Parent guide: Kindergarten Phonics & Reading: First Sounds, First Words 2.4 Unit 2 Check

At a glance

Time: 5 sessions of 15–20 minutes
Goal: I can tap and blend words such as dig , pot , nod . I can read “The Pig and the Dog” and tell it back.
You need: Sound cards (printables pack)
Heart-word cards (printables pack)
A small whiteboard or a tray of salt or sand
Primary-ruled paper and a pencil
A King James Bible
Print: the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:20) and an explainer to read aloud (about 9 minutes))

Steps

Warm-up
Do this: Robot talk with four sounds: /s/ /t/ /o/ /p/ (stop). /s/ /p/ /i/ /n/ (spin).
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 dig.
Say this: “Touch and say: /d/ /i/ /g/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: dig . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: dig
Show: Blend pot.
Say this: “Touch and say: /p/ /o/ /t/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: pot . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: pot
Practice together
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: dig · pot · nod · map
Listen for: dig = d | i | g; pot = p | o | t; nod = n | o | d; map = m | a | p
Ask: Read: sit · tan · god · dip
Listen for: sit = s | i | t; tan = t | a | n; god = g | o | d; dip = d | i | p
Ask: Read: mop · not
Listen for: mop = m | o | p; not = n | o | t
4 more practice items on the lesson page.
Watch for
- Guessing from the first letter or the picture. Cover the picture and ask the child to tap every sound.
Handwriting and copywork
1. Write dog, pig, map from dictation.
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: dig, pot, nod, map, sit, tan.
Decodable story: The Pig and the Dog
The Pig and the Dog
A pig and a dog sat on a mat.
The pig digs a pit. The dog did not dig.
The dog sat and sat.
The pig got a nap in his pit. The dog sat in the mist. The dog is not in a pit!
Original fable in the style of Aesop.
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. What did the pig do?
  Answer
  It dug a pit.
2. What did the dog do?
  Answer
  It only sat.
3. What is the lesson?
  Answer
  Do your work and you will have what you need.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
Read-aloud
Aesop: The Ant and the Grasshopper (again). Retell it in your own words. Who in today’s story is like the ant?
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Game: Fast Cards
Flip all ten sound cards. Can your child say every sound before the sand timer runs out?
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 dig , pot , nod .; I can read “The Pig and the Dog” and tell it back.
Recitation
Jack Be Nimble (Mother Goose)
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,
Jack jump over the candlestick.
Source: The Real Mother Goose (1916), Project Gutenberg #10607
This week: Big voice. Speak so a person at the back of the room hears every word. Big, not shouting: fill the room, do not scream.
- 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.
Scripture
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Proverbs 6:6 (KJV)
Say the verse from Lesson 1.2 again from memory.

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.”