Unit 3: Student Textbook Lessons
Scope and Placement | Student Lessons | Practice | Teacher Guide | Prior Unit
An adult teaches one lesson per day. First model, then do together, then ask the learner to read or write without hints. Read the original passage twice for accuracy, phrasing, and meaning.
Day 1: ar: /ar/ in a Closed Syllable
Learning target: The letters ar often represent the r-controlled vowel sound in car, star, and farm. The vowel does not have the same short sound as a in cat.
Hear the sounds
Say car, cat, star, and sat. Ask which words share the /ar/ sound. Segment farm orally and identify its final /m/.
Watch and build
Use letter cards: c-ar makes car, then swap c for st to make star. Underline ar as a single vowel pattern. Compare car and cat by pointing to the differing final grapheme.
Read these words
car | star | far | farm | park | dark | hard | cart
Read the original passage
A star is far. Mark has a cart. Mark can park the cart.
Spell from dictation
The adult says: car; farm; park; star. Write each without looking at the list. Reread each word after spelling it.
Understand and reread
Read a second time and answer the corresponding practice questions. Preteach the connector words a, is, has, the, can. Mark is a name containing ar.
Day 2: or: /or/ in Words
Learning target: The letters or commonly represent an r-controlled sound in corn, fork, and short. Pronunciation varies by dialect; model standard words without forcing a child’s accent.
Hear the sounds
Say corn, fork, and horn. Have the learner identify the shared vowel sound. Contrast form and farm, and explain that or and ar can signal different sounds.
Watch and build
Build c-or-n and f-or-k. Underline or. Ask the learner to move letter cards to change corn to horn, then read both aloud accurately.
Read these words
corn | fork | horn | born | short | storm | cord | porch
Read the original passage
A storm is on the farm. The corn is short. Mark has a fork.
Spell from dictation
The adult says: corn; fork; short; storm. Write each without looking at the list. Reread each word after spelling it.
Understand and reread
Read a second time and answer the corresponding practice questions. Review farm and Mark from Day 1. Teach on and other connectors before independent reading.
Day 3: er, ir, ur: Common /er/ Spellings
Learning target: The vowel patterns er, ir, and ur frequently represent an r-controlled /er/ sound, as in her, bird, and turn. These spellings cannot reliably be chosen by sound alone, so spelling requires learned word knowledge and guided practice.
Hear the sounds
Say her, bird, and turn. Listen for the shared r-controlled sound. Compare these with car and corn and hear how they differ.
Watch and build
Sort word cards into er, ir, ur groups. Read each column, underline the spelling, and have the learner explain which letters are shared in each group. Do not guess a spelling just by listening.
Read these words
her | fern | term | bird | girl | first | turn | burn
Read the original passage
The girl can turn. Her bird is in the fern. The bird can chirp.
Spell from dictation
The adult says: her; fern; bird; turn. Write each without looking at the list. Reread each word after spelling it.
Understand and reread
Read a second time and answer the corresponding practice questions. Chirp introduces ir and ch from previous instruction. Preteach the, can, is, in.
Day 4: Two Syllables: Compound Words and Simple Division
Learning target: Longer words can have more than one spoken syllable. A compound word joins two complete words, such as sun + set = sunset. Find meaningful word parts, read each accurately, and then blend the whole word.
Hear the sounds
Say sunset and have the learner tap two syllables. Say raincoat, farmyard, and popcorn. Ask learner to hear the two beats and identify the smaller words.
Watch and build
Write sun | set, rain | coat, farm | yard, and pop | corn. Point to each component, decode it, then read the complete word naturally. Explain that syllable division does not always match a word’s meaning, so this lesson begins with clear compounds.
Read these words
sunset | raincoat | farmyard | popcorn | mailbox | playground | bedroom | daylight
Read the original passage
A raincoat is in the bedroom. Mark has popcorn. At sunset, Mark can play in the farmyard.
Spell from dictation
The adult says: sunset; popcorn; mailbox; farmyard. Write each without looking at the list. Reread each word after spelling it.
Understand and reread
Read a second time and answer the corresponding practice questions. Preteach connector words and ensure both component words have been taught or modeled. The farmyard sentence is an original fictional passage.
Day 5: Cumulative Independent Review
Learning target: Read and spell unfamiliar combinations using all three r-controlled groups and previously taught vowel teams, blends, digraphs, and simple compound words. Explain how each word was decoded and repair errors by checking the letters.
Hear the sounds
Without showing print, ask the learner to say the parts of farm, short, bird, sunset. For farm and short, attend to sounds without insisting a phoneme count based on printed letter count.
Watch and build
Quickly review sample cards that are NOT in the independent word list. Then give the new reading and dictation items without pronunciation hints, pictures, or rehearsing the target words.
Read these words
barn | park | fork | storm | fern | shirt | turn | curl | rain | play | seed | sunset
Read the original passage
Mark and the girl can walk to the barn. A bird is on the roof. They turn to see the bird.
Spell from dictation
The adult says: barn; fork; shirt; turn; rain; seed; sunset; farmyard. Write each without looking at the list. Reread each word after spelling it.
Understand and reread
Read a second time and answer the corresponding practice questions. Preteach connector words and new passage words walk, roof, they, see. Keep sight-word support distinct from independent phonics assessment.