Parent guide · Grade 2 Phonics & Reading: Syllables and Stories · Unit 5
Lesson 5.1 Prefixes: un-, re-, dis-, pre-
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 unhappy , unkind , unlock . I can read the heart words answer and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “The Unkind Servant” and tell it back.
- You need
- A few real coins
- Heart-word cards (printables pack)
- Primary-ruled paper and a pencil
- A King James Bible
- the lesson page (it also has an explainer to read aloud (about 10 minutes))
Steps
Do this: A prefix goes in front and changes the meaning: un- (not), re- (again), dis- (not, opposite), pre- (before). unhappy, redo, dislike, preheat.
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 unhappy.
Say this: “Touch and say: /u/ /n/ /h/ /a/ /p/ /p/ /y/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: unhappy . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: unhappy
Show: Blend unkind.
Say this: “Touch and say: /u/ /n/ /k/ /i/ /n/ /d/ (un + kind; i says /ī/ before nd).”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: unkind . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: unkind
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: unhappy · unkind · unlock · redo
Listen for: unhappy = u | n | h | a | p | p | y; unkind = u | n | k | i | n | d (un + kind; i says /ī/ before nd); unlock = u | n | l | o | ck; redo = r | e | d | o
Ask: Read: repay · rebuild · dislike · distrust
Listen for: repay = r | e | p | ay; rebuild = r | e | b | ui | l | d (ui says /ĭ/, as in build); dislike = d | i | s | l | i_e | k; distrust = d | i | s | t | r | u | s | t
Ask: Read: preheat · preview
Listen for: preheat = p | r | e | h | ea | t; preview = p | r | e | v | iew (iew says /ū/, as in view)
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: Be ye kind one to another.
- 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: unhappy, unkind, unlock, redo, repay, rebuild.
Word Sounds Heart part answer /ă/ /n/ /s/ /er/ ♥ w is silent The Unkind Servant
Peter asked Jesus, "How many times must I forgive my brother? Seven times?" Jesus said, "Not seven times, but seventy times seven." Then He told this story.
A servant owed his king a huge amount of money, more than he could repay in a whole lifetime. The king said, "Sell him and his family to pay the debt." The servant fell down and begged, "Be patient with me! I will repay it all!" The king felt sorry for him and forgave the whole debt.
But that same servant went out and found a man who owed him a few coins. He grabbed him by the neck. "Pay me my coins!" The man begged, "Be patient with me!" But the unkind servant refused and threw him in jail.
When the king heard, he was displeased. "I forgave you all that debt. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant?" God has forgiven us so much. We must forgive others from the heart.
Retold from Matthew 18:21–35. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: Peter, Jesus, servant, servants, forgive, forgave, owed, money.
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 many times should we forgive?
Answer
Seventy times seven: always.
- What did the king do for the servant?
Answer
Forgave his whole huge debt.
- What did the servant do to the man who owed him a little?
Answer
Refused to forgive and threw him in jail.
- What does Jesus teach?
Answer
Forgive others because God has forgiven us.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- How many times should we forgive?
Matthew 18:21–35. Read aloud.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Make prefix cards (un, re, dis, pre) and base word cards. Flip one of each and read the new word. Is it real? What does it mean?
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 unhappy , unkind , unlock .; I can read the heart words answer and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The Unkind Servant” and tell it back.
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
This week: Steady pace. Do not race. Take a breath at the end of each line, then go on.
- 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 be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Forgive as God forgave you.
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.”