Reading - Week 1

Introduction (2-3 minutes)

Hold up an apple (or picture of an apple). Ask: "What is this?" (Apple!) "What sound do you hear at the beginning of 'apple'? Listen: /æ/-/æ/-apple." Emphasize the short "a" sound.

Show the letter card with "A". Say: "This is the letter A. The letter A makes the /æ/ sound, just like the beginning of apple. When we see this letter, we say /æ/."

Explain: "Today we're starting our journey to become readers! Reading is about knowing that letters make sounds, and when we put sounds together, we can read words. Let's learn our first letter sound."

Main Activity (8-10 minutes)

Step 1: Sound Practice (3 minutes)

Say: "Let's practice the /æ/ sound together." Repeat the sound 5-6 times with your student: "/æ/, /æ/, /æ/."

Exaggerate the mouth position: "Feel how your mouth opens wide when you say /æ/? That's the A sound."

Point to the letter A and say: "Every time you see this letter, you say /æ/."

Step 2: Object Identification (3 minutes)

Show 3-5 objects or pictures. Say: "Let's find things that start with the /æ/ sound."

• Apple - "Does apple start with /æ/? Yes! /æ/-apple."
• Ant - "Does ant start with /æ/? Yes! /æ/-ant."
• Alligator - "Does alligator start with /æ/? Yes! /æ/-alligator."

Include 1-2 objects that do NOT start with A (like "ball" or "cat"). Ask: "Does ball start with /æ/? No! Ball starts with /b/."

This helps students discriminate the /æ/ sound from other sounds.

Step 3: Letter Writing (2-3 minutes)

Show how to write uppercase "A": "A starts at the top with a slant down-left, then slant down-right, then a line across the middle. It looks like a tent or a mountain."

Show lowercase "a": "Lowercase a is a circle with a line down on the right side."

Have your student practice writing A and a on paper. If available, let them trace the letter in a sand tray or shaving cream for multi-sensory practice.

As they write, have them say the sound: "/æ/, /æ/, /æ/."

Practice (5-7 minutes)

Sound Hunt: Walk around your home together and find 5 objects that start with the /æ/ sound. Examples: apple, apron, astronaut toy, alphabet book, arm (point to your arm), ankle, etc.

Each time you find one, say: "What's this?" (Apple!) "What sound does it start with?" (/æ/!) "What letter makes that sound?" (A!)

Drawing Activity: Have your student draw a picture of something that starts with A (like an apple) and write the letter A next to it. This connects the sound, the letter, and a concrete object.

Say the sound multiple times during practice: "We're looking for things that start with /æ/, the A sound."

Closure (2-3 minutes)

Ask: "What letter did we learn today?" (A!) "What sound does A make?" (/æ/!)

Point to the letter A card: "When you see this letter in a book or on a sign, what sound will you say?" (/æ/!)

Celebrate: "You learned your first letter sound! That's the beginning of reading. Every time you see A, you'll know it says /æ/. Tomorrow we'll learn the sound for letter B."

Give a high-five: "Great job, reader!"

Introduction (2-3 minutes)

Quick review: Hold up the letter A. Ask: "What sound does this letter make?" (/æ/!) "Great memory!"

Hold up a ball. Say: "What is this?" (Ball!) "Listen to the first sound: /b/-/b/-ball. What sound do you hear at the beginning?" (/b/!)

Show letter B: "This is the letter B. B makes the /b/ sound, like the beginning of ball."

Main Activity (8-10 minutes)

Sound Practice: Say /b/ together 5-6 times. Point out: "Your lips close together, then pop open when you say /b/. Feel it: /b/, /b/, /b/."

Object Identification: Show objects that start with B: ball, book, banana, bear. Say each word slowly, emphasizing /b/: "/b/-ball, /b/-book, /b/-banana."

Mix in 1-2 items that start with A or other letters to practice discrimination.

Letter Writing: Practice writing B and b. "Uppercase B has a straight line down and two bumps on the right. Lowercase b has a line up and a circle on the bottom right."

As students write, they say: "/b/, /b/, /b/."

Practice (5-7 minutes)

Sound Hunt: Find things in your home that start with /b/ (bed, box, bowl, button, etc.).

Review Game: Hold up letter A, then letter B. Student says the sound for each letter. Repeat 4-5 times randomly.

