Parent guide · Grade 2 Phonics & Reading: Syllables and Stories · Unit 5
Lesson 5.4 Drop the e, Change y to i; Unit 5 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 hoping , baker , making . I can read the heart words aunt and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “The Widow’s Oil” and tell it back.
- You need
- Heart-word cards (printables pack)
- Primary-ruled paper and a pencil
- A King James Bible
- the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:32) and an explainer to read aloud (about 10 minutes))
Steps
Do this: Silent e drops before a vowel suffix: hope → hoping, bake → baker. Consonant + y changes to i: cry → cried, happy → happiness, carry → carried.
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 hoping.
Say this: “Touch and say: /h/ /o/ /p/ /i/ /ng/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: hoping . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: hoping
Show: Blend baker.
Say this: “Touch and say: /b/ /a/ /k/ /er/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: baker . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: baker
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: hoping · baker · making · poured
Listen for: hoping = h | o | p | i | ng; baker = b | a | k | er; making = m | a | k | i | ng; poured = p | our | e | d (our says /or/, as in four; -ed says /d/)
Ask: Read: cried · tried · emptied · happiness
Listen for: cried = c | r | ie | d; tried = t | r | ie | d; emptied = e | m | p | t | ie | d; happiness = h | a | p | p | i | n | e | ss
Ask: Read: carried · hurried
Listen for: carried = c | a | rr | ie | d (carry + -ed: y changes to i); hurried = h | u | rr | ie | d (u and rr say /er/ together, as in hurry)
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: hoping, cried, happiness, bigger.
- 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: hoping, baker, making, poured, cried, tried.
Word Sounds Heart part aunt /ă/ /n/ /t/ ♥ au says /ă/ The Widow’s Oil
A poor widow cried out to Elisha. "My husband has died, and he owed a lot. Now the man he owed will take my two sons to be his slaves!"
"What do you have in your house?" asked Elisha. "Nothing," she said, "except a little jar of oil."
"Go and borrow empty jars from all your neighbors. Not just a few! Then shut the door, and fill the jars with your oil." So the widow and her sons hurried and carried home jar after jar.
She shut the door and began filling. The oil kept flowing. Her sons kept bringing jar after jar, and she filled them all. When all the jars were full, the oil stopped. "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt," said Elisha, "and live on the rest." God supplied all they needed.
Retold from 2 Kings 4:1–7. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: Elisha, widow, oil, jars, poured, neighbors, borrowed, creditor, debt, sons.
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 the widow crying?
Answer
A creditor was coming to take her sons as slaves.
- What did she have in the house?
Answer
A little jar of oil.
- What did Elisha tell her to collect?
Answer
Empty jars from her neighbours.
- When did the oil stop?
Answer
When every jar was full.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- Why was the widow crying?
2 Kings 4:1–7. Read aloud.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
For each word, tell which rule was used: drop the e, change y to i, double, or just add.
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 hoping , baker , making .; I can read the heart words aunt and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The Widow’s Oil” and tell it back.
The Violet (Jane Taylor)
Down in a green and shady bed
A modest violet grew;
Its stalk was bent, it hung its head,
As if to hide from view.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 title and the poet, then the poem. Stand up and say it alone for the family.
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
God provides what we need.
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.”