Parent guide · Grade 1 Phonics & Reading: Long Vowels and Many Words · Unit 8
Lesson 8.4 Compound and Two-Syllable Words; Unit 8 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 sunset , inside , upset . I can read “Nehemiah and the Wall” 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 (3:52) and an explainer to read aloud (about 9 minutes))
Steps
Do this: Two small words make one: sun + set = sunset. Two closed syllables: nap-kin, rab-bit. Find the vowels; split between the consonants.
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: 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 sunset.
Say this: “Touch and say: /s/ /u/ /n/ /s/ /e/ /t/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: sunset . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: sunset
Show: Blend inside.
Say this: “Touch and say: /i/ /n/ /s/ /i_e/ /d/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: inside . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: inside
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: sunset · inside · upset · rabbit
Listen for: sunset = s | u | n | s | e | t; inside = i | n | s | i_e | d; upset = u | p | s | e | t; rabbit = r | a | b | b | i | t
Ask: Read: napkin · basket · hammer · finish
Listen for: napkin = n | a | p | k | i | n; basket = b | a | s | k | e | t; hammer = h | a | m | m | er; finish = f | i | n | i | sh
Ask: Read: into · himself · sandbox
Listen for: into = i | n | t | o; himself = h | i | m | s | e | l | f; sandbox = s | a | n | d | b | o | x
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: sunset, inside, rabbit, napkin.
- 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: sunset, inside, upset, rabbit, napkin, basket.
Nehemiah and the Wall
Nehemiah was sad. The wall of Jerusalem was in ruins. He prayed to God and then asked the king, "Can I go and rebuild it?" The king said yes.
Nehemiah went to Jerusalem. He got the men to help. Each man built the part of the wall next to his own home.
Bad men mocked them. "That wall will fall if a fox steps on it!" So the men held a hammer in one hand and a sword in the other.
Nehemiah prayed, and the men did not quit. In fifty-two days the wall was finished! Even the bad men could see that God had done it.
Retold from Nehemiah 1–6. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: Nehemiah, Jerusalem, ruins, fifty, prayed, other, built.
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.
- Why was Nehemiah sad?
Answer
The wall of Jerusalem was broken down.
- Who helped build?
Answer
Each man built by his own house.
- What did the men hold?
Answer
A tool in one hand and a sword in the other.
- How long did it take?
Answer
Fifty-two days.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- Why was Nehemiah sad?
Nehemiah 4 and 6:15–16. Read aloud.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Make cards: sun, set, in, side, sand, box, him, self. Glue two together to make a word and read it.
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 sunset , inside , upset .; I can read “Nehemiah and the Wall” and tell it back.
Is the Moon Tired? (Christina Rossetti)
Is the moon tired? she looks so pale
Within her misty veil:
She scales the sky from east to west,
And takes no rest.This week: Begin and end well. Say the title and author (or the Bible reference) first. At the end, pause, then say “thank you” and sit down.
- 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 it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
Even the enemies saw that God had done it.
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.”