Lesson 18: e /ĕ/
Overview
Focus: Short e as in egg
Graphemes and Heart Words
New grapheme: e /ĕ/
New heart words: none
Heart words so far: the, I, and, a, is, as, said, to, do, of
Letter Formation Cues
Big E: Line down. Lines across at the top, middle, and bottom.
Small e: Line across the middle of the space. Curve up, around, and stop.
Say while modeling: "This is e. It says /ĕ/." Have the child say the sound each time they write the letter.
Word List
Words: bed, bad, ad, at, mat, sat, sit, set, net, pet, pen, pin, tin, ten, men, man
Sentences
- Ten men sat.
- Ted is in bed.
- Meg got a pet.
Parent guide: what to say for each slide
Use only previously taught letters and sounds during review before New Concept. Have paper, a marker, and letter tiles ready. Say sounds where slashes appear. For sentence dictation, keep the goose slide showing, read the sentence aloud, and reveal the next slide only after writing.
Slide 1 — Welcome to Lesson 18
SAY
Today we’ll practice our sounds and learn e. Then we’ll read words and sentences together.
LISTEN FOR
Gets ready.
PARENT TIP
Have the known letter tiles and e ready. Introduce e when you reach the New Concept section.
Slide 2 — Blending Practice
SAY
Listen to my sounds. Put them together to tell me the whole word.
LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.
Slide 3 — Listen and blend
SAY
What word is /ĭ/ /t/? Now /s/ /ĭ/ /t/. Now /s/ /ĭ/ /p/. Now /t/ /ĭ/ /p/.
LISTEN FOR
it; sit; sip; tip.
PARENT TIP
Parent-supplied prompts for the ear picture. These words use letters already taught. Do not introduce /ĕ/ during this review.
Slide 4 — Segmenting Practice
SAY
Now listen to a whole word and tell me each sound you hear.
LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.
Slide 5 — Listen and segment
SAY
Say pit. Tell me its sounds. Now do fit. Now do tap.
LISTEN FOR
pit: /p/ /ĭ/ /t/; fit: /f/ /ĭ/ /t/; tap: /t/ /a/ /p/.
PARENT TIP
Parent-supplied prompts for the ear picture. Tap one finger per sound. These three words each have three sounds.
Slide 6 — Visual Drill
SAY
Tell me the sound of each letter as it appears.
LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.
Slide 7 — Visual drill s
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/s/
PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.
Slide 8 — Visual drill i
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/ĭ/
PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.
Slide 9 — Visual drill u
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/ŭ/
PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.
Slide 10 — Visual drill g
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/g/
PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.
Slide 11 — Visual drill b
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/b/
PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.
Slide 12 — Auditory Drill
SAY
Listen, say the sound back, and write the letter that spells it.
LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.
Slide 13 — Listen and write three letters
SAY
Listen to my sound. Say it back, then write the letter that spells it.
LISTEN FOR
/t/ → t; /s/ → s; /p/ → p
PARENT TIP
Give only three sounds, one at a time, in this order: /t/, /s/, /p/. Keep the answer slide hidden until your child has written the letters.
Slide 14 — Check your three letters
SAY
Let’s check your writing. Point to each letter and tell me its sound. Watch how the letter is made, then try it once more.
LISTEN FOR
t, s, p
PARENT TIP
These are the three letters shown. Pause or replay the formation animations as needed.
Slide 15 — Word Building
SAY
Let’s use our known letters to build and read.
LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.
Slide 16 — Get the letter tiles ready
SAY
Put your letter tiles where you can reach them. I’ll say a word. You’ll say the sounds, choose the letters, and read the word you built.
LISTEN FOR
Gets the known letters ready.
PARENT TIP
The board picture is a cue to use your own tiles or letter cards. Use the letters your child has learned; the decorative letters in the picture are not the word list.
Slide 17 — Build words with tiles
SAY
I’ll say a word. Say each sound, choose the letters, and read the word you built. Our review words are gig, pig, dig.
LISTEN FOR
gig: /g/ /ĭ/ /g/; pig: /p/ /ĭ/ /g/; dig: /d/ /ĭ/ /g/.
PARENT TIP
Use only letters and sounds from earlier lessons. Keep today’s new concept out of this review; introduce it in the New Concept section.
Slide 18 — New Concept
SAY
Now we are going to learn a new letter.
LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.
Slide 19 — Meet e
SAY
This is uppercase E and lowercase e. The letter e spells /ĕ/. Say the sound with me.
LISTEN FOR
/ĕ/
PARENT TIP
Point to both letter forms in the supplied paired-letter image. The animated formation practice comes later in this lesson.
Slide 20 — Find different forms of e
SAY
These letters look a little different, but they are all e. Can you find a capital one? Can you find a lowercase one? They can all spell /ĕ/.
LISTEN FOR
Points to uppercase and lowercase forms; says /ĕ/.
PARENT TIP
Use this as letter recognition practice. There is no need to name every font or trace every example.
Slide 21 — E is a Vowel
SAY
Look at how your mouth moves when you say /ĕ/. Say it with me: /ĕ/.
LISTEN FOR
Says /ĕ/ while watching the mouth picture.
PARENT TIP
The speaker icon shows that /ĕ/ is a voiced sound. Point to the mouth shape to help your child keep it different from /ĭ/.
