Week 10: The Four Seasons and How They Change

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will form and use regular plural nouns (adding -s or -es) for at least 5 season-related words with 80% accuracy.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.c (form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/)

Materials: Picture cards showing one vs. many (apple/apples, cloud/clouds, pumpkin/pumpkins, branch/branches, bush/bushes), blank index cards, crayons

Warm-up: Sing a "One or Many?" chant, holding up one finger for singular and wiggling all fingers for plural as parent says word pairs.

Main Activity: 1) Show a "one apple" picture, say "apple," then show "many apples," say "apples," emphasizing the added /s/ sound. 2) Repeat with cloud/clouds, pumpkin/pumpkins. 3) Introduce a word ending in -ch or -sh (branch/branches, bush/bushes) and model the /es/ sound change. 4) Child sorts a mixed pile of singular/plural picture cards into "one" and "many" piles.

Practice: Child draws "one pumpkin" and "many pumpkins" side by side and labels each picture (parent scribes if needed), saying each word aloud while writing.

Assessment: Parent says a singular season word; child supplies the correct plural form for 4 of 5 words (apple, cloud, pumpkin, branch, leaf).

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will use at least 5 position words (prepositions) to describe where objects are located in a seasonal scene.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.e (use the most frequently occurring prepositions)

Materials: A large drawn or printed fall scene (tree, sky, ground, squirrel, nest), small movable cutouts (leaf, bird, acorn), preposition word cards (on, under, above, in, next to)

Warm-up: Play "Where's the Leaf?" — parent hides a paper leaf around the room and gives one-word position clues (under, behind, on).

Main Activity: 1) Introduce the fall scene and preposition cards one at a time. 2) Child places a cutout according to a spoken direction ("Put the acorn under the tree"). 3) Child makes up their own sentence describing where a cutout is placed, using a preposition. 4) Repeat with all 5 preposition words, rotating cutouts.

Practice: Child arranges 3 cutouts on the scene independently and describes each placement aloud using a complete sentence with a preposition.

Assessment: Parent asks "Where is the bird?" and similar questions; child answers correctly using a preposition for 4 of 5 prompts.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will use the sequencing words first, next, then, and last to describe the order of the four seasons.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.6 (use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading, and being read to)

Materials: Four season picture cards (spring, summer, fall, winter), sequencing word cards (first, next, then, last), paper strip to lay cards in a row

Warm-up: Practice the sequencing words using a familiar routine (first we wake up, next we eat breakfast, then we get dressed, last we brush our teeth).

Main Activity: 1) Lay out the four season cards out of order. 2) Child arranges them in the correct yearly sequence, starting from the current season. 3) Child places a sequencing word card above each season card and says a full sentence ("First comes fall. Next comes winter."). 4) Discuss that seasons repeat in a cycle, so "last" leads back to "first" again.

Practice: Child retells the season order aloud without looking at the sequencing word cards, using all 4 words correctly.

Assessment: Parent mixes up the season cards; child re-orders them and narrates the sequence using first/next/then/last with no more than 1 error.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will identify and state the opposite (antonym) for at least 5 season-related describing words.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.5.b (demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their opposites)

Materials: Opposite word-pair picture cards (hot/cold, wet/dry, light/dark, full/empty, fast/slow), two baskets labeled "This" and "Opposite"

Warm-up: Parent says a word (up); child shouts the opposite (down) — quick round with easy pairs before season words.

Main Activity: 1) Show one card from a season pair (hot) and ask the child to find its opposite (cold) from a mixed pile. 2) Repeat for wet/dry, light/dark, full/empty, fast/slow. 3) Use each pair in a season sentence ("Summer is hot. Winter is cold.").

Practice: Child chooses 2 opposite pairs and draws a small picture illustrating each word in the pair.

Assessment: Parent says one word from each pair; child supplies the correct opposite for 4 of 5 words.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will correctly use the question word "when" to ask and answer 3 complete questions about seasonal events.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.d (understand and use question words (interrogatives): who, what, where, when, why, how)

Materials: This week's season picture cards, a "When?" question word card, a puppet or stuffed animal

Warm-up: Parent models a silly "when" question ("When do pigs fly?") to show question tone.

Main Activity: 1) Review that "when" asks about time (a season, a day, a moment). 2) Using the puppet, child asks 3 "when" questions about the week's topics ("When do leaves fall?" "When does it snow?"). 3) Parent (as puppet) answers in a full sentence, modeling the sequencing and opposite vocabulary from earlier in the week.

Practice: Child asks a family member one "when" question about a family tradition or routine.

