Before you start: this is Lesson 104. It uses only sounds already taught in Lessons 1–103. 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.
“That cake came out flat as well.”
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 went wrong with the first cake?
It came out flat, as flat as a plate. Have them find that line.
2. How did Kate work out what the problem was?
She reread the plan and tried again. When that cake was flat too, she saw the pan was too big.
3. When is it good to reread a thing? Tell me why.
Any answer is fine. Listen for a reason — you missed a bit, you forgot a step.
Checked word by word: all 159 words in this
story use only sounds taught by Lesson 104, 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.
Heart words — read each one, then check the box.
The story is on the next page →
Kate helps at the preschool down the road. She reads to the kids and hands out cups. The kids there had a big day soon. Kate had a plan to bake them a cake. Dad let her mix it up in the pan. Dad set the pan in the hot stove to bake. The first cake came out flat and sad. It was as flat as a plate. Kate had to reread the plan two times. She tried it again in the same big pan. That cake came out flat as well. The pan was too big! That was it. She had to remake the whole cake. This time Kate got a small round pan. Dad set it in the hot stove for her. The next cake got tall and soft. Kate had a grin. She got a red plate. She set the cake on it and ran to school. The kids at the preschool ate it all up.
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.