Lesson 7.2 ou and ow: cloud and cow

Steps

1. Warm-up

   Do this: /ow/ as in cloud and cow. ou in the middle (cloud), ow at the end or before n, l (cow, town, owl).

2. Teach the new idea

   Do this: New sound: ou. Show the card and say: “This says /ow/, as in cloud.” Your child says it three times, then writes it in the air, on the table with a finger, and on paper. Then play a quick ears game: you say words and your child gives a thumbs up whenever /ow/ is in the word.

   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.

   New cards:

   • ou says /ow/, as in cloud. Make a sound card: write ou on the front and draw a cloud on the back.
3. Show how

   Show: Blend out.

   Say this: “Touch and say: /ou/ /t/.”

   Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”

   Say this: “Say the word: out . Use it in a sentence.”

   Answer: out

   Show: Blend loud.

   Say this: “Touch and say: /l/ /ou/ /d/.”

   Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”

   Say this: “Say the word: loud . Use it in a sentence.”

   Answer: loud

4. Practice together

   Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.

   Ask: Read: out · loud · cloud · found

   Listen for: out = ou | t; loud = l | ou | d; cloud = c | l | ou | d; found = f | ou | n | d

   Ask: Read: ground · mouth · cow · now

   Listen for: ground = g | r | ou | n | d; mouth = m | ou | th; cow = c | ow; now = n | ow

   Ask: Read: town · down · brown · owl

   Listen for: town = t | ow | n; down = d | ow | n; brown = b | r | ow | n; owl = ow | l

   4 more practice items on the lesson page.

5. Watch for
   • Reading each letter of a vowel team separately. The two letters work together for one sound.
   • Guessing from the first letter or the picture. Cover the picture and ask the child to tap every sound.
6. Handwriting and copywork
   1. Copy: The mouse went to town.
   2. 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: out, loud, cloud, found, ground, mouth.

7. Heart words this week

   Word	Sounds	Heart part
   clothes	/k/ /l/ /ō/ /th/ /z/	♥ th and s blend together

8. Decodable story: The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

   The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

   A country mouse had a plain home in a field. His cousin, the town mouse, came to see him. They had beans and seeds to eat.

   "Come to town with me!" said the town mouse. "In town we eat like kings."

   So off they went. In the town house they found cheese and cake on a big shelf. Then ... a growl! A cat! Down they ran and hid in a hole.

   "Good-by, cousin," said the country mouse. "Give me my plain home and my beans. A plain meal at rest is better than a feast with a cat."

   Retold from Aesop. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: mouse, house, cousin, cheese.

   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.

9. Talk about the story
   1. What did the country mouse eat?
      Answer

      Beans and seeds.

   2. What was in the town house?
      Answer

      Cheese and cake.

   3. What frightened them?
      Answer

      A cat.

   4. What is the lesson?
      Answer

      A simple life in peace is better than riches with fear.

   Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).

10. Read-aloud

    Aesop: The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Read the original.

    The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.

11. Game: Cloud or Cow?

    Sort ou and ow word cards under a cloud picture and a cow picture.

12. Narration

    Say this: “Tell me the new sounds you learned this week, and read me one word.”

    Listen for: I can say /ow/ when I see ou (as in cloud ), and write it.; I can tap and blend words such as out , loud , cloud .; I can read the heart words clothes and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” and tell it back.

13. Recitation

    At the Sea-Side (Robert Louis Stevenson)

    When I was down beside the sea
    A wooden spade they gave to me
    To dig the sandy shore.

    My holes were empty like a cup.
    In every hole the sea came up,
    Till it could come no more.

    This week: Expression. Let your voice show what the words mean: glad words sound glad, quiet words sound quiet.

    • 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.
14. Scripture

    Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

    A simple meal with love is better than a feast with hatred.

Spread over the week

5 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

1. Session 1. Warm-up, then New sound: ou. Finish with a little practice or the game.
2. Session 2. Warm-up, then Tap and blend. Finish with a little practice or the game.
3. Session 3. Warm-up, then Spell it. Finish with a little practice or the game.
4. Session 4. Warm-up, then Heart words. Finish with a little practice or the game.
5. Session 5. Warm-up, then The week at a glance. Finish with a little practice or the game.

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.”