Before you start: this is Lesson 96. It uses only sounds already taught in Lessons 1–95. If they have not done those yet it will feel too hard — ask their teacher where to start.
1. Say the practice words on the words page, then the heart words. A heart word has one part that cannot be sounded out — the little heart marks the bit to just remember.
2. Read the story on the next page. If they get stuck, don’t say the word. Point under the letters and say: “Say each sound, then say them fast” — “mmm – aaa – p … map!”
3. Read it three times — they color a circle each time.
4. They draw what happened, on the top half of the next page. No picture to copy — their drawing is how you see what they understood.
5. They write one sentence, on the lines under their drawing. The sentence to read aloud is in the box below.
“At last the mouse came out again.”
Once at normal speed, once slowly, and have them say it back before they write. If they get stuck on a word, say its sounds together — don’t spell it letter by letter.
Practice, not a test — don’t mark it wrong. If a word is misspelled, read it back exactly as they wrote it and let them hear the difference.
A wrong word, or a guess? Don’t say “no” — point at the word: “Try that one again — say each sound.” Fixing it themselves is the win.
Sounded it out twice, still stuck? Tell them the word and carry on. A few told words do no harm.
Stuck on nearly every line, or fed up? Stop — that is fine. Try an easier lesson, or this one tomorrow. Five happy minutes beat twenty cross ones.
1. What did Nita find on the floor that made her look?
Seeds. That is the clue that sent her looking.
2. What did Nita try first, and did it work?
She bent down to catch it in her hands. No — it was too quick.
3. Do you think the mouse will come back in? Tell me why.
Either answer is fine. Listen for a reason from the story.
Checked word by word: all 163 words in this
story use only sounds taught by Lesson 96, plus heart words already learned. Nothing here
needs guessing. The spelling ey, ou can say more than one sound in English; every word here uses only the one taught so far.
The story is on the next page →
Nita and her mom have a small house. She keeps a jar of seeds by the window. Each day she feeds the birds in the yard. One day she found seeds on the floor. Who had spilled them? Nita looked all over. Then she saw a brown mouse by the bin. The mouse was eating her bird seeds! Nita bent down to catch it in her hands. But the mouse was too quick. It ran off. Nita did not shout. She got a box. She set it down with a bit of bread. Then she sat still and waited a long time. At last the mouse came out again. It went in the box to get the bread. Nita had found a way to catch it! She and Mom took the box out to the yard. They let the mouse go by the flower bed. It sat on the ground and looked up. Now the mouse is safe, and the house is too.
Read it again if you need to. Then draw what happened.
Your grown-up will say one sentence from the story. Say it back, then write it.