Parent guide · Grade 2 Phonics & Reading: Syllables and Stories · Unit 8
Lesson 8.2 The Many Sounds of ough
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 /aw/, /ō/, /ŭf/ ... when I see ough (as in thought, though, rough ), and write it. I can tap and blend words such as thought , bought , brought . I can read the heart words sold , else and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “The Treasure and the Pearl” and tell it back.
- You need
- A few cups
- Blocks or cubes
- 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 (2:48) and an explainer to read aloud (about 10 minutes))
Steps
Do this: ough is the trickiest team in English. It can say /aw/ (thought, bought), /ō/ (though, dough), /oo/ (through), /ŭf/ (rough, tough, enough), /ŏf/ (cough) and /ow/ (bough, plough). Try each sound until you hear a real word.
Do this: New sound: ough. Show the card and say: “This says /aw/, /ō/, /ŭf/ ..., as in thought, though, rough.” 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 /aw/, /ō/, /ŭf/ ... 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:
- ough says /aw/, /ō/, /ŭf/ ..., as in thought, though, rough. Make a sound card: write ough on the front and draw a thought on the back.
Show: Blend thought.
Say this: “Touch and say: /th/ /ough/ /t/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: thought . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: thought
Show: Blend bought.
Say this: “Touch and say: /b/ /ough/ /t/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: bought . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: bought
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: thought · bought · brought · fought
Listen for: thought = th | ough | t; bought = b | ough | t; brought = b | r | ough | t; fought = f | ough | t
Ask: Read: ought · though · dough · through
Listen for: ought = ough | t; though = th | ough; dough = d | ough; through = th | r | ough
Ask: Read: rough · tough · enough · cough
Listen for: rough = r | ough; tough = t | ough; enough = e | n | ough; cough = c | ough
3 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: He bought that field.
- 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: thought, bought, brought, fought, ought, though.
Word Sounds Heart part sold /s/ /ō/ /l/ /d/ ♥ o says its name before ld else /ĕ/ /l/ /s/ ♥ e at the end is silent The Treasure and the Pearl
Jesus told two short stories about the kingdom of heaven.
A man was digging in a field with a plough when he struck something tough. He dug it out. It was a box full of treasure! He thought, "I must have this." So he covered it up again, and with great joy he went and sold everything he had and bought that field.
A merchant was looking for fine pearls. He searched through many towns and markets. Then one day he found a pearl so lovely and so costly that he had never seen one like it. Though it cost a great deal, he went and sold all he had, and he bought that pearl.
Jesus was teaching that knowing God is worth more than everything else. It is worth more than gold or treasure or pearls. Nothing is too much to give up for Him.
Retold from Matthew 13:44–46. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: Jesus, treasure, pearl, merchant, plough, worth, kingdom.
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 first man find?
Answer
Treasure hidden in a field.
- What did he do to get it?
Answer
Sold everything and bought the field.
- What did the merchant find?
Answer
One very costly pearl.
- What is Jesus teaching?
Answer
Knowing God is worth more than everything.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- What did the first man find?
Matthew 13:44–46. Read aloud.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Six cups: /aw/, /ō/, /oo/, /ŭf/, /ŏf/, /ow/. Read each ough card and drop it in the right cup.
Say this: “Tell me the new sounds you learned this week, and read me one word.”
Listen for: I can say /aw/, /ō/, /ŭf/ ... when I see ough (as in thought, though, rough ), and write it.; I can tap and blend words such as thought , bought , brought .; I can read the heart words sold , else and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The Treasure and the Pearl” and tell it back.
Block City (Robert Louis Stevenson)
What are you able to build with your blocks?
Castles and palaces, temples and docks.
Rain may keep raining, and others go roam,
But I can be happy and building at home.This week: Begin and end well. Say the title and author (or the Bible reference) first. At the end, pause, then say “thank you” and sit down.
- 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.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
The kingdom of heaven is worth everything.
Spread over the week
5 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.
- Session 1. Warm-up, then New sound: ough. 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.”