Drawing: Student draws a ball (or another B word) and writes B next to it.

Closure (2-3 minutes)

Ask: "What letter makes the /b/ sound?" (B!) "What two letter sounds do we know now?" (A and B!)

Preview: "Tomorrow we'll learn the sound for letter C."

Introduction (2-3 minutes)

Review: Flash cards A and B. Student says sounds (/æ/, /b/).

Show a cat picture: "What is this?" (Cat!) "Listen: /k/-/k/-cat. What's the first sound?" (/k/!)

Show letter C: "This is the letter C. C makes the /k/ sound like the beginning of cat." (Note: Tell students we're learning the hard C sound first. Later they'll learn C can also say /s/.)

Main Activity (8-10 minutes)

Sound Practice: Say /k/ together. "The back of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth: /k/, /k/, /k/."

Object Identification: Show objects with hard C: cat, car, cup, cake, coat. Emphasize: "/k/-cat, /k/-car."

Letter Writing: "C is like a circle with an opening on the right side." Practice writing C and c, saying /k/ each time.

Practice (5-7 minutes)

Sound Hunt: Find things starting with /k/ (cup, can, comb, coin).

Three-Letter Review: Show A, B, C cards randomly. Student says all three sounds.

Draw a cat and write C.

Closure (2-3 minutes)

"We now know three letter sounds! A says /æ/, B says /b/, C says /k/. Tomorrow we'll learn D."

Introduction (2-3 minutes)

Review: Show A, B, C. Student says sounds.

Show dog: "What is this?" (Dog!) "/d/-/d/-dog. First sound?" (/d/!)

Show D: "This is letter D. D makes the /d/ sound."

Main Activity (8-10 minutes)

Sound Practice: "/d/, /d/, /d/. Your tongue touches behind your top teeth."

Object Identification: dog, door, duck, doll. Emphasize /d/.

Letter Writing: "D has a straight line down and a curve on the right that goes all the way around." Practice writing D and d.

Note: Compare b and d. "They're similar but face different directions."

Practice (5-7 minutes)

Sound Hunt: Find D objects (desk, dinosaur toy, drum).

Four-Letter Review: A, B, C, D - Student says all sounds.

Draw a dog and write D.

Closure (2-3 minutes)

"We know four letter sounds! Tomorrow we'll learn E and review everything."

Introduction (2-3 minutes)

Review: Flash A, B, C, D. Student says sounds.

Show egg: "/ĕ/-/ĕ/-egg. This is our last letter sound for this week!"

Show E: "E makes the /ĕ/ sound like the beginning of egg."

Main Activity (8-10 minutes)

Sound Practice: "/ĕ/, /ĕ/, /ĕ/. Your mouth is slightly open and relaxed."

Object Identification: egg, elephant, elbow. Emphasize /ĕ/.

Letter Writing: "E has four lines: one vertical line and three horizontal lines." Practice writing E and e.

Five-Letter Review: Hold up all five letters randomly. Student says each sound quickly: A (/æ/), B (/b/), C (/k/), D (/d/), E (/ĕ/).

Beginning Blending (Introduction): "Now that we know five sounds, let's try putting two sounds together!" Show letter cards: "B" and "A" side-by-side. Say: "/b/ - /æ/. If we say those sounds fast, we get: ba! Let's try: /b/-/æ/...ba!"

This is just an introduction to blending. Don't worry if it's difficult—we'll practice more next week.

Practice (5-7 minutes)

Sound Hunt: Find one object for each letter sound (A, B, C, D, E) around your home.

Five-Letter Challenge: Lay out all five letter cards. Point to each one randomly. Can your student say all five sounds correctly?

Celebration Drawing: Student draws all five objects (apple, ball, cat, dog, egg) and writes the corresponding letters.

Closure (2-3 minutes)

Celebrate: "You learned FIVE letter sounds this week! That's amazing! You're on your way to reading."

Ask: "Can you say all five sounds?" (Hold up letters: A /æ/, B /b/, C /k/, D /d/, E /ĕ/.)

Explain: "These five letters are the beginning of your reading journey. Next week, we'll learn five more letters (F, G, H, I, J) and practice putting sounds together to read words."

Give a high-five or certificate: "You completed Week 1 of Reading! You're a phonics superstar!"