Parent guide · Grade 2 Phonics & Reading: Syllables and Stories · Unit 6
Lesson 6.3 air, are, ear and eer
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 /air/ when I see air (as in chair ), and write it. I can say /air/ when I see are (as in care ), and write it. I can say /ear/ and /air/ when I see ear (as in hear, bear ), and write it. I can say /ear/ when I see eer (as in deer ), and write it. I can tap and blend words such as chair , hair , fair . I can read “The Bear and the Two Friends” 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 (2:32) and an explainer to read aloud (about 12 minutes))
Steps
Do this: /air/ as in chair, care and bear. /ear/ as in hear and deer. ear can say both: hear, bear.
Do this: New sound: air. Show the card and say: “This says /air/, as in chair.” 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 /air/ is in the word.
Do this: New sound: are. Show the card and say: “This says /air/, as in care.” 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 /air/ is in the word.
Do this: New sound: ear. Show the card and say: “This says /ear/ and /air/, as in hear, bear.” 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 /ear/ and /air/ is in the word.
Do this: New sound: eer. Show the card and say: “This says /ear/, as in deer.” 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 /ear/ 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: 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:
- air says /air/, as in chair. Make a sound card: write air on the front and draw a chair on the back.
- are says /air/, as in care. Make a sound card: write are on the front and draw a care on the back.
- ear says /ear/ and /air/, as in hear, bear. Make a sound card: write ear on the front and draw a hear on the back.
- eer says /ear/, as in deer. Make a sound card: write eer on the front and draw a deer on the back.
Show: Blend chair.
Say this: “Touch and say: /ch/ /air/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: chair . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: chair
Show: Blend hair.
Say this: “Touch and say: /h/ /air/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: hair . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: hair
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: chair · hair · fair · stairs
Listen for: chair = ch | air; hair = h | air; fair = f | air; stairs = s | t | air | s
Ask: Read: care · share · scared · bear
Listen for: care = c | are; share = sh | are; scared = s | c | are | d; bear = b | ear
Ask: Read: pear · hear · near · deer
Listen for: pear = p | ear; hear = h | ear; near = n | ear; deer = d | eer
5 more practice items on the lesson page.
- Reading r-controlled vowels as short vowels (cat for cart). The r changes the vowel; underline the vowel and r together.
- Trying to read a long word all at once. Find the vowels, split the word into syllables, read each part, then put it together.
- Copy: A true friend stays.
- 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: chair, hair, fair, stairs, care, share.
The Bear and the Two Friends
Two friends were walking through the woods. "If we meet a bear," said the first, "I will stand by you." "And I will stand by you," said the second.
Just then they heard a crash. A big brown bear was near! The first friend was scared. He ran and climbed up a tree as fast as he could and left his friend alone.
The second friend could not climb. So he lay flat on the ground and held his breath, for he had heard that a bear will not touch a dead man. The bear came and sniffed at his ear and his hair. Then it walked away.
The first friend came down from the tree. "What did the bear say in your ear?" he asked with a grin. "He said, Do not travel with a friend who runs away when danger is near." A true friend stays and cares.
Retold from Aesop, The Bear and the Two Travelers. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: alone, breath, travel, danger, climbed, climb.
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 friends promise?
Answer
To stand by each other.
- What did the first friend do when the bear came?
Answer
Climbed a tree and left his friend.
- How did the second friend stay safe?
Answer
He lay still as if dead.
- What is the lesson?
Answer
A true friend does not run away in danger.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- What did the friends promise?
Aesop: The Bear and the Two Travelers. Read the original.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Put an air, are, ear or eer card on each chair. When the music stops, read the card on your chair.
Say this: “Tell me the new sounds you learned this week, and read me one word.”
Listen for: I can say /air/ when I see air (as in chair ), and write it.; I can say /air/ when I see are (as in care ), and write it.; I can say /ear/ and /air/ when I see ear (as in hear, bear ), and write it.; I can say /ear/ when I see eer (as in deer ), and write it.; I can tap and blend words such as chair , hair , fair .; I can read “The Bear and the Two Friends” and tell it back.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
This week: Pause at the marks. Stop briefly at every comma and a little longer at every period. Pauses help listeners think.
- 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.
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Jesus is the friend who never leaves us.
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.”