Picture
a
This is the Sound Picture for the /a/ sound.
Click here!
Sound Sign
This is the Sound Sign for the /a/ sound, as in the word, “apple.”
To see how Sound Signs work (and why they’re important to reading and spelling fluency), go to the Before you Begin page for Basic Code Level 1.
These are the video lessons for the /a/ sound. Watch all the videos with your child, then use the next tabs to get your activity pages, games, and more…
Click on the button above to download the page. On this page, you’ll find multiple pictures of the Sound Picture. These can be used for games (Memory Game), Lead Cards, or in any other way, to learn the Sound Picture.
Print the page on labels for a sticky-backed version to place on a card; print the page alone, to cut out and glue the Sound Pictures onto cards.
STUDENT VIDEO 1: The /a/ Sound
STUDENT VIDEO 2: The /a/ Sound Picture
STUDENT VIDEO 3: Drawing the Picture for the /a/ Sound
The Hearing & Seeing activities help your child read and spell confidently by developing the foundational domains of auditory discrimination (“hearing sounds correctly”) and visual discrimination (“seeing the Sound Pictures correctly”).
To download the pages, click the buttons to the right of the title.
Hearing (Auditory Discrimination)
Auditory Discrimination is the ability to recognize, compare, and distinguish between distinct and separate sounds.
PARENT/TEACHER VIDEO: Auditory Discrimination
Seeing (Visual Discrimination)
Visual Discrimination is the ability to recognize and distinguish the differences between different letters and letter combinations (Sound Pictures).
PARENT/TEACHER VIDEO: Visual Discrimination
To read more about auditory and visual discrimination (and why it’s important), go to the Before you Begin page for Basic Code Level 1.
Pages
The pages here are more than just “using paper and pen.” Every page is an activity using the child’s senses: the eyes (see it), mouth (say it), ears (hear it), hands (touch it and/or draw it), and body movement (move it and/or move the body). Using the senses helps your child learn faster. Sensory learning creates stronger memory and recall of what’s learned. And because the pages are fun, your child stays with the activity longer. Your child gets a good feeling about reading.
Complete the pages in order. Instructions are on the pages. To download the pages, click the buttons to the right of the title.
You’ll find a number of how-to videos in this first lesson. Please note, after the first couple of lessons, many of the how-to videos will not be on the page. You can always return to these first lessons to refresh your memory on how to use the pages.
Supplies for this lesson’s pages: letter stamp, inkpad, blank 3×5 cards, scissors, glue stick, ~ 40 hands-on manipulatives or tokens, seven (7) spring-loaded clothespins or large paper clips, highlighter marker, popsicle sticks, a blank notebook, and medium-tip marker.
Stamp Pages
- Supplies: A letter stamp for “a” and an inkpad
(You can also make letter stamps by cutting the letter shapes backwards into a halved potato.) - Print the pages.
STUDENT VIDEO: How to Use the Stamp Pages
STUDENT VIDEO: Only for Those Already Reading
Labels
- Supplies: Blank Word Cards (3×5 cards cut horizontally in half) and label pages OR scissors and glue stick OR black marker. See below for your options!
- Optional Supplies: Buy/use printer labels.
- For already-made stickers, print the pages onto printer labels. Stick the printed label words onto your blank Word Cards. (Supplies: labels)
- For Easy-Make Word Cards: Print the pages. Cut out the words. With a glue stick, glue the cutout words onto the blank Word Cards. (Supplies: scissors and glue stick)
- Money-Saving Word Cards: Use the pages as a digital guide. Write the words onto blank word cards. (Supplies: black marker)
PARENT/TEACHER VIDEO: Labels
Word Lists
- Supplies: The printed pages; ~ 40 hands-on tokens or manipulatives; a highlighter marker; popsicle sticks, and a medium-tip marker
- Use the lists with the lesson as directed in the video.
PARENT/TEACHER VIDEO: Word Lists
Words in a Row
- Supplies: The printed pages; ~ 40 hands-on tokens or manipulatives; a highlighter marker; eight (8) large paper clips or clothespins
- Use the lists with the lesson as directed in the video.
STUDENT VIDEO: Words in a Row Instructions for All Readers
STUDENT VIDEO: Words in a Row Instructions for Students Already Reading ONLY
Note: If your student has already learned “the alphabet sounds” and you’re here to increase fluency, watch both the first and second videos.
If your student is a new reader, please do not watch the second video and do not attempt reading the words. Only use the pages to 1) increase Sound Picture recognition and speed, 2) reinforce the idea that the Sound Picture is found in words, 3) practice the left-to-right reading motion and placement of words on a page, and 4) train the eye and mind to “look inside the word” before blending a word. Thank you!
To read more about each of the above tasks (and why they’re important), go to the Before you Begin page for Basic Code Level 1.
Games
Games are critical to learning because with games, your child learns more quickly and comprehensively. With games, your child also stays with learning longer, remembers more, and recalls ideas more quickly.
Complete the pages in order. Instructions are on the pages. To download the pages, click the buttons to the right of the title.
You’ll find a number of how-to videos in this first lesson. Please note, after the first couple of lessons, many of the how-to videos will not be on the page. You can always return to these first lessons to refresh your memory on how to play the games.
Supplies for this lesson’s games: letter stamp, inkpad, blank 3×5 cards (cut in half horizontally for Word Cards, and cut in half vertically for a Lead Card), scissors, glue stick, and ~ 40 hands-on manipulatives or tokens.
