Kindergarten English Language Arts Chapter 3: Short Vowels, Decodable Stories, and Sentences
Original five-day teaching chapter. Adult reads instructions and supervises activities; children may respond orally, by drawing, pointing or writing. Work at the learner’s pace. This is one chapter of a developing 36-week curriculum, not full annual standards verification.
Student text | Practice workbook | Teacher guide with answers | Kindergarten index
Lesson 1: Short e in Words
Teach: Words have sounds. In the word pen, the letter e represents its short vowel sound. Say /p/ /e/ /n/ slowly and blend pen. Compare pen and pin: they have different middle vowel sounds. Point across a printed word from left to right.
Worked example: Blend /t/ /e/ /n/ to read ten. Build pen using letter cards p-e-n.
Guided activity: Read pen, ten, hen and net with an adult. Listen for the middle sound.
Independent practice: Answer six questions in the companion practice workbook. Explain your thinking to an adult.
Advanced challenge: Make and read a new short-vowel word and use it in a sentence.
Lesson 2: Short o and u
Teach: Listen to short o in hop and short u in sun. The same first and final sounds can make different words when the middle vowel changes, as in hot and hut. Words also may vary with accent; adults should model clear familiar speech.
Worked example: Point to h-o-t and blend hot. Change o to u and blend hut.
Guided activity: Sort hot, hop, pot, sun, run and cup by middle vowel.
Independent practice: Answer six questions in the companion practice workbook. Explain your thinking to an adult.
Advanced challenge: Make and read a new short-vowel word and use it in a sentence.
Lesson 3: Read a Short Original Story
Teach: Read this original story: ‘Ben has a red hen. The hen is in a pen. Ben lets the hen out. The hen runs to the sun.’ A character is someone in the story. An event is something that happens. Reread for accuracy and meaning, not speed alone.
Worked example: Who is in a pen? The hen. What does Ben do? Ben lets the hen out.
Guided activity: Read with an adult. Retell what happened first and last.
Independent practice: Answer six questions in the companion practice workbook. Explain your thinking to an adult.
Advanced challenge: Make and read a new short-vowel word and use it in a sentence.
Lesson 4: Write a Complete Sentence
Teach: A telling sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period. Its words name someone or something and tell about that person or thing. Names begin with a capital letter, too. Leave spaces between written words.
Worked example: Change ‘ben has a hen’ to ‘Ben has a hen.’
Guided activity: Say each sentence aloud before writing. An adult may help form letters but should not give the answer during the independent check.
Independent practice: Answer six questions in the companion practice workbook. Explain your thinking to an adult.
Advanced challenge: Make and read a new short-vowel word and use it in a sentence.
Lesson 5: Independent Reading and Writing Check
Teach: New original passage: ‘Tom has a pup. The pup sits on a rug. Tom gets a cup. The pup hops up.’ Ask the learner to point to each word while reading. Adults may read directions, but not the target words during assessment.
Worked example: Before testing, model with a different sentence: ‘Sam has a mat.’
Guided activity: Read the passage independently and answer the questions orally or in writing.
Independent practice: Answer six questions in the companion practice workbook. Explain your thinking to an adult.
Advanced challenge: Make and read a new short-vowel word and use it in a sentence.