Assessment: Child independently generates 2 original "when" questions about the seasons, checked for correct word order and question word use.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will count aloud from 1 to 30 in the correct sequence, using seasonal objects to reinforce counting.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.1 (count to 100 by ones and by tens)

Materials: 30 small counters (pretend acorns, buttons, or paper leaves), a number chart 1–30

Warm-up: Sing a counting song extending familiar 1–20 counting up through 30, pointing to the number chart.

Main Activity: 1) Child counts a growing pile of "acorns" one at a time up to 30, moving each aside as counted. 2) Practice starting the count from different points (start at 18, count to 30). 3) Point to numbers on the chart out of order and have the child identify them.

Practice: Child counts aloud to 30 while placing counters into a row, checking against the number chart.

Assessment: Child counts aloud to 30 unprompted with no more than 1 self-corrected error.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will correctly write numerals 0–10 when named aloud.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.3 (write numbers from 0 to 20)

Materials: Whiteboard or paper, pencil/dry-erase marker, numeral tracing cards 0–10, a numbered leaf-outline mat

Warm-up: Trace numerals 0–5 in the air with a finger as parent calls them out.

Main Activity: 1) Model writing each numeral 0–10 on the whiteboard, describing the strokes ("straight line down for 1"). 2) Child traces each numeral on the tracing cards. 3) Child writes each numeral independently on blank paper as parent calls it out in random order.

Practice: Child writes numerals to label a set of counted leaves (e.g., writes "7" next to a group of 7 leaves).

Assessment: Parent calls out 5 random numerals 0–10; child writes each correctly with no more than 1 error.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will solve addition word problems within 5 using objects, drawings, and equations.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.1, CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.2 (represent addition with objects; solve addition word problems within 10)

Materials: 10 acorn or leaf counters, small paper "tree" mat, whiteboard for drawing

Warm-up: Quick finger-addition warm-up: hold up 2 fingers, then 1 more, count the total together.

Main Activity: 1) Tell a simple story problem: "2 squirrels are under the tree. 1 more squirrel joins them. How many squirrels now?" 2) Child acts it out with counters on the tree mat, counting the total. 3) Repeat with 2–3 more addition stories within 5, recording each as a simple equation (2 + 1 = 3) on the whiteboard.

Practice: Child creates their own addition story problem within 5 using counters and asks a parent to solve it.

Assessment: Child solves 3 new addition problems within 5 (presented orally) with counters, getting at least 2 of 3 correct.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will solve subtraction word problems within 5 using objects, drawings, and equations.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.1, CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.2 (represent subtraction with objects; solve subtraction word problems within 10)

Materials: 10 acorn or leaf counters, small paper "tree" mat, whiteboard for drawing

Warm-up: Quick finger-subtraction warm-up: hold up 4 fingers, put 1 down, count how many remain.

Main Activity: 1) Tell a story problem: "5 leaves are on the branch. 2 leaves fall to the ground. How many leaves are left?" 2) Child acts it out with counters, removing the "fallen" leaves and counting what remains. 3) Repeat with 2–3 more subtraction stories within 5, recording each as an equation (5 − 2 = 3).

Practice: Child creates their own subtraction story problem within 5 and asks a parent to solve it using counters.

Assessment: Child solves 3 new subtraction problems within 5 with counters, getting at least 2 of 3 correct.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will compare the length of two or more objects and describe the difference using "longer," "shorter," and "same length."

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.1, CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.2 (describe measurable attributes; directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common)

Materials: A collection of sticks or leaves of varying sizes gathered outside (or paper cutouts), a piece of string, paper for recording

Warm-up: Hold up two crayons of different lengths; child guesses which is longer, then check by lining them up.

Main Activity: 1) Line up two sticks/leaves side by side at one end and compare which is longer/shorter. 2) Repeat with 3–4 more pairs, recording results with simple words or drawings. 3) Order all the sticks/leaves from shortest to longest in one row.

Practice: Child measures one object using a string and compares it to another object's string length.

Assessment: Parent presents 2 new objects; child correctly identifies which is longer and which is shorter.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will name the four seasons in order and describe one weather pattern for each.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to NGSS K-ESS2-1 (use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time)

Materials: Four season picture cards, weather journal (from Week 1 or new blank journal), crayons

Warm-up: Look outside and describe today's weather; ask, "What season do you think it is?"

Main Activity: 1) Introduce the four seasons in cyclical order using picture cards. 2) For each season, discuss 1–2 typical weather patterns (fall = cooler, windy; winter = cold, snowy; spring = rainy, mild; summer = hot, sunny). 3) Child draws today's season in the weather journal and labels 2 weather words that match it.

