Before you start: this is Lesson 98. It uses only sounds already taught in Lessons 1–97. 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.
“Now the rope was wet and smooth.”
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 was caught on the lamb's leg?
A knot in the rope. Have them find that line.
2. Jen pulled the knot first. What did she do when that did not work?
She got soap from Dad and rubbed it on the rope and knot.
3. What do you think Jen will do with the rope now? Tell me why.
Any answer is fine. The last two lines give a clue.
Checked word by word: all 165 words in this
story use only sounds taught by Lesson 98, 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 →
Jen keeps a small lamb out by the shed. She feeds it and plays with it each day. The lamb likes to climb up on things. It climbs the steps, the rocks, the wood pile. Jen left a rope in a heap by the shed. The rope had a big knot in it. One day the lamb went up on a rock. It came down, but the knot caught its leg. The lamb could not walk. It made a sound. Jen went down on one knee to reach it. She pulled the knot with her thumb. No luck. She tugged again. The knot just got tight. So Jen got a bit of soap from Dad. She rubbed the soap on the rope and knot. Now the rope was wet and smooth. Then the knot slid free! The lamb was out. It gave a hop and ran to Jen. Jen wrapped the rope up and hung it high. Now Jen knows where to keep her rope.
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.