What is meant by multiple sound patterns in the TEKS for elementary?

This is a racent question from a client. The TEKSGuide really is your friend. 

2nd grade mini unpacking of 2.2Civ

Requirements: 

1. one to two syllable words

2. of vccv, vcv, and vccv words

3. connected to word structure (phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology) 

4. purposes are to communicate, decode, and encode (spell) So this is for spelling and reading/decoding) 

5. must be able to break down into smaller parts

6. Examples

Second Grade example: multiple sound patterns would be long (in open and vcve patterns, short (in vcv closed syllables in multi syllable words) schwa (and the unaccented, final stable syllable in multi-syllable words like -ble) You'll need to check the phonics sequence to check which specific syllables and vowel patterns are connected to 2nd. 

Third Grade example: dinosaur - three syllables

sound patterns are: 1) the long i in the first open syllable 2) the long o in the second open syllable 3) the vowel team

au in the third syllable (can be pronounce /sahr/, /sowr/ or /sor/ depending on dialect. https://www.howtopronounce.com/sauros. This is also connected to meaning, vocabulary study - saur means lizard.  

Four Grade examples
Drowsy - drow - ow as a diphthong; sy - y as long e at the end of a word (two sound patterns) 

Compound - com - o as short vowel in closed syllable; ou as diphthong in closed syllable (two sound patterns) 

Royalty - oy as diphthong in first syllable; al - a as third sound of a - father; y as long e at the end of a word (three sound patterns) n

mermaid - r controlled syllable, ai as long a phonogram - two letters working together to make one sound; (two sound patterns

gurgle - r controlled syllable; unaccented syllable - stable final syllable - every syllable has to have a vowel; (two sound patterns) 

charcoal - r controlled syllable or ar as a phonogram, depending on how you consider it; oa as two letter phonogram for the long o sound (two sound patterns) 

marshmallow - r controlled syllable or ar phonogram - ar of car; mal -as a short a sound - but in Texas we say meh; ow as phongram with long o (three sound patterns) Origin - it was originally made from the mallow plant that grows wild in the marshes of Egypt. That's why it is mal/mallow. The treat was made from the herb: mallow. 

I can  go on, but I think you get the picture. Each syllable has different sound patterns because of the type of phonogram (vowel team, digraph, diphthong, or phonogram), the type of syllable - 6 types (open, closed, vowel r,  vowel consonant e, doubled letters,  consonant l) , and the word origin (root meaning). All three parts - phonogram, syllable type, and word origin - are a part of sound spelling types. 

Here are the other words in fourth grade listed in the TEKS guide:  

• Enormous
• Sanitize
• Underneath 
• Employee
• Ointment
• Dominate
• Remainder
• Consonant 

5th grade examples are not given in the TEKS guide. The alignments end in 5th grade.