and communicate better. You can deliberately include some long vowel words in your sentences. You can also make intentional mistakes while pronouncing the words and see if your kids correct you with the Flippy Dolphin reading strategy.

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FAQs:

Should I teach my kids the Flippy Dolphin strategy?

Parents should teach kids various reading strategies to help them decode words easily. The Flippy Dolphin reading strategy is essential to make kids good at reading.

When is the right time to introduce my kids to the Flippy Dolphin strategy?

You should introduce the Flippy Dolphin strategy to kids when they become aware of all alphabet sounds. You also need to ensure that your kid knows how to pronounce basic words before introducing this decoding strategy.

Are decoding strategies like a stretchy snake and chunky monkey useful?

Decoding strategies like a stretchy snake and chunky monkey are useful in making kids better readers. The stretchy snake strategy makes kids focus on individual sounds and blend them to form a word. The chunky monkey reading strategy makes it easier for kids to pronounce long words. It revolves around making kids look for familiar fragments in a big word to be able to pronounce it correctly.

Should I prepare a Flippy Dolphin lesson plan?

Preparing a Flippy Dolphin lesson plan will help you make kids understand the decoding strategy better. The lesson plan should include the things you will do before introducing the decoding strategy and how you will practice the strategy with kids.

What will happen if I don't teach the Flippy Dolphin strategy to my kid?

If you don't teach kids the Flippy Dolphin reading strategy, they will struggle with long vowel sounds. Kids will end up pronouncing words like "cape" and "fate" as "cap" and "fat."

How to make my kids better understand the Flippy Dolphin strategy?

If you want to make your kids understand the Flippy Dolphin reading strategy, you need to let them know about the features of a dolphin. If required, take your kid to sea world and make them see how dolphins flip.

Can the Flippy Dolphin strategy improve speaking skills in students?

The Flippy Dolphin strategy helps make students correctly pronounce words. By teaching this decoding strategy, you can also improve speaking skills in students.