Parent guide · Grade 2 Phonics & Reading: Syllables and Stories · Unit 4
Lesson 4.4 Unit 4 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 shepherd , distant , pretended . I can read the heart words clothes and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” 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 (2:16) and an explainer to read aloud (about 10 minutes))
Steps
Do this: Split and read: cabin, hundred, wonderful, seven, pilgrim, remember.
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 shepherd.
Say this: “Touch and say: /sh/ /e/ /p/ /h/ /er/ /d/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: shepherd . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: shepherd
Show: Blend distant.
Say this: “Touch and say: /d/ /i/ /s/ /t/ /a/ /n/ /t/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: distant . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: distant
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: shepherd · distant · pretended · dinner
Listen for: shepherd = sh | e | p | h | er | d; distant = d | i | s | t | a | n | t; pretended = p | r | e | t | e | n | d | e | d; dinner = d | i | n | n | er
Ask: Read: butcher · woolly · covered · tender
Listen for: butcher = b | u | tch | er; woolly = w | oo | ll | y; covered = c | o | v | er | e | d; tender = t | e | n | d | er
Ask: Read: padlock · flock
Listen for: padlock = p | a | d | l | o | ck; flock = f | l | o | ck
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.
- Dictation: hundred, wonderful, cabin, children.
- 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: shepherd, distant, pretended, dinner, butcher, woolly.
Word Sounds Heart part clothes /k/ /l/ /ō/ /th/ /z/ ♥ th and s blend together The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
A hungry wolf wanted to catch a sheep, but the shepherd and his dogs kept the flock safe. So the wolf had a plan.
He found a sheepskin and put it on. Then he walked into the flock as if he were a sheep. The sheep did not notice. The shepherd did not notice. The wolf grinned under the woolly skin.
That evening the shepherd shut the flock in the fold for the night. He wanted a sheep for his own dinner, so he reached in and picked the fattest one he could find.
It was the wolf! And that was the end of the wolf. Jesus warns us to look out for people who look gentle but are wolves inside. And a person who pretends will be found out.
Retold from Aesop. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: sheepskin, woolly, butcher.
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 wolf trick the sheep?
Answer
He wore a sheepskin.
- Who chose the wolf for dinner?
Answer
The shepherd.
- What did Jesus warn about?
Answer
People who look like sheep but are wolves inside.
- What is the lesson?
Answer
Pretending will be found out.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- How did the wolf trick the sheep?
Matthew 7:15–20. Read aloud.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Read ten three-syllable word cards. Time it, then try to beat your time.
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 shepherd , distant , pretended .; I can read the heart words clothes and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” and tell it back.
Where Go the Boats? (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Dark brown is the river,
Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
With trees on either hand.Green leaves a-floating,
Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating—
Where will all come home?This week: Eyes up. Look at your listeners, not the floor. Pick three faces (left, middle, right) and give each one a line.
- 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.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Not everyone who looks gentle is good.
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.”