Parent guide · Kindergarten Phonics & Reading: First Sounds, First Words · Unit 7
Lesson 7.2 ng and nk
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 /ng/ when I see ng (as in ring ), and write it. I can say /ngk/ when I see nk (as in sink ), and write it. I can tap and blend words such as ring , sing , king . I can read the heart words old , cold , told and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “The King and the Song” 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 (4:19) and an explainer to read aloud (about 12 minutes))
Steps
Do this: Hum through your nose: /ng/. Say ring, sing, king. Now add /k/: sink, pink, think.
Do this: New sound: ng. Show the card and say: “This says /ng/, as in ring.” 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 /ng/ is in the word.
Do this: New sound: nk. Show the card and say: “This says /ngk/, as in sink.” 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 /ngk/ 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:
- ng says /ng/, as in ring. Make a sound card: write ng on the front and draw a ring on the back.
- nk says /ngk/, as in sink. Make a sound card: write nk on the front and draw a sink on the back.
Show: Blend ring.
Say this: “Touch and say: /r/ /i/ /ng/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: ring . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: ring
Show: Blend sing.
Say this: “Touch and say: /s/ /i/ /ng/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: sing . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: sing
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: ring · sing · king · long
Listen for: ring = r | i | ng; sing = s | i | ng; king = k | i | ng; long = l | o | ng
Ask: Read: song · hang · bang · sink
Listen for: song = s | o | ng; hang = h | a | ng; bang = b | a | ng; sink = s | i | nk
Ask: Read: pink · think · bunk · honk
Listen for: pink = p | i | nk; think = th | i | nk; bunk = b | u | nk; honk = h | o | nk
6 more practice items on the lesson page.
- Saying two letters of a digraph separately (s-h instead of /sh/). Underline the two letters together; they make one sound.
- Guessing from the first letter or the picture. Cover the picture and ask the child to tap every sound.
- ng nk. Copy: I sing a song.
- 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: ring, sing, king, long, song, hang.
Word Sounds Heart part old /ō/ /l/ /d/ ♥ o says its name before ld cold /k/ /ō/ /l/ /d/ ♥ o says its name before ld told /t/ /ō/ /l/ /d/ ♥ o says its name before ld The King and the Song
Saul was a king. Saul was sad and upset. He could not rest.
David was a lad who sang. David had a harp, and he sang songs to God.
David sang for the king. Ding, ding, ding went the harp.
The king got rest. The songs of God can lift a sad man up.
Retold from 1 Samuel 16. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: David, Saul, harp.
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.
- Who was the king?
Answer
Saul.
- What did David play?
Answer
A harp.
- What happened when David sang?
Answer
The king felt better and could rest.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- Who was the king?
1 Samuel 16:14–23. Read it aloud. Then read Psalm 23, a song David wrote.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Every time your child reads an ng or nk word correctly, ring a bell (or clink a spoon on a glass).
Say this: “Tell me the new sounds you learned this week, and read me one word.”
Listen for: I can say /ng/ when I see ng (as in ring ), and write it.; I can say /ngk/ when I see nk (as in sink ), and write it.; I can tap and blend words such as ring , sing , king .; I can read the heart words old , cold , told and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The King and the Song” and tell it back.
Little Miss Muffet (Mother Goose)
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating of curds and whey;
There came a big spider,
And sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away.This week: Expression. Let your voice show what the words mean: glad words sound glad, quiet words sound quiet.
- 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.
O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
We sing songs to praise God, just as David did.
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.”