Practice: Child sorts 8 weather picture cards (rain, snow, sun, wind, etc.) into the season(s) they most often happen in.

Assessment: Child names all 4 seasons in order and states 1 accurate weather pattern for each.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will observe and describe at least 2 signs that fall is happening (leaves changing color, cooler air, shorter days).

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to NGSS K-ESS2-1 (use and share observations of local weather/seasonal conditions to describe patterns over time)

Materials: Real or paper leaves in different fall colors, magnifying glass (optional), drawing paper

Warm-up: Take a short walk or look out the window to spot any leaves that have changed color or fallen.

Main Activity: 1) Examine several leaves, noting color, shape, and texture with a magnifying glass. 2) Discuss that less sunlight and cooler temperatures in fall cause many trees' leaves to change color and fall. 3) Sort leaves by color into groups.

Practice: Child creates a leaf rubbing or drawing and labels 2 observed changes (color, size).

Assessment: Child states 2 accurate signs of fall observed today without prompting.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will describe how the amount of sunlight affects how warm or cool a surface feels.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to NGSS K-PS3-1 (make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth's surface)

Materials: Two same-color rocks or dark surfaces, one placed in direct sun and one in shade for 15+ minutes beforehand, thermometer (optional)

Warm-up: Ask the child to predict which spot outside feels warmer — sunny or shady — and why.

Main Activity: 1) Touch the rock/surface that sat in the sun and the one that sat in the shade; compare how warm each feels. 2) Discuss that direct sunlight warms surfaces more than shade. 3) Connect this to seasons: summer days have more direct/longer sunlight (warmer), winter days have less (cooler).

Practice: Child predicts and tests one more pair of surfaces (light-colored vs. dark-colored) in the sun, comparing warmth.

Assessment: Child explains in their own words why sunny spots feel warmer than shady spots.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will describe at least 2 ways animals prepare for or respond to seasonal changes (growing thicker fur, storing food, migrating).

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to NGSS K-LS1-1 (use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals need to survive)

Materials: Picture cards of animals in different seasons (squirrel gathering acorns, bird flying south, rabbit with winter coat), drawing paper

Warm-up: Ask, "What do you do differently when it gets cold outside?" and connect to how animals also change their behavior.

Main Activity: 1) Discuss squirrels gathering and storing acorns for winter food. 2) Discuss birds migrating to warmer places, and animals like rabbits growing thicker fur. 3) Connect these behaviors to the animals' basic needs (food, shelter, staying warm) discussed in Week 1.

Practice: Child draws one animal preparing for winter and labels the action (gathering, migrating, growing fur).

Assessment: Child names 2 ways animals prepare for seasonal change without prompting.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will use a simple weather tool to gather and describe one weather observation.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to NGSS K-2-ETS1-1 (ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change, to define a simple problem that can be solved through development of a new or improved object or tool)

Materials: An outdoor or classroom thermometer, a homemade wind sock/streamer (paper strips taped to a stick), weather journal

Warm-up: Ask, "How could we find out exactly how warm or windy it is today, without just guessing?"

Main Activity: 1) Introduce the thermometer and read the temperature together outside. 2) Hold up the homemade wind streamer to observe and describe wind strength (still, light breeze, strong wind). 3) Record both readings in the weather journal.

Practice: Child predicts tomorrow's temperature and wind based on today's reading and checks the sky for clues.

Assessment: Child correctly reads and reports today's temperature and wind observation using the tools.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will explain that different places in the world can experience different seasons or weather at the same time.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to C3 Framework D2.Geo.4.K-2 (explain how weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics affect people's lives in a place or region)

Materials: World map or globe, pictures of people in summer clothing and winter clothing from different regions

Warm-up: Ask, "Do you think it's fall everywhere in the world right now?"

Main Activity: 1) Point to your home region on the map/globe and identify the current season. 2) Point to 1–2 other regions and compare weather. 3) Discuss how people dress and live differently depending on their region's weather.

Practice: Child matches clothing pictures to the region/season they best fit.

Assessment: Child explains in one sentence why people in different places might dress differently at the same time of year.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will describe how farmers' work changes in the fall and why harvest season matters to a community.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to C3 Framework D2.Eco.6.K-2 (explain how people earn income by producing goods and services people want, such as farmers growing and harvesting food)

Materials: Pictures of fall crops (pumpkins, apples, corn), a small basket of real or play fall produce

Warm-up: Ask, "What foods do you think grow in the fall?"

