Parent guide · Grade 2 Phonics & Reading: Syllables and Stories · Unit 1
Lesson 1.2 Vowel Team Review; ie in Field
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 /ē/ when I see ie (as in field) (as in field, chief ), and write it. I can tap and blend words such as greedy , beads , squeeze . I can read the heart words island , Mr , Mrs and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “The Boy and the Nuts” 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 (4:39) and an explainer to read aloud (about 11 minutes))
Steps
Do this: Name the team: rain, day, tree, leaf, boat, snow, night, pie, moon, book. Then a new job for ie: it can say /ē/, as in field and chief.
Do this: New sound: ie (as in field). Show the card and say: “This says /ē/, as in field, chief.” 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 /ē/ 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:
- ie (as in field) says /ē/, as in field, chief. Make a sound card: write ie (as in field) on the front and draw a field on the back.
Show: Blend greedy.
Say this: “Touch and say: /g/ /r/ /ee/ /d/ /y/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: greedy . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: greedy
Show: Blend beads.
Say this: “Touch and say: /b/ /ea/ /d/ /s/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: beads . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: beads
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: greedy · beads · squeeze · reach
Listen for: greedy = g | r | ee | d | y; beads = b | ea | d | s; squeeze = s | qu | ee | z | e (the final e is silent); reach = r | ea | ch
Ask: Read: float · throw · slight · tied
Listen for: float = f | l | oa | t; throw = th | r | ow; slight = s | l | igh | t; tied = t | ie | d
Ask: Read: field · chief · shield · spoon
Listen for: field = f | ie | l | d; chief = ch | ie | f; shield = sh | ie | l | d; spoon = s | p | oo | n
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: Do not grab too much.
- 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: greedy, beads, squeeze, reach, float, throw.
Word Sounds Heart part island /ī/ /l/ /ŭ/ /n/ /d/ ♥ s is silent Mr mister ♥ a short way to write Mister Mrs missus ♥ a short way to write Missus The Boy and the Nuts
A boy saw a jar full of nuts on a shelf. He put his hand in the narrow neck of the jar and grabbed as many nuts as he could hold.
But when he tried to pull his hand out, it was stuck! His fist was too full of nuts to fit back through the neck of the jar.
He did not want to let go of a single nut. So he began to cry and cry.
His mother came in. "Let go of half of the nuts," she said, "and you will get your hand out." He did, and out came his hand, full of nuts. Do not try to grab too much at once.
Retold from Aesop, The Boy and the Filberts. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: narrow, single, half, tried.
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 the boy grab?
Answer
As many nuts as his hand could hold.
- Why was his hand stuck?
Answer
His fist was too full to fit through the neck of the jar.
- What did his mother tell him?
Answer
Let go of half.
- What is the lesson?
Answer
Do not grab too much at once.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- What did the boy grab?
Aesop: The Boy and the Filberts. Read the original.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Sort word cards by vowel team. Which team has the most words?
Say this: “Tell me the new sounds you learned this week, and read me one word.”
Listen for: I can say /ē/ when I see ie (as in field) (as in field, chief ), and write it.; I can tap and blend words such as greedy , beads , squeeze .; I can read the heart words island , Mr , Mrs and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The Boy and the Nuts” and tell it back.
Bed in Summer (Robert Louis Stevenson)
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?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 title and the poet, then the poem. Stand up and say it alone for the family.
Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Being content is better than being greedy.
Spread over the week
5 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.
- Session 1. Warm-up, then New sound: ie (as in field). 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. 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.”