Borrowers

Borrowers are letters that do not have a sound of their own. These letters "borrow" their sound(s) from other consonants and vowels. These letters (graphemes) are often confused with others that create the same sound.

Story: "After we finish our smoothie from the blender, we realize we have no money to continue our adventure. We go to the bank to borrow some money."

Hand Motions: Hold both hands out in front of you with both palms facing up. Open and close your hands, as if someone were giving you money.

The sounds are organized based on the frequency of usage for that particular sound-symbol in the English language. For example, the /k/ sound for "c" is more frequently used than the /s/. Therefore, the /k/ sound is listed before the /s/. The same is true for the other sounds in the bank of borrowers.
Sounds also vary depending upon where the borrowers are found in a word.

The four pronunciations of "y" are listed below:
/ee/ can be found at the end of multi-syllable words, as in "happy".
/ie/ can be found at the end of a syllable, as in "my" (open syllable, cy/cle).
/i/ can be found between two consonants in words of Greek Origin, as in "gym" (closed syllable).
/yuh/ (/ee/ sliding to a vowel) can be found followed by a vowel at the beginning of words, as in "yellow".

The three pronunciations of "x" are listed below:
/ks/ can be found at the middle or end of words, as in "axis" and "tax".
/gz/ can be found at the middle of words, as in "exam" and "example".
/z/ can be found at the beginning of words, as in "xylophone".

The two pronunciations of "c" are listed below:
/k/ can be found before an a, o, or u, as in "cat", "cot", or "cut".
/s/ can be found before an e, i, or y, as in "cell", "city", or "cycle". (C Cycle Rule will be taught later)

The only pronunciation for "qu" is listed below:
/kw/ can be found at the beginning or middle of words, as in "quit" or "bequeath".
Remember "qu" is actually a consonant blend.
The mnemonic to help students remember the Borrowers is: You box coins quickly.