Main Activity: 1) Introduce 3 fall crops and discuss how farmers plant, tend, and harvest them. 2) Discuss why harvest time is a busy, important season for farming communities. 3) Connect to Week 1's farmer/grocer helpers.

Practice: Child sorts pictures into "grown in fall" and "grown other times" categories, explaining reasoning.

Assessment: Child names 2 fall crops and explains why farmers are especially busy in autumn.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will locate today's date on a calendar and identify which month and season it falls in.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to C3 Framework D2.His.1.K-2 (create a chronological sequence of multiple related events)

Materials: A monthly calendar (printed or wall calendar), marker or sticker for today's date

Warm-up: Sing the "Days of the Week" song together.

Main Activity: 1) Show the calendar and identify the current month, week, and today's date. 2) Discuss how months group together into the season we're in now. 3) Count how many days are left until the next month begins.

Practice: Child marks today's date with a sticker and names the day of the week, month, and season aloud.

Assessment: Child correctly states today's day, month, and season without help.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will describe one family tradition and compare it to how a grandparent or older relative celebrated it.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to C3 Framework D2.His.2.K-2 (compare life in the past to life in the present)

Materials: Family photos (if available) or drawings, paper, crayons

Warm-up: Ask, "What is something special your family does every fall or every year?"

Main Activity: 1) Discuss one family tradition (a fall festival, a recipe, a game). 2) If possible, ask an older family member how they celebrated a similar tradition growing up. 3) Compare the two versions — what's the same, what's different.

Practice: Child draws a picture of their family tradition and dictates one sentence about how it might have looked long ago.

Assessment: Child states one similarity and one difference between their tradition and a past generation's version.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will describe at least 2 ways community members prepare for colder weather ahead.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to C3 Framework D2.Civ.6.K-2 (describe how communities work together to accomplish tasks and fulfill roles of authority)

Materials: Picture cards showing winter-prep activities (raking leaves, stacking firewood, sealing windows, stocking a food pantry)

Warm-up: Ask, "What do we do at home to get ready when it starts getting cold?"

Main Activity: 1) Discuss 3–4 ways families and communities prepare for winter (gathering firewood, weatherproofing homes, food banks stocking up). 2) Discuss which community helpers are involved in each. 3) Brainstorm one way the child's own family could help prepare.

Practice: Child draws one winter-prep activity their family could do and dictates a caption.

Assessment: Child names 2 accurate ways a community prepares for winter.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will describe how the illustrations in a fall/season story help tell what is happening.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7 (with prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear)

Materials: A picture book about fall or the changing seasons, sticky notes

Warm-up: Look at the cover illustration and predict what season the story is about and why.

Main Activity: 1) Read the story aloud, pausing on 3–4 pages to discuss what the illustration shows that the words don't say directly. 2) Ask, "How do you know it's fall in this picture?" pointing to visual clues. 3) Discuss how illustrations add information to a story.

Practice: Child picks one illustration and describes 2 things it shows beyond the words on the page.

Assessment: Child correctly identifies 2 visual season clues from the book's illustrations when asked.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will identify the main topic of an informational text about seasons and retell 2 key details.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.2 (with prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text)

Materials: A simple nonfiction book or printed passage about the seasons

Warm-up: Look at the title and cover; predict what the book will teach.

Main Activity: 1) Read the nonfiction text aloud, pausing to name the main topic (the four seasons). 2) After reading, ask the child to state 2–3 facts (key details) learned. 3) Discuss how nonfiction books give true facts, unlike Monday's fiction story.

Practice: Child draws one fact learned from the book and dictates a labeling sentence.

Assessment: Child states the main topic and 2 accurate key details without prompting.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will identify at least 1 similarity and 1 difference between two texts on the topic of seasons.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.9 (with prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic)

Materials: Monday's fiction fall story and Tuesday's nonfiction seasons book, a simple T-chart drawn on paper

Warm-up: Recall the topic/main character of each book read this week.

Main Activity: 1) Revisit both books briefly. 2) Fill in the T-chart together: what's the same and what's different. 3) Discuss which book gave more "real" information.

Practice: Child states one new thing learned by comparing the two books.

Assessment: Child names 1 similarity and 1 difference between the two books independently.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will distinguish between a storybook and a poem about the seasons, noting at least 1 difference.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.5 (recognize common types of texts, e.g., storybooks and poems)

Materials: A short, simple poem about fall or the seasons (read aloud or printed), one of this week's storybooks

Warm-up: Clap the rhythm of a nursery rhyme to notice rhyme and pattern.

