Grade 1 Reading Foundations, Unit 4: Student Lessons
Scope and Placement | Student Lessons | Practice and Assessment | Teacher Guide | Unit 3
Teach with an adult. Model first; read and build words together; then practice independently. Sound, letter, word, and sentence checks should reflect what the student actually reads, not memorized recitation.
Day 1: Plural -s and -es
Goal: Read and spell plural nouns, distinguishing the three common pronunciations of -s and when -es adds an extra syllable.
1. Listen and say
Say cat and cats; ask what changed in meaning. Compare box/boxes and wish/wishes. Clap dish-es to hear two syllables.
2. Teacher demonstration
Model cat/cats, dog/dogs, and dish/dishes. In cats, -s sounds /s/; in dogs it sounds /z/; in dishes, -es supplies /iz/. Explain that the spelling ending shows more than one and that sound varies according to the word.
3. Read the word set
cats | dogs | ships | ducks | dishes | boxes | wishes | brushes
4. Read the original passage
Nia has two cats. Malik has three dogs. The dogs sit by the boxes. Nia washes the dishes.
5. Spell and write
An adult dictates: cats; dogs; boxes; dishes. Learner says the sounds or word parts, spells, and reads back.
6. Accurate rereading
Read the passage again for correct words and phrasing, then answer questions in the practice book. Preteaching: Nia, Malik, two, three, has, the, by, washes. The story includes connector and irregular words that must be introduced separately.
Day 2: Past-tense -ed: /t/, /d/, /id/
Goal: Identify past-tense -ed and read common word endings without assuming all -ed words rhyme.
1. Listen and say
Ask whether jump or jumped tells about an earlier action. Clap land-ed to hear two syllables. Say played and jumped and compare the ending sounds.
2. Teacher demonstration
Compare jump/jumped, play/played, and land/landed. Say the endings aloud: /t/ in jumped, /d/ in played, /id/ in landed. The past ending is spelled -ed in all three examples. Mark the base word and suffix.
3. Read the word set
jumped | helped | packed | played | stayed | rained | landed | rested
4. Read the original passage
The rain stopped. Jay helped pack a bag. They rested. Then Jay played a game.
5. Spell and write
An adult dictates: jumped; helped; played; rested. Learner says the sounds or word parts, spells, and reads back.
6. Accurate rereading
Read the passage again for correct words and phrasing, then answer questions in the practice book. Preteaching: The, then, they, a, bag, game and name Jay. Stopped uses doubled p and should be explained as a modeled example, not assessed as mastered.
Day 3: -ing and Base Words
Goal: Read present-participle words with -ing and notice when spelling changes in the base word.
1. Listen and say
Say play and playing; ask which names an action in progress. Clap sing-ing and hop-ping. Compare the /ing/ sound across words.
2. Teacher demonstration
Write sing/singing, jump/jumping and play/playing. Then show make/making; the final silent e is removed before -ing. Finally show hop/hopping and explain that some short-vowel bases double a final consonant. Teach one example at a time rather than giving a universal rule.
3. Read the word set
singing | jumping | playing | looking | helping | making | hopping | sitting
4. Read the original passage
Sam is sitting. A bird is singing. Nia is making a card. Sam is looking at the card.
5. Spell and write
An adult dictates: singing; playing; making; hopping. Learner says the sounds or word parts, spells, and reads back.
6. Accurate rereading
Read the passage again for correct words and phrasing, then answer questions in the practice book. Preteaching: Sam, Nia, is, a, at, the. Discuss the dropped-e and doubled-consonant spellings carefully.
Day 4: Read Two-Syllable Closed-Syllable Words
Goal: Divide and blend transparent two-syllable words with closed syllables, without mistaking every written division for a universal rule.
1. Listen and say
Say rabbit, basket, napkin, and dentist. Clap the syllables. Ask how many parts each has. Explain that a syllable contains a vowel sound.
2. Teacher demonstration
Write rab|bit, nap|kin, bas|ket, and den|tist. Identify the vowel and final consonant in each taught closed syllable. Blend the first syllable, then the second, then read the whole word smoothly. Contrast with compounds from Unit 3, where whole words are joined.
3. Read the word set
rabbit | napkin | basket | dentist | sunset | picnic | magnet | tablet
4. Read the original passage
A rabbit sat by a basket. A napkin is in the basket. At sunset, Nia had a picnic.
5. Spell and write
An adult dictates: rabbit; napkin; basket; picnic. Learner says the sounds or word parts, spells, and reads back.
6. Accurate rereading
Read the passage again for correct words and phrasing, then answer questions in the practice book. Preteaching: A, by, is, in, the, at, had; Nia is a name. Some word spellings require modeling before independent connected reading.
Day 5: Cumulative Reading, Encoding, and Fluency Review
Goal: Apply plural, -ed, -ing and two-syllable decoding patterns alongside vowel teams and r-controlled words, then reread accurately and answer text-supported questions.
1. Listen and say
Say cats, jumped, singing, and rabbit. Ask the learner to identify an ending or the syllable beats. Do not pronounce print-based endings as if they all sound alike.
2. Teacher demonstration
Review one example from each earlier unit using DIFFERENT words than the assessment set. Model locating the base and suffix, mapping vowel sounds, and checking syllables. Give the independent list and passage without word-specific hints.
3. Read the word set
dishes | dogs | helped | stayed | jumping | making | rabbit | basket | farm | rain | seed | kite
4. Read the original passage
Nia had a basket by the farm. She packed a napkin. Two rabbits hopped near the barn. Nia stayed and watched the rabbits.
5. Spell and write
An adult dictates: boxes; dogs; jumped; played; singing; making; rabbit; basket. Learner says the sounds or word parts, spells, and reads back.
6. Accurate rereading
Read the passage again for correct words and phrasing, then answer questions in the practice book. Preteaching: Nia, had, a, by, the, she, two, near, and, watched. Hopped and watched should be modeled in advance for passage comprehension, and not included as unprompted target spellings.