Sentences

Before you start

SAYSounds first. Say each one when I point.

NOTECards or board: all sounds taught so far. Fast, no comment, no praise between items — the pace is the point. Anything hesitant goes on the list for the end of the week.

SAYNow these words.

NOTEWords: Dutch, then, bless, trench, tram, trump, trip, trek. These are drawn from lessons already taught, not from today's, so a child who has forgotten shows it here rather than in the middle of new work.

NOTENo new sound today. That time belongs to the column — run it twice rather than finishing early.

SAYSound it out with me, and do NOT stop between the sounds. T – h – e … keep going … do not stop.

NOTEStretch the sounds into each other — mmmaaannn — rather than chopping them apart. 'muh-a-nuh' produces a child who says 'muhanuh' and cannot hear the word inside it. The stop between sounds is the error; the sounds themselves are usually fine.

SAYNow say it fast.

SAYYes — The.

SAYSound it out without stopping: cat. Now fast.

SAYSound it out without stopping: sat. Now fast.

SAYSound it out without stopping: still. Now fast.

NOTEThis lesson is short on paper. Run the column a SECOND time before you move on — random order, individual turns, and this time write down who missed what. Do not end the block early; there are 2 minutes here and they belong to accuracy.

SAYOpen to page 80. Finger on the first word.

SAYDown the first column. My pointer, your voice. Wait for the pointer.

NOTEPoint deliberately and hold. Accuracy before speed — if it is getting fast and sloppy, slow the pointer down, do not ask them to slow down.

SAYNow across the rows.

NOTEReading down a column can be done from memory. Reading ACROSS cannot. If a child was strong going down and falls apart going across, they were reciting, not reading — that is what this step is for, and it is the same reason the Qaida is drilled this way.

SAYNow I am going to jump around. Watch the pointer.

NOTERandom order over all 65 words. This is the real test. Anything missed here goes on tomorrow's warm-up.

SAYPartners. One points, one reads. Then swap.

NOTEWalk and listen to four children you have not heard from today. Note who to put in the warm-up tomorrow.

NOTENothing has been taught yet that can be asked for on a whiteboard. From tomorrow this segment runs every day.

SAYPencils. I say a word, you say it back, then we count the sounds on our fingers, then we write it.

NOTECounting the sounds BEFORE writing is what stops a child writing the first letter and guessing the rest. A child who holds up three fingers for `man` will write three letters.

SAYFirst word: The. Say it back. Now count the sounds. How many?

NOTEThen write. Then show me. Check every board before the next word — this is the fastest assessment in the lesson and it is why mini-whiteboards are not optional here.

NOTEWords to dictate: The, cat, sat, still, Bill

SAYNow a whole sentence. Finger under the first word.

SAYRead it in your head first. Put your finger up when you have it.

NOTESilent-first is what turns this from a listening exercise into a reading one. Wait for most fingers before you call on anyone.

SAYTogether: Bill had fudge with his lunch.

NOTEThen two or three individual readers. Reading round the class in seating order is the one thing not to do — every child knows which sentence is theirs and stops reading the others.

SAYPatrick drank a glass of milk.

SAYGwen put cash in the bank.

SAYPam had a stiff neck.

SAYBefore you go, three words, on your own.

NOTEWords: got, stuck, mud. One child at a time as they line up. Mark each child got 3, 2, or fewer. Two or fewer means they start tomorrow's warm-up group — that is the entire purpose of recording it, so do not skip it and do not make it public.

If a child gets it wrong