Parent guide · Grade 2 Phonics & Reading: Syllables and Stories · Unit 1
Lesson 1.1 Long and Short Vowels; Kind and Cold
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 say the long vowel: /īld/, /īnd/, /ōld/, /ōst/ when I see -ild, -ind, -old, -ost (as in wild, kind, cold, most ), and write it. I can tap and blend words such as hope , bite , rain . I can read the heart words ocean and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “Ruth and Naomi” and tell it back.
- You need
- Sound cards (printables pack)
- Heart-word cards (printables pack)
- Primary-ruled paper and a pencil
- A King James Bible
- the lesson page (it also has a short video (5:11) and an explainer to read aloud (about 11 minutes))
Steps
Do this: Read the pairs and say which vowel is long: hop/hope, bit/bite, ran/rain, fed/feed, cot/coat, mint/mind, cot/cold.
Do this: New sound: -ild, -ind, -old, -ost. Show the card and say: “This says the long vowel: /īld/, /īnd/, /ōld/, /ōst/, as in wild, kind, cold, most.” 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 the long vowel: /īld/, /īnd/, /ōld/, /ōst/ 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:
- -ild, -ind, -old, -ost says the long vowel: /īld/, /īnd/, /ōld/, /ōst/, as in wild, kind, cold, most. Make a sound card: write -ild, -ind, -old, -ost on the front and draw a child in the cold on the back.
Show: Blend hope.
Say this: “Touch and say: /h/ /o_e/ /p/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: hope . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: hope
Show: Blend bite.
Say this: “Touch and say: /b/ /i_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: bite . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: bite
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: hope · bite · rain · feed
Listen for: hope = h | o_e | p; bite = b | i_e | t; rain = r | ai | n; feed = f | ee | d
Ask: Read: coat · shine · kind · wild
Listen for: coat = c | oa | t; shine = sh | i_e | n; kind = k | i | n | d; wild = w | i | l | d
Ask: Read: cold · told · most · post
Listen for: cold = c | o | l | d; told = t | o | l | d; most = m | o | s | t; post = p | o | s | t
4 more practice items on the lesson page.
- Trying to read a long word all at once. Find the vowels, split the word into syllables, read each part, then put it together.
- Guessing from the first letter or the picture. Cover the picture and ask the child to tap every sound.
- Copy: Your God will be my 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: hope, bite, rain, feed, coat, shine.
Word Sounds Heart part ocean /ō/ /sh/ /ŭ/ /n/ ♥ ce says /sh/ Ruth and Naomi
Naomi lived in Moab with her husband and two sons. Then sad days came. Her husband died, and both her sons died. Naomi was left with Ruth and Orpah, the wives of her sons.
"I will go home to Bethlehem," said Naomi. "Go back to your mothers." Orpah kissed her and went home. But Ruth held on to Naomi.
"Do not tell me to leave you," said Ruth. "Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God."
So the two came to Bethlehem. Ruth went to the fields to pick up grain. The field was owned by a kind man named Boaz. He was good to Ruth, and in time he married her. Their son Obed was the grandfather of King David.
Retold from the book of Ruth. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: Ruth, Naomi, Orpah, Moab, Bethlehem, Boaz, Obed, Israel, husband, husbands.
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 did Naomi go home?
Answer
Her husband and sons had died.
- What did Ruth promise?
Answer
To go where Naomi went; Naomi’s God would be her God.
- Who was kind to Ruth in the field?
Answer
Boaz.
- Who was Ruth’s great-grandson?
Answer
King David.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- Why did Naomi go home?
Ruth 1–2. Read over two days.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Read word cards. Long vowels go in one pile, short in another. Include kind, kid, cold, cot, most and mop. Time yourself.
Say this: “Tell me the new sounds you learned this week, and read me one word.”
Listen for: I can say the long vowel: /īld/, /īnd/, /ōld/, /ōst/ when I see -ild, -ind, -old, -ost (as in wild, kind, cold, most ), and write it.; I can tap and blend words such as hope , bite , rain .; I can read the heart words ocean and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “Ruth and Naomi” and tell it back.
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
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 Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Ruth’s loyal promise.
Spread over the week
5 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.
- Session 1. Warm-up, then New sound: -ild, -ind, -old, -ost. Finish with a little practice or the game.
- Session 2. Warm-up, then Tap and blend. Finish with a little practice or the game.
- Session 3. Warm-up, then Spell it. Finish with a little practice or the game.
- Session 4. Warm-up, then Heart words. Finish with a little practice or the game.
- Session 5. Warm-up, then The week at a glance. Finish with a little practice or the game.
For you
For families. New this week: English words do not end in v or z, so an e is added after a vowel team: leave, sneeze, cheese, please. The e is silent. Also new: before ld, nd and st, i and o often say their names even with no silent e: wild, kind, cold, most. Words like kind, both and told were heart words; now they follow a rule.