Before you start: this is Lesson 120. It uses only sounds already taught in Lessons 1–119. 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.
“Hana felt sad when she saw it.”
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 in Hana's picture?
A big adventure — she rode a green dragon. Lines four and five go together.
2. What did Hana try first, and did it work?
Tape. It did not stick at all, so she cut a patch instead.
3. What adventure would you draw? Why?
Any answer is fine. This one is worth drawing after.
Checked word by word: all 164 words in this story use only sounds taught by Lesson 120, plus heart words already learned. Nothing here needs guessing.
Heart words — read each one, then check the box.
The story is on the next page →
Hana likes to draw best of all. She has a box of pens under her bed. One wet day she made a big picture. It was a picture of a big adventure. In it she rode a green dragon over the hills. It took her all day to get it right. She hung the picture next to her bed. In the night the picture fell down. The cat had jumped up and made a mess of it. There was a long rip in the sky. Hana felt sad when she saw it. She got some tape from the desk. But the tape did not stick at all. It just left a bump in the sky. Then Hana had a much better plan. She cut a patch and drew a big rock. She stuck the patch on top of the rip. Now the green dragon stands on that rock. Hana likes the picture better than at first. The cat sleeps under it on her bed.
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.