Reading Foundations Unit 7: Student Lessons
Unit scope | Student lessons | Practice | Teacher guide | ELA gap register
Teach each pattern directly. Say the sounds first, display spelling, build words using cards, then read, spell and reread. Some passage connectors are not controlled by the day’s phonics rule, so explicitly teach them.
Day 1: Silent k in kn, Silent w in wr
Objective: Recognize beginning kn as /n/ and beginning wr as /r/ in taught words; read by sound rather than pronouncing silent letters.
Listen and compare sounds
Say knee and need. Ask what beginning sound both share. Say write and ride; listen for /r/. These spellings differ even when the starting sounds match.
Teacher model and word building
Write k-n-e-e. Cross out only the silent k during modeling, underline kn, then blend knee. Compare knee/need. Write w-r-i-t-e and compare write/ride. Explain the silent beginning letters as spelling patterns, not a rule for every letter combination.
Read the word set
knit | knot | knee | know | knife | write | wrist | wrong
Original reading passage
The knot is tight. I can write my name. My knee is by the mat.
Spell without copying
Adult dictates: knit; knot; wrist; write. Learner repeats, maps sounds or word parts, spells and rereads.
Comprehend and self-correct
Read again with attention to word accuracy and punctuation. Answer the corresponding questions in the practice page. Preteach: the, is, I, can, my, name, by. Know and knife contain additional vowel patterns; model them as vocabulary examples, not new independent decoding rules.
Day 2: Silent b in mb, and gn
Objective: Read common word-final mb as /m/ and word-initial gn as /n/ in familiar words, while recognizing that silent-letter patterns do not apply universally.
Listen and compare sounds
Say lamb and lamp. Listen to their final sounds. Say gnat and nat (the second is a spoken sound comparison, not a spelling target). Notice the /n/ sound at the start of gnat.
Teacher model and word building
Write lamb, comb, and thumb. Underline mb and explain b is silent in these taught words. Write gnat and gnaw and underline gn. Explain that the initial g is not spoken in these examples. Avoid saying gn is always silent everywhere.
Read the word set
lamb | comb | thumb | crumb | climb | gnat | gnaw | gnome
Original reading passage
A lamb is by the barn. A gnat is on the lamb. The lamb can move.
Spell without copying
Adult dictates: lamb; comb; gnat; thumb. Learner repeats, maps sounds or word parts, spells and rereads.
Comprehend and self-correct
Read again with attention to word accuracy and punctuation. Answer the corresponding questions in the practice page. Preteach: a, is, by, the, on, can, move. Climb, gnaw, and gnome require explicit pronunciation and meaning practice.
Day 3: gh: Silent in Some Words, /f/ in Others
Objective: Distinguish words in which gh is silent from words in which gh spells /f/, and avoid imposing a single gh pronunciation on every word.
Listen and compare sounds
Say night and light; listen for the long-i sound and no separate gh sound. Say laugh and cough; listen for the ending /f/ sound in these examples.
Teacher model and word building
Build n-igh-t and show igh as the vowel spelling for long i in night. Read light and right. Explain that gh is not heard in these words. In laugh and cough, gh instead spells /f/. These are different learned spelling patterns.
Read the word set
night | light | right | sight | high | laugh | cough | rough
Original reading passage
It is night. I can see a light. The light is bright. I laugh at a funny tale.
Spell without copying
Adult dictates: night; light; high; laugh. Learner repeats, maps sounds or word parts, spells and rereads.
Comprehend and self-correct
Read again with attention to word accuracy and punctuation. Answer the corresponding questions in the practice page. Preteach: it, is, I, can, see, a, the, at, funny, tale. Bright follows igh. Cough and rough need explicit word-by-word instruction; pronunciations differ from the silent-gh words.
Day 4: Long o Teams oa and oe; Long u Teams ue and ew
Objective: Read and spell selected words with vowel teams oa, oe, ue and ew. Explain that teams have multiple pronunciations across English, requiring careful word study.
Listen and compare sounds
Say boat, road, toe, and foe; listen for /ō/. Say blue, glue, new, and grew; identify the long-u family sounds /oo/ or /yoo/ according to the word and dialect.
Teacher model and word building
Underline oa in boat and road, oe in toe and foe, ue in blue and glue, ew in new and grew. Sort long-o and long-u examples, then read each word without naming letter sounds individually.
Read the word set
boat | road | goat | coat | toe | foe | blue | glue | new | grew
Original reading passage
A goat is by the road. The boat has a blue coat. A new boat is on the lake.
Spell without copying
Adult dictates: boat; road; toe; blue; new. Learner repeats, maps sounds or word parts, spells and rereads.
Comprehend and self-correct
Read again with attention to word accuracy and punctuation. Answer the corresponding questions in the practice page. Preteach: a, is, by, the, has, on, lake. Foe and grew require vocabulary work. Dialect-dependent pronunciations of new should not be treated as errors.
Day 5: Independent Transfer and Cumulative Check
Objective: Apply learned silent-letter patterns and vowel teams to a mixed list while independently reading a passage and spelling dictated words.
Listen and compare sounds
Without print, compare knee/need, write/ride, lamb/lamp, night/knight. Ask which sound is heard and which letters differ in spelling. For night/knight, both commonly sound alike but have different meanings.
Teacher model and word building
Review with different examples, such as knot, wrist, thumb, sight, road and glue. Do not rehearse the exact assessed list right before independent work. Explain ambiguous words only after scoring.
Read the word set
knee | knit | wrist | wrong | lamb | comb | gnat | gnome | night | laugh | boat | toe | blue | grew
Original reading passage
Ben can write a note. At night, he sees a goat by the road. The goat has a blue coat. Ben goes home.
Spell without copying
Adult dictates: knot; write; lamb; gnat; light; laugh; road; glue. Learner repeats, maps sounds or word parts, spells and rereads.
Comprehend and self-correct
Read again with attention to word accuracy and punctuation. Answer the corresponding questions in the practice page. Preteach: Ben, can, a, at, he, sees, by, the, has, goes, home. Word ‘goes’ requires direct high-frequency instruction. Score reading and passage understanding separately.