Parent guide · Grade 1 Phonics & Reading: Long Vowels and Many Words · Unit 1
Lesson 1.3 Blends Front and Back
Written for the parent. Read the Say this lines aloud as they are, or in your own words. Answers for you are marked Listen for.
At a glance
- Time
- 5 sessions of 15–20 minutes
- Goal
- I can tap and blend words such as strap , splash , scrub . I can read the heart words buy and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “Abram Packs Up” and tell it back.
- You need
- Heart-word cards (printables pack)
- A small whiteboard or a tray of salt or sand
- Primary-ruled paper and a pencil
- A King James Bible
- the lesson page (it also has a short video (3:33) and an explainer to read aloud (about 10 minutes))
Steps
Do this: Add a sound: lip → flip → flips. rap → trap → traps. Take one away: stamp → tamp → camp.
Do this: Tap and blend. For each word your child touches each letter (or letter team) and says its sound, then sweeps a finger under the whole word and says it smoothly. Never guess from the first letter or a picture. If a word is misread, point to the part that was missed and blend again from the start.
Do this: Spell it. Say a word. Your child says it back, taps the sounds on his or her fingers, then writes one letter (or letter team) for each sound. Check together, sound by sound.
Do this: Heart words. A heart word is mostly regular. We tap it like any other word, and draw a heart over the one part that does not follow the rules we know yet. Practise the heart words on cards every day this week (see the table below).
Do this: The week at a glance. Day 1: warm-up, new sound, handwriting. Day 2: card review, word lists, spelling. Day 3: second new sound or more words, heart words. Day 4: read the story, talk about it. Day 5: reread the story for fluency, play the game, quick check (10 words, 1 sentence, 5 spelling words). Read the read-aloud at another time of day.
Show: Blend strap.
Say this: “Touch and say: /s/ /t/ /r/ /a/ /p/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: strap . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: strap
Show: Blend splash.
Say this: “Touch and say: /s/ /p/ /l/ /a/ /sh/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: splash . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: splash
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: strap · splash · scrub · crust
Listen for: strap = s | t | r | a | p; splash = s | p | l | a | sh; scrub = s | c | r | u | b; crust = c | r | u | s | t
Ask: Read: blend · frost · twist · glint
Listen for: blend = b | l | e | n | d; frost = f | r | o | s | t; twist = t | w | i | s | t; glint = g | l | i | n | t
Ask: Read: script · sprint · drift · plump
Listen for: script = s | c | r | i | p | t; sprint = s | p | r | i | n | t; drift = d | r | i | f | t; plump = p | l | u | m | p
4 more practice items on the lesson page.
- Dropping a sound in a blend (sip for slip, fog for frog). Tap one finger for each sound.
- Guessing from the first letter or the picture. Cover the picture and ask the child to tap every sound.
- Copy: Abram did trust God.
- Use the ball-and-stick lines: tall letters touch the top line, short letters touch the middle line, tails go below the base line.
Copywork: Write each word once, saying the sounds as you write: strap, splash, scrub, crust, blend, frost.
Word Sounds Heart part buy /b/ /ī/ ♥ uy says /ī/ Abram Packs Up
God said to Abram, "Get up and go to a land I will tell you of." Abram did not ask, "Which land?" He did trust God.
Abram packs his tents and his pots and his rugs. His camels and rams and men went with him. On and on they went, past hills and sand.
At dusk Abram stands in his camp. God said, "Can you tell the stars? There are lots and lots. So will your children be."
Abram had not one child. But Abram did trust God, and God was glad with him.
Retold from Genesis 12 and 15. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: Abram, God, camels, stars.
Every word in this story uses only the sounds and heart words taught so far (checked by the School Launch decodability checker). Read a page a day on Days 3 and 4, and the whole story on Day 5.
- What did God tell Abram to do?
Answer
Leave his home and go to a land God would show him.
- Did Abram know where he was going?
Answer
No, but he trusted God.
- What did God tell Abram to count?
Answer
The stars.
- What did God promise?
Answer
Abram’s children would be as many as the stars.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- What did God tell Abram to do?
Genesis 12:1–5 and 15:5–6. Read aloud. Go outside at night and try to count the stars.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Use letter cards. Start with a word like lip; add, take away or change one sound at a time.
Say this: “Tell me the new sounds you learned this week, and read me one word.”
Listen for: I can tap and blend words such as strap , splash , scrub .; I can read the heart words buy and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “Abram Packs Up” and tell it back.
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
This week: Stand tall. Feet still and a little apart, hands quiet at your sides, chin up. Stand still from the first word to the last.
- Day 1: The teacher says it twice; the child echoes it one line at a time.
- Days 2–4: Say it together each morning; drop one line of help each day.
- Day 5: Say the reference, then the verse, then the reference again. Stand up and say it alone for the family.
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Abram trusted God, and God called him righteous.
Spread over the week
5 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.
- Session 1. Warm-up, then teach the new idea (steps 1 and 2).
- Session 2. Warm-up again, then show how with the examples.
- Session 3. Practice together, then play the game.
- Session 4. More practice, handwriting and reading, and the daily habit.
- Session 5. Quick check: narration and a few practice items. Move on when it is mostly right.
For you
For families. Keep each session short and cheerful: 15 to 20 minutes, then stop. If your child is tired or frustrated, stop and finish tomorrow. A lesson can take more than a week; move on when the quick check on Day 5 is mostly “Got it.”