Slide 22 — Beginning sound
SAY
Egg starts with /ĕ/. Say the first sound with me.
LISTEN FOR
Says /ĕ/ for egg.
PARENT TIP
Point to the e at the start of the word. Keep /ĕ/ short, and do not slide into the long e sound (/ē/).
Slide 23 — Blend the sounds
SAY
Point to each letter and say its sound: /p/ /ĕ/ /n/. Now blend them together and read the word.
LISTEN FOR
pen
PARENT TIP
Slide your finger under the letters from left to right as your child says each sound. If your child says pin, point to the mouth shape for /ĕ/.
Slide 24 — Write lowercase e
SAY
Watch how to write small e. Line across the middle of the space. Curve up, around, and stop. Now you try. Say /ĕ/ each time you write it.
LISTEN FOR
Writes e and says /ĕ/.
PARENT TIP
Have your child say the sound each time they write the letter.
Slide 25 — Write uppercase E
SAY
Watch how to write big E. Line down. Lines across at the top, middle, and bottom. Now you try.
LISTEN FOR
Writes E and says /ĕ/.
PARENT TIP
Let your child trace in the air first if that helps.
Slide 26 — Reading
SAY
Now we are going to read some sentences.
LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.
Slide 27 — Sentence 1
SAY
Read this sentence. Sound out any word you need to.
LISTEN FOR
Ten men sat.
PARENT TIP
Point to each word as your child reads. If they say a short i sound in a word with e, point to the mouth shape.
Slide 28 — Sentence 2
SAY
Read this sentence. Sound out any word you need to.
LISTEN FOR
Ted is in bed.
PARENT TIP
Ted starts with a capital letter because it is a name.
Slide 29 — Sentence dictation — listen and write
SAY
Listen to this sentence: Meg got a pet. Say the whole sentence back to me. Now write it.
LISTEN FOR
Meg got a pet.
PARENT TIP
Do not show the sentence before dictating it. Keep the goose-writing cue on screen. Say the sentence twice at a natural pace. Let your child repeat it, write it, and reread their own writing. Check the new concept, capitals, spaces, and punctuation. Then go to the NEXT slide to reveal the sentence and check together.
Slide 30 — Sentence reveal and check
SAY
Now let’s check the sentence you wrote. Read your writing, then compare it with this sentence.
LISTEN FOR
Meg got a pet.
PARENT TIP
This is the first time your child sees the complete dictation sentence. Check the new concept, capitals, spaces, and punctuation. Help with previously taught heart words as needed.
Slide 31 — Good Bye
SAY
Great job today! We learned the letter e and the sound /ĕ/.
LISTEN FOR
Says /ĕ/ when shown e.
PARENT TIP
Celebrate the effort. Keep practice short and positive.
Slide 32 — Copyright
SAY
This slide is for the teacher or parent. There is nothing to read aloud.
LISTEN FOR
Nothing for your child to do here.
Workbook Pages
Letter formation
Do: Trace the big and small E and e. Circle the best one in each row. Say /ĕ/ each time you write it.
If stuck: "Show me where you start." Model once on a whiteboard, then have the child copy it there before the page.
Letter sort
Do: Start at the top left. Draw a line through the boxes with E and e. They look different in every box. You can move up, down, left, or right to reach Finish.
If stuck: "Is it the same letter, just dressed up? Trace it with your finger. What sound does it make?"
Letter fluency
Do: Top: point to each letter and say its sound. Middle: say each letter name. Bottom: circle every big (uppercase) letter and underline every small (lowercase) letter.
Missing sound
Do: Name the picture. Say the word slowly and listen for the middle sound. Circle the letter that makes it, write it in the empty box, then read the word.
If stuck: "Say the picture name slowly. What sound is in the middle?"
Heart word tic-tac-toe
Do: Play with a partner. Each player picks a heart word and writes it in a Player box. Take turns writing your word in a square. Read it each time. Get three in a row to win.
If stuck: "Read your word as you write it." Point out the heart part of the word.
Tic-tac-toe
Do: Play with a partner. Take turns. Read a word out loud. If you read it right, mark it with your X or O. Get three in a row to win. Play the second board next.
If stuck: "Read the word first, then mark it." If a word is read wrong, the other player can try it.
Word ladder
Do: Read the ladder from the bottom up. Only one sound changes each step. Then write the words your grown-up says (Teacher's Guide).
Say: Dictate in order: pen → pin → tin → ten → men → man.
If stuck: "What changed? Which sound is different from the word before?"
Sentence scramble
Do: Read the words in each row. Put them in order to make a sentence. Write the sentence on the line. Check for a capital letter, spaces, and an end mark.
Watch For
- Saying /ĭ/ for e (pin/pen). Some accents merge these; point to the mouth shape.
- Saying the long e (/ē/).
Game: Egg Crack Words
Materials
- Plastic eggs that open (about 8)
- Small slips of paper with one word on each: bed, pet, net, men, ten, set, pen, get
- A basket
How to play
- Put one word slip inside each egg and hide the eggs around the room.
- The learner finds an egg, opens it, and reads the word. They tap out the middle sound: /ĕ/.
- Put the egg in the basket.
- When all the eggs are found, read the whole pile of words again, one after another.
Word list
bed, pet, net, men, ten, set, pen, get