Parent guide: Grade 2 Phonics & Reading: Syllables and Stories 9.1 Poems for Fluency and Expression

At a glance

Time: 5 sessions of 15–20 minutes
Goal: I can tap and blend words such as candle , yellow , summer . I can read “Two Poems by Robert Louis Stevenson” and tell it back.
You need: Heart-word cards (printables pack)
Primary-ruled paper and a pencil
A King James Bible
Print: the lesson page (it also has a short video (1:05) and an explainer to read aloud (about 8 minutes))

Steps

Warm-up
Do this: Read a line of a poem three ways: like a robot, like a mouse, and like a storyteller. Which sounds best?
Teach the new idea
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.
Show how
Show: Blend candle.
Say this: “Touch and say: /c/ /a/ /n/ /d/ /le/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: candle . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: candle
Show: Blend yellow.
Say this: “Touch and say: /y/ /e/ /ll/ /ow/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: yellow . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: yellow
Practice together
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: candle · yellow · summer · winter
Listen for: candle = c | a | n | d | le; yellow = y | e | ll | ow; summer = s | u | m | m | er; winter = w | i | n | t | er
Ask: Read: hopping · pleasant · meadow · flowers
Listen for: hopping = h | o | p | p | i | ng; pleasant = p | l | ea | s | a | n | t; meadow = m | ea | d | ow; flowers = f | l | ow | er | s
Ask: Read the sentence: In winter I get up at night.
Listen for: Reads every word correctly: “In winter I get up at night.”. Pauses at the full stop and sounds like talking on the second read.
2 more practice items on the lesson page.
Watch for
- 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.
Handwriting and copywork
1. Copy one stanza of a poem in your best print.
2. 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: candle, yellow, summer, winter, hopping, pleasant.
Decodable story: Two Poems by Robert Louis Stevenson
Two Poems by Robert Louis Stevenson
Bed in Summer
In winter I get up at night / And dress by yellow candle-light. / In summer quite the other way, / I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see / The birds still hopping on the tree, / Or hear the grown-up people’s feet / Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you, / When all the sky is clear and blue, / And I should like so much to play, / To have to go to bed by day?
The Cow
The friendly cow all red and white, / I love with all my heart: / She gives me cream with all her might, / To eat with apple-tart.
She wanders lowing here and there, / And yet she cannot stray, / All in the pleasant open air, / The pleasant light of day;
And blown by all the winds that pass / And wet with all the showers, / She walks among the meadow grass / And eats the meadow flowers.
From A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885), public domain, printed exactly. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: Robert, Louis, Stevenson, candle-light, grown-up, people’s, apple-tart, wanders, lowing, cannot, stray, showers, meadow, quite, friendly, pleasant.
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.
Talk about the story
1. In "Bed in Summer," why does the child not like going to bed in summer?
  Answer
  It is still light; birds are hopping and people are walking by.
2. What does the cow give?
  Answer
  Cream.
3. Where does the cow walk?
  Answer
  In the meadow grass.
4. Which poem did you read with the most expression?
  Answer
  Any answer; ask the child to read a favourite stanza again.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
Read-aloud
A Child’s Garden of Verses. Read five more poems aloud this week. Let your child pick one to memorize.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Game: Poetry Performance
Your child memorizes one stanza and performs it for the family with expression.
Narration
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 candle , yellow , summer .; I can read “Two Poems by Robert Louis Stevenson” and tell it back.
Recitation
It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 (KJV)
This week: Recital. Put it all together: stand tall, big clear voice, eyes up, steady pace, pauses, expression, a good beginning and ending.
- 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.
Scripture
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Psalm 104:24 (KJV)
God’s world is full of good things.

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.”