This is Lesson 5. It assumes your child knows the sounds for a, m, s and t (Lessons 1–4). If any of those are shaky, spend a few minutes back on that letter’s sheet first — blending only works when the sounds underneath it are solid.
Today the sounds turn into words. Pushing /s/ /ă/ /m/ together and hearing Sam is the single biggest step in learning to read — everything after this is more letters, but the same move. It is called blending, and how you model it matters, so please read the box below before you start.
Slide your finger under the word and stretch the sounds together with no gaps: “mmmaaat” — then say it fast: mat. One long connected sound, like stretching a rubber band, not three separate pieces: choppy “/m/ … /a/ … /t/” is much harder for a beginner to glue back together.
If your child is stuck, you stretch the word slowly and they copy you. That is teaching, not cheating. And keep the sounds clean — “mmm,” never “muh.”
1. The sound strip. They touch each letter and say its sound. Quick and confident before any words.
2. Slide and read. They touch each dot below the word and say that sound, then slide a finger along the arrow — without stopping — and say the word fast. The dots show where the sounds are; the arrow says do not stop between them, then fast. The two-letter words come first. Words starting with m and s come before the t-words on purpose — you can stretch “mmm” and “sss,” but a /t/ cannot be held, which makes t-first words the hardest kind.
3. Sound boxes. Say the word slowly; they touch one box for each sound they hear, then sweep a finger under the boxes and say it fast.
4. Their first spelling. You say “at” for the two empty boxes and “sat” for the three. They say it slowly, touch a box per sound, then write one letter in each box. This is the first time they write a word — make a fuss.
5. The changing word. They read the chain and point at what changed each time — one letter changing makes a whole new word.
6. Read it and do it. They read the word and act it out. Reading that does something is the best joke a five-year-old knows.
Five minutes a day beats twenty on Saturday. Stop while it is still fun. If today is hard, shrink it: just the sound strip and am is a perfectly good day.
Touch each box. Say its sound — clean and clear.
Start with the letter boxes at the top: your child touches each one and says its sound, cleanly — “mmm” not “muh”. Then go down to the words.
The dots under each word are its sounds — one per sound. Your child touches each dot and says that sound, then slides a finger along the arrow and says the whole word.
Stretch, do not stop. The dots show where the sounds are; the arrow says do not stop between them. “/m/ … /a/ … /t/” said with gaps does not sound like mat; “mmmaaat” does. If your child gets stuck, you stretch it first and let them copy you.
Once you have read this, fold it back. Then the page holds nothing but the letters and words.
Read the word. Say it slowly and touch one box for each sound you hear. Then sweep your finger along the arrow and say it fast.
Your grown-up says a word. Say it slowly, touch a box for each sound — then write one letter in each box.
Read across. What changed each time? Point at the new letter.
Read the word. Your grown-up reads the job.