Parent guide · Kindergarten Phonics & Reading: First Sounds, First Words · Unit 8
Lesson 8.2 l-Blends: bl cl fl gl pl
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 black , blob , clap . I can read the heart words two , once and say which part is learned by heart. I can read “The Fox and the Stork” and tell it back.
- You need
- A clock face
- Heart-word cards (printables pack)
- Primary-ruled paper and a pencil
- A King James Bible
- the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:45) and an explainer to read aloud (about 10 minutes))
Steps
Do this: /b/ /l/ (bl): black, blob. /f/ /l/ (fl): flag, flip. /p/ /l/ (pl): plum, plan.
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 black.
Say this: “Touch and say: /b/ /l/ /a/ /ck/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: black . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: black
Show: Blend blob.
Say this: “Touch and say: /b/ /l/ /o/ /b/.”
Say this: “Sweep your finger under the word and say the sounds again, faster, without stopping between them.”
Say this: “Say the word: blob . Use it in a sentence.”
Answer: blob
Do this: Your child does these with you. Let them try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: Read: black · blob · clap · clock
Listen for: black = b | l | a | ck; blob = b | l | o | b; clap = c | l | a | p; clock = c | l | o | ck
Ask: Read: flag · flip · flat · glad
Listen for: flag = f | l | a | g; flip = f | l | i | p; flat = f | l | a | t; glad = g | l | a | d
Ask: Read: glass · plum · plan · plug
Listen for: glass = g | l | a | ss; plum = p | l | u | m; plan = p | l | a | n; plug = p | l | u | g
5 more practice items on the lesson page.
- Dropping a sound in a blend (sip for slip, fog for frog). Tap one finger for each sound.
- Guessing from the first letter or the picture. Cover the picture and ask the child to tap every sound.
- Capital letters B P R K. Copy: Clap! Clap!
- 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: black, blob, clap, clock, flag, flip.
Word Sounds Heart part two /t/ /oo/ ♥ w is silent; o says /oo/ once /w/ /ŭ/ /n/ /s/ ♥ o says /wŭ/; c says /s/ The Fox and the Stork
A fox said to a stork, "Come and sup with me." The fox set hot broth in a flat dish. The stork could not sip from a flat dish! The fox had a grin.
Then the stork said, "Come and sup with me." The stork set the broth in a glass jug, slim at the top.
The fox could not get to the broth in the slim jug. The stork had all of it.
The fox did not grin. Do not trick a friend, or a friend can trick you.
Retold from Aesop. Before reading, show your child these story words and read them together: stork.
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 fox serve the soup in?
Answer
A flat dish.
- Why could the stork not eat?
Answer
Her long beak could not sip from a flat dish.
- How did the stork answer the trick?
Answer
She served soup in a tall, narrow jug.
- What is the lesson?
Answer
Treat others as you want to be treated.
Then ask your child to tell the whole story back in his or her own words (narration).
- What did the fox serve the soup in?
Aesop: The Fox and the Stork. Read it. Then read Matthew 7:12.
The read-aloud is for listening, not decoding. Read it to your child at another time of day.
Write blend words on paper flags. Flip a flag over and read it.
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 black , blob , clap .; I can read the heart words two , once and say which part is learned by heart.; I can read “The Fox and the Stork” and tell it back.
Wrens and Robins (Christina Rossetti)
Wrens and robins in the hedge,
Wrens and robins here and there;
Building, perching, pecking, fluttering,
Everywhere!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.
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
This is called the Golden Rule.
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.”