Game 1: The Flip a Coin Game
The Flip a Coin Game helps your child to identify Sound Pictures quickly.
- Supplies: A hand-held wipe-off board and marker OR paper and pen; a coin (quarter OR plastic coin OR wooden coin OR chocolate coin)
- How to Play: Watch the video, to learn how to play.
STUDENT VIDEO: The Flip a Coin Game
Game 2: The Lead Card Game
The Lead Card Game helps your child with one of the most important skills of reading: “looking inside a word” to identify Sound Pictures before blending and reading the word.
- Supplies: One (1) /a/ Lead Card, at least 12 /a/ Word Cards (more for older children), one token per word card, a marker
- How to Play: Click on the button to the right to download the instructions for the Lead Card game.
STUDENT VIDEO: The Lead Card Game
Game 4: Bingo Game
The Bingo game helps your child quickly identify “the /a/ picture.” This game can be played independently (with one player) or with two or more players. Simply print enough “game cards” for all players.
- Supplies: Click on the button to the right to download the pages for the Bingo game, and use the printed pages, with the dice “already made” and enough markers for all players
- How to Play: Click on the button to the right to download the pages for the Bingo game. Watch the video below with your child.
STUDENT VIDEO: The Bingo Game
Game 5: Tally Mark Game
The Tally Mark Game helps your child quickly identify “the /a/ picture.” This game can be played independently or with two or more players. Simply print enough “tally boards” for all players.
- Supplies: Printed pages (downloaded) with the dice already made and a writing tool (marker/pen/pencil) for each player. For more than one player, each player can have his or her own tally page and writing tool.
- How to Play: Watch the video below with your child.
STUDENT VIDEO: The Tally Mark Game
Resource
Here is a list of all the game materials used in the entire Basic Code Level 1.
To read more about each of the above games (and why they’re important), go to the Before you Begin page for Basic Code Level 1.
Spelling
With True North Reading’s phonological (sound-based) approach, reading and spelling are taught at the same time. Play the spelling games and activities in order.
In Lesson 1, students match individual letters in a word. The “target letter” is the only letter for which the student says the sound (/a/). Students do not memorize spellings; instead, at this point, the child’s learning the basic, foundational concept that words are made of separate Sound Pictures (drawings for a sound), and that a Sound Picture can “live” (be placed) anywhere within a word.
Important! Do not have your child try to read a word!
Choosing Your Words
From the Word List, choose five to ten words (fewer words for younger kids/more words for older kids).
Spelling Puzzles/Spelling in the Blanks
- On a full-sized 3×5 card, draw a horizontal line, to create a “top half” and “bottom half” on the card.
- On the top half of the card, write one of the chosen words (e.g. “man”).
- On the bottom half of the card, directly below the word’s letters, draw “blanks” (underlines) for each of the letters. On the bottom, do not write in the letters. Only write the blank lines (where the letters will “go”).
Here is how the card looks:
m a n
_ _ _
- On a third card, write “man” (the same size) and cut between the individual letters, to make “puzzle pieces.” Mix up the pieces’ order.
- Have your child place the letters “in the right place” (in the blank below its matching Sound Picture) to match the word above. Check for right orientation (the letter’s directional placement is correct).
- For each chosen word, follow the same order of making cards/playing the game.
- For a second and third “play” of the game that increases difficulty, put two cards on the table at a time, and mix the letters from the two cards. If your child is older and up to the challenge, play with three or more cards (up to “all the cards laid out” and “all the letters mixed up.”)
Reading
Reading begins with easily recognizing the Sound Picture and being able to find (and decode) that Sound Picture inside of a word. We’ve already had fun with activities and games that do just that!
Reading Comprehension Using Questioning
This week, read short picture book stories aloud. After every page, ask a question that is directly related to what you just read.
For example, if your page says, “A mouse sat under a tree. He was reading a book,” you might ask…
- Who was sitting under a tree? (The answer would be, “a mouse.”)
- What was the mouse doing under the tree? (The answer would be, “Reading a book.”)
If your child is older and/or the text is longer, you can read more than one page before asking questions.
If you child wants to “talk more about what’s happening” before reading the next page, go for it! Let your child lead the discussion.
For example, your child might say, “Ha! Mice don’t read books!” or “This isn’t a real story because the mouse is reading!” Confirm your student’s correct thinking with positive feedback: “You’re right! Mice don’t read books! Ha!” Then add an idea: “This book is make-believe. In make-believe stories, anything can happen!”
You can also say, “I wonder what the mouse is reading… what do you think?” Asking questions helps your child to think deeply about the text, which is an important part of reading comprehension (beyond a one-to-one correspondence answer).
Suggested Read-Aloud Stories
Try any of Arnold Lobel’s classic books with conversation-starting stories that are perfect for beginning reading comprehension, including Grasshopper on the Road, Owl at Home, and Mouse Soup.
Any of the Little Bear series books by Elise Holmelund Minarik (illustrated by Maurice Sendak) and also great books for learning to think about the deeper meaning behind a text.
In future lessons…we’ll have more activities for reading that include “Marking & Reading.” Right now, if you know the /a/ sound and recognize the /a/ Sound Picture, then move on to Lesson 2!
To learn more about how a child sees/finds, decodes, understands, and reads smoothly from left to right, click here.