Parent guide · Grade 1 Phonics & Reading: Long Vowels and Many Words · Unit 3
Lesson 3.4 The Ending -ing; Unit 3 Check
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 jumping , singing , resting . I can read the heart words busy and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “The Ant and the Dove” and tell it back.
- You need
- Heart-word cards (printables pack)
- Primary-ruled paper and a pencil
- A King James Bible
- the lesson page (it also has a short video (3:31) and an explainer to read aloud (about 10 minutes))
Steps
Do this: Add -ing: jump/jumping, sing/singing. Short vowel + one consonant: double it: hop/hopping, sit/sitting. Silent e: drop it: hope/hoping.
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 jumping.
Say this: “Touch and say: /j/ /u/ /m/ /p/ /i/ /ng/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: jumping . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: jumping
Show: Blend singing.
Say this: “Touch and say: /s/ /i/ /ng/ /i/ /ng/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: singing . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: singing
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: jumping · singing · resting · hopping
Listen for: jumping = j | u | m | p | i | ng; singing = s | i | ng | i | ng; resting = r | e | s | t | i | ng; hopping = h | o | p | p | i | ng
Ask: Read: sitting · running · hoping · making
Listen for: sitting = s | i | t | t | i | ng; running = r | u | n | n | i | ng; hoping = h | o | p | i | ng; making = m | a | k | i | ng
Ask: Read: riding · dropping
Listen for: riding = r | i | d | i | ng; dropping = d | r | o | p | p | i | ng
4 more practice items on the lesson page.
- Guessing from the first letter or the picture. Cover the picture and ask the child to tap every sound.
- Dictation: hopping, hoping, jumped, boxes.
- 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: jumping, singing, resting, hopping, sitting, running.
Word Sounds Heart part busy /b/ /ĭ/ /z/ /ē/ ♥ u says /ĭ/ The Ant and the Dove
An ant was drinking at a pond. Splash! The ant slipped in. Help!
A dove was sitting on a branch. She dropped a stick in the pond. The ant got on the stick and was safe.
The next time, a man was hunting with a net. He was stepping up to the dove. The ant was thinking fast. Nip! The ant bit the man on his leg.
The man jumped and yelled, and the dove was gone in a flash. A kind act gets a kind act back.
Retold from Aesop. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: dove.
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.
- How did the dove help the ant?
Answer
She dropped a stick into the water.
- Who was hunting the dove?
Answer
A man with a net.
- How did the ant help the dove?
Answer
It bit the man on the leg.
- What is the lesson?
Answer
One kindness deserves another.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- How did the dove help the ant?
Aesop: The Ant and the Dove. Read the original.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Read a base word. Your child says "double," "drop" or "just add," then writes the -ing word.
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 jumping , singing , resting .; I can read the heart words busy and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The Ant and the Dove” and tell it back.
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (stanza 1) (Edward Lear)
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat;
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the moon above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love!
What a beautiful Pussy you are,—
You are,
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”This week: Clear words. Say every ending sound: the t, the d, the s. Open your mouth wider than feels normal.
- 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 title and the poet, then the poem. Stand up and say it alone for the family.
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
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.”