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Introductory notes for Lessons 1 to 5
The child should on, starting these lessons, be confident sounding out CVC words to both read and spell and have some knowledge of consonant blends, but may still need a fair amount of support to hear the two letters needed to make the blend. If this is not the case, please spend more time on Level 0.
The first five word family lists at Level 1 will introduce children to the lesson format used for the rest of the programme. We will not teach anything knew, but use what the child has already learnt to do, with the aim of specifically building familiarity with a small number of words at a time, with the intention that the child will recognise them without needing to sound them out FOR READING by the time you move on to the next lesson, however the child should not never be corrected for sounding out to read if s/he needs to as this is the child's safety net as it were. This will give us a bank of known words with which to build reading fluency. The child should still be encouraged to say the sounds for spelling.
NOTE; we are NOT teaching LOOK and SAY, as we will have already taught the child to sound out the words to read, therefore, if the child cannot remember a word, then s/he can sound it out to check. This is fine, but aim towards the child having seen each word on the list so often that the child thinks, "Oh, I know this word - I have already sounded it out and I know it!"
Each list will revise CVC and CVCC words with a common vowel and practice the words which will be most often used in subsequent Level 1 dictations.
As your child works through these word families, s/he will be doing much mental processing. There is much to learn at this early stage.
Expect your pupil to have varying degrees of difficulty:
Study your pupil and when things go wrong ask:
The short dictations will help pupils to develop their writing skills.
When writing, the CVC words should not be difficult for your child, although they may still need a little help with the words containing consonant blends.
Follow the Level 1 Lesson Plan to teach this lesson.
The first five word family lists at Level 1 will introduce children to the lesson format used for the rest of the programme. We will not teach anything knew, but use what the child has already learnt to do, with the aim of specifically building familiarity with a small number of words at a time, with the intention that the child will recognise them without needing to sound them out FOR READING by the time you move on to the next lesson, however the child should not never be corrected for sounding out to read if s/he needs to as this is the child's safety net as it were. This will give us a bank of known words with which to build reading fluency. The child should still be encouraged to say the sounds for spelling.
NOTE; we are NOT teaching LOOK and SAY, as we will have already taught the child to sound out the words to read, therefore, if the child cannot remember a word, then s/he can sound it out to check. This is fine, but aim towards the child having seen each word on the list so often that the child thinks, "Oh, I know this word - I have already sounded it out and I know it!"
Each list will revise CVC and CVCC words with a common vowel and practice the words which will be most often used in subsequent Level 1 dictations.
As your child works through these word families, s/he will be doing much mental processing. There is much to learn at this early stage.
Expect your pupil to have varying degrees of difficulty:
- Telling similar letters apart b/d/p; c/g; f/v
- Getting letters in the right order
- Distinguishing between similar words: has/his/; fat/van; big/pig etc…
- Hearing both sounds in a consonant blend: swim/help
Study your pupil and when things go wrong ask:
- What is happening here?
- What is the child struggling with?
- How can I help him/her to overcome this difficulty?
- Always be patient, correct gently by modelling (showing the child) the correct response.
- Always make sure the child is HEARING the sounds and not guessing
The short dictations will help pupils to develop their writing skills.
When writing, the CVC words should not be difficult for your child, although they may still need a little help with the words containing consonant blends.
Follow the Level 1 Lesson Plan to teach this lesson.
/a/ Words cat fat man can van ran has bad sad glad |
More words for reading crab grab camp cramp stamp lamp |
Odd Words for reading and spelling: the The is
Friday Dictation:
The man has a van. The man is glad.
The man has a van. The man is glad.
Monday
1. Show your child the /a/ flashcard. The sound /a/ should be familiar to your child. Now we are going to read and spell words in the family of /a/. 'These words all belong in the same family. They all have the sound /a/ in them.'
2. Write each word out one at a time, sounding each one out as you write, in a list on a board/paper. Dissect each word into the sounds (not letter names) you hear, e.g. c-a-t. Put the sounds back together again to say the word: cat. Pay special attention to the word glad and emphasise the /l/.
3. When you have come to the end of the list, ask the child to sound out to read the words on the list. you should hear the child saying each sound, and then the word as a w hole: c-a-t: cat.
4. Remove the list of words from sight. Dictate the words, one by one to your child who should write them in a notebook.
5. Ask the child to read his/her list of words, sounding them out in turn to check they are spelled correctly. Focus on making sure that the child is HEARING the sounds in each word and NOT guessing.
Practice reading and spelling these words until your child can do so confidently. Draw the child's attention to the common vowel in each list. . The word lists in the above booklet can be used to help, or you can make your own. Colour the vowel in red.
1. Show your child the /a/ flashcard. The sound /a/ should be familiar to your child. Now we are going to read and spell words in the family of /a/. 'These words all belong in the same family. They all have the sound /a/ in them.'
2. Write each word out one at a time, sounding each one out as you write, in a list on a board/paper. Dissect each word into the sounds (not letter names) you hear, e.g. c-a-t. Put the sounds back together again to say the word: cat. Pay special attention to the word glad and emphasise the /l/.
3. When you have come to the end of the list, ask the child to sound out to read the words on the list. you should hear the child saying each sound, and then the word as a w hole: c-a-t: cat.
4. Remove the list of words from sight. Dictate the words, one by one to your child who should write them in a notebook.
5. Ask the child to read his/her list of words, sounding them out in turn to check they are spelled correctly. Focus on making sure that the child is HEARING the sounds in each word and NOT guessing.
Practice reading and spelling these words until your child can do so confidently. Draw the child's attention to the common vowel in each list. . The word lists in the above booklet can be used to help, or you can make your own. Colour the vowel in red.
- Do each dictation only after the following lesson has been taught, not the same day/week as this sound has been taught. The child should write the dictations in a new book with lines. Use a wide-ruled book for a young child, like these.
After each dictation the child should draw a picture. This helps to put the family of words together in the child's mind. - A sentence is a complete thought. Teach your child to hear each complete thought. Support your child to use a capital letter to begin, and for names, and to end each complete thought with a full stop to tell the reader to stop.
Special Needs
If you have a child with special needs, you may find it best to split the lesson into 2 halves taking 5 words each week as follows:
1. cat man sad has glad + the + is
2. fat can van ran bad
The following FREE to download activity pack has been written to suit the needs of such children.
If you have a child with special needs, you may find it best to split the lesson into 2 halves taking 5 words each week as follows:
1. cat man sad has glad + the + is
2. fat can van ran bad
The following FREE to download activity pack has been written to suit the needs of such children.
Sentences to read and write:
Once your child is happy sounding out the words on this list, we can start to build reading fluency by putting them into little phrase and sentences.
Once your child is happy sounding out the words on this list, we can start to build reading fluency by putting them into little phrase and sentences.
Set 1 words only:
The sad cat.
The sad man.
The cat is sad. The man is sad.
The sad man has a sad cat.
The glad cat.
The glad man,
The man is glad.
The cat is glad.
The glad man has a glad cat.
Set 2 Words included:
The man has a van.
The sad man has a van.
The man ran. The sad cat ran.
The cat is fat.
The fat cat ran.
The sad cat is bad. Bad sad cat!
The sad cat.
The sad man.
The cat is sad. The man is sad.
The sad man has a sad cat.
The glad cat.
The glad man,
The man is glad.
The cat is glad.
The glad man has a glad cat.
Set 2 Words included:
The man has a van.
The sad man has a van.
The man ran. The sad cat ran.
The cat is fat.
The fat cat ran.
The sad cat is bad. Bad sad cat!