To the teacher: the goal of students' working with the Vowel Classification on the next page is to acquire accurate knowledge of the vowel system of English.

This format enables teachers:

• to instruct efficiently; and
• project exercises onto a whiteboard for group- or individual-student use.

Whether the classification is introduced to kindergarteners or adults, the presentation is the same:

• Each spelling tile is picked up, dragged to the call-out frame and shown to the class (or individual student). Its sound is established before it is dropped into place in the classification.
• The spellings are presented in a not-quite random order; that is, more familiar spellings are presented first.

In the first presentation of the spelling/sound correspondences, the presenter/teacher demonstrates:

• how the jaw and tongue move down in “little steps”;
• how the jaw and tongue move up in “little steps”;
• how the /u/ sound requires that the jaw and tongue are neither lowered nor raised;
• how diphthongs start at one sound and move to another.