Parent guide · Kindergarten Phonics & Reading: First Sounds, First Words · Unit 5
Lesson 5.4 Sentences; 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 quill , fun , yell . I can read the heart words your , from , love and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “The Lost Lamb” 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 an explainer to read aloud (about 10 minutes))
Steps
Do this: Say a sentence. How many words? Clap them.
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 quill.
Say this: “Touch and say: /qu/ /i/ /ll/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: quill . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: quill
Show: Blend fun.
Say this: “Touch and say: /f/ /u/ /n/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: fun . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: fun
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: quill · fun · yell · less
Listen for: quill = qu | i | ll; fun = f | u | n; yell = y | e | ll; less = l | e | ss
Ask: Read: jog · him · bag · nut
Listen for: jog = j | o | g; him = h | i | m; bag = b | a | g; nut = n | u | t
Ask: Read: pet
Listen for: pet = p | e | t
5 more practice items on the lesson page.
- Guessing from the first letter or the picture. Cover the picture and ask the child to tap every sound.
- Capitals and full stops. Copy: God is love.
- 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: quill, fun, yell, less, jog, him.
Word Sounds Heart part your /y/ /or/ ♥ our says /or/ from /f/ /r/ /ŭ/ /m/ ♥ o says /ŭ/ love /l/ /ŭ/ /v/ ♥ o says /ŭ/; e is silent The Lost Lamb
A man had lots of lambs. One lamb got lost.
The man did not sit and rest. He went up hills and in dips. "Lamb! Lamb!"
At last he got the lamb. He set it up on his neck. He was so glad!
Jesus said God is glad as the man is glad, if He gets the lost.
Retold from Luke 15. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: Jesus, lamb, lambs.
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.
- How many lambs got lost?
Answer
One.
- What did the man do?
Answer
He went looking up hill and down hill until he found it.
- What did Jesus teach with this story?
Answer
God loves the lost and looks for them.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- How many lambs got lost?
Luke 15:3–7: The lost sheep. Read it aloud. Ask: Why was the shepherd so happy?
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Write a sentence from this week on strips, one word per strip. Mix them up; your child puts them back in order, starting with the capital and ending with the full stop.
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 quill , fun , yell .; I can read the heart words your , from , love and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The Lost Lamb” and tell it back.
Little Boy Blue (Mother Goose)
Little Boy Blue, come, blow your horn!
The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn.
Where's the little boy that looks after the sheep?
Under the haystack, fast asleep!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.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
Heaven rejoices when one who was lost comes home.
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.”