Main Activity: 1) Read the season poem aloud, pointing out rhyming words and its short-line format. 2) Compare it to the storybook's format (paragraphs, longer sentences, a plot). 3) Discuss that poems often rhyme and sound musical, while stories tell a series of events.

Practice: Child claps out the rhyming words in the poem and names 1 word that rhymes with another.

Assessment: Child correctly identifies which of two texts shown is the "poem" and which is the "story."

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will describe their favorite season and connect it to a detail from a text read this week, using complete sentences.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.4 (describe familiar people, places, things, and events with prompting and support, provide additional detail)

Materials: This week's books, drawing paper, crayons

Warm-up: Ask, "Which season did we read about this week that you liked best, and why?"

Main Activity: 1) Revisit favorite pages/facts from the week's books. 2) Child states their favorite season and gives 2 reasons, connecting to something read this week. 3) Practice speaking in complete sentences with full detail.

Practice: Child draws their favorite season and dictates 2–3 sentences describing it, referencing the week's reading.

Assessment: Child shares their favorite-season description with a family member using at least 2 complete sentences with detail.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will read, build, and spell 4 words with the ending blend -st with 80% accuracy.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.d, RF.K.3 (isolate/pronounce phonemes; know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills)

Materials: Letter tiles (n, e, s, t, b, f, i, l), whiteboard or paper, this week's word list: nest, best, fist, list

Warm-up: Practice blending the /s/ and /t/ sounds together quickly (s-t, s-t) before adding them to words.

Main Activity: 1) Model building "nest" with letter tiles, sounding out each phoneme (/n/ /e/ /s/ /t/) and blending. 2) Child builds "best," "fist," and "list" the same way. 3) Child writes each word on paper, saying each sound while writing.

Practice: Child reads all 4 words aloud from flashcards, then uses one in a sentence tied to the fall theme ("A bird built a nest").

Assessment: Parent says a word aloud; child spells it correctly using letter tiles for 3 of 4 words.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will read, build, and spell 4 words with the ending blend -nd with 80% accuracy.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.d, RF.K.3

Materials: Letter tiles (h, a, n, d, s, l, b), paper, word list: hand, sand, land, band

Warm-up: Practice blending /n/ and /d/ together quickly before adding to words.

Main Activity: 1) Model building and blending "hand." 2) Child builds "sand," "land," and "band," sounding out and blending each. 3) Write each word on paper while saying each sound.

Practice: Child sorts this week's -st and -nd words into two piles by their ending blend.

Assessment: Child spells 3 of 4 dictated -nd words correctly.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will read, build, and spell 4 words containing the digraph "sh" with 80% accuracy.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3 (know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words)

Materials: Letter tiles (s, h, e, d, w, i, f, p), paper, word list: shed, wish, fish, ship

Warm-up: Practice the /sh/ sound in isolation (quiet "shhh") before hearing it in words.

Main Activity: 1) Explain that "s" and "h" together make one new sound, /sh/, and model building "shed." 2) Child builds "wish," "fish," and "ship," treating "sh" as one sound-unit. 3) Write each word, saying /sh/ as one sound while writing both letters.

Practice: Child illustrates one word (fish) and labels the drawing with the spelled word.

Assessment: Child spells 3 of 4 dictated "sh" words correctly.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will read and spell 4 high-frequency sight words automatically.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.c (read common high-frequency words by sight)

Materials: Sight word flashcards (they, have, said, was), letter tiles, paper

Warm-up: "Word blitz" — flash each sight word card for 2 seconds; child says it as fast as possible.

Main Activity: 1) Introduce each sight word, noting it must be memorized rather than sounded out. 2) Child builds each word with letter tiles while saying the letter names aloud. 3) Practice reading each word in a theme sentence ("They said it was cold.").

Practice: Child writes each sight word from memory 2 times on paper.

Assessment: Child reads all 4 sight word cards correctly within 3 seconds each.

Objective: Simplified, hands-on version: Student will correctly spell 6 of the week's 10 target words from dictation.

Standard: Early Learning Guidelines (pre-K readiness) — informal precursor to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.b, RF.K.3

Materials: Paper, pencil, this week's full word list (nest, best, fist, list, hand, sand, land, band, shed, wish, fish, ship, they, have, said, was — parent selects 10)

Warm-up: Reread all flashcards made this week as a quick fluency check.

Main Activity: 1) Parent says each of 10 words slowly, one at a time. 2) Child sounds out and writes each word (sight words recalled from memory). 3) Review together, sounding out and correcting any misspelled words.

Practice: Child rereads their finished list aloud, self-correcting any missed words.

Assessment: Score the mini dictation: 6 or more of 10 words spelled correctly meets the weekly goal.