This is Lesson 41. It assumes your child has already worked through Lessons 1–40. Each lesson only uses sounds taught in the ones before it. If your child has not had those yet, this story will be too hard — not because of anything they did, but because the sounds have not been introduced yet. Ask their teacher which sheet to start with.
1. Look at the picture together. Ask “What do you see? What do you think happens?” This puts the story in their head before their eyes do the hard work.
2. Cover the picture while they read. The picture is for understanding, not for guessing words. Uncover it when they finish.
3. Warm up on the six words, check off the heart words, then read the story.
4. If they get stuck, don’t say the word. Ask them to sound it out, or to use their sound spelling — those are the words their teacher uses, so home and school match. Tap under each letter as they go. Every word here is one they can build.
5. Read it three times. The first read is work. The third read is reading.
The story itself is on the next sheet — read it once yourself before you begin.
The child writes their answers on their own sheet. Here is what you are listening for.
1. Why is Sam wet?
Looking for cause and effect: Sam washed the pig, so Sam got wet too. If they
just say “the tub,” ask “and what happened in the tub?”
2. What did Sam use to get the pig clean?
A rag and a tub. This one is stated right in the story — if they can’t find it,
have them reread that line rather than telling them.
3. Do you think the pig liked the tub? Tell me why.
Either answer is correct. You are listening for a reason tied to the story —
“no, because it ran to the mud” or “yes, because it naps at the end.”
Every one of the 55 words in this story can be sounded out with what your child has already been taught. Nothing here needs guessing. If they get stuck, the answer is always “sound it out” or “use your sound spelling” — never “let me tell you.”
Deliberately left out, because they haven’t been taught yet:
silent e (cake), letter pairs like sh ch th ck,
two-consonant starts like stop, vowel pairs like rain, and r-changed
vowels like bird. The only words to know by sight, not sound out, are the six heart words:
the is a and to in.
Heart words — read each one, then check the box.
Sam has a pig. The pig is big. Sam and the pig sit in the sun. The pig runs to the mud. The pig sits in the mud. Sam gets a rag and a tub. Sam rubs the pig in the tub. The pig is wet. Sam is wet! The pig naps in the sun.
Draw the last thing that happens in the story.