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Play the "Magic Squares" Game

Welcome back to Read Not Guess. Today is a review day. We’ll practice blending some words and then give you a game to help your child practice what they're learning.


Ok, let’s get started.


Letters and Sounds Quiz


We’ve worked through all the letters plus some combination sounds so far. Now let’s check for understanding. Ask your child to say the correct sounds as they point to the letters:


y

p

qu

j

r

f


Did they get them right? If not, have them keep trying until they say the sound clearly and cleanly.


Word Practice


We’re going to work on blending sounds into words. Your child can start slowly by saying each sound individually, but each time, they should try to say it just a bit faster.


Let’s start with this one:


J a ck

J ack

Jack


And:


J e ff

J eff

Jeff


And:


v e x

v ex

vex


And:


t u ck

t uck

tuck


Now add the “s” sound at the beginning:


st u ck

st uck

stuck


Did they get it right? If they're still reading it as "sss-tuh-uh-cuh" at the end, ask them to do it faster until they are reading the word "stuck" clearly and cleanly. Let’s do a few more:


l o ck

l ock

lock


Now add a "b" sound at the beginning:


bl o ck

bl ock

block


And:


n e ck

n eck

neck


And:


p e ck

p eck

peck


Magic Squares Game


Try playing the “Magic Squares” game with your child. All you need is a sheet of paper and a pen or pencil.


Using the pen or pencil, divide the paper into nine boxes. Then write a vowel sound in the middle, surrounded by consonants or other combination sounds like “sh” or “th.”


You can pick any letters or sounds that you want, but your paper should look something like this:

p

m

n

st

a

ck

b

j

ll

Take turns making words by combining the letters and sounds. Using the example box above, you might point to the “p,” “a,” and “n” boxes to make the word “pan.”


How many words can your child make? Can they make 5? How about 10?


If they run out of words to make with this page, make a new one with a different vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u) or other sounds they need more practice on.


That’s it for today. See you next time!

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