Lesson 21: -s /z/
Overview
Focus: Ending -s that says /z/
Graphemes and Heart Words
New grapheme: none (practice lesson)
New heart words: none
Heart words so far: the, I, and, a, said, to, do, of, see
No longer heart words: is, as
Notes
No longer heart words from this lesson: is and as. s says /z/. The child can now sound them out. If they still appear on a heart word page, praise the child for decoding.
Word List
Words: moms, nags, pegs, tabs, dabs, digs, bins, nods, gags, puns, dims, begs, pins, pugs, bags, pads, mums, fans, pans, sags, tubs, tub, tug, mug, mud, bud, bus, bug, bugs, dogs, dog, dig, dips
Made-up words (✱): dobs, fubs, neds, tigs, mubs, mebs
Sentences
- A cup of mud.
- I see a cat.
- Ben can see a bug.
- I see a big bus.
- The pugs dig in the mud.
- Dad tugs on the tags.
- The moms sit in the cabs.
Parent guide: what to say for each slide
Use only previously taught letters and sounds during review. Have paper, a marker, and letter tiles ready. Slashes mean say the sound. Today’s Practice develops fluency with known letters; New Concept introduces a new sound pattern. During sentence dictation, show the goose and read the sentence aloud. Reveal the sentence only after writing.
Slide 1 — Welcome to Lesson 21
SAY
Today we’ll practice reading words that end with s, where the s says /z/. There is no new letter or new heart word today.
LISTEN FOR
Gets ready.
PARENT TIP
Have your letter tiles ready for the word building 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.
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 n
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/n/
PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.
Slide 9 — 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 10 — 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 11 — Visual drill e
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/ĕ/
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. Set out an s tile as well.
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 tub, bug, dog.
LISTEN FOR
tub: /t/ /ŭ/ /b/; bug: /b/ /ŭ/ /g/; dog: /d/ /ŏ/ /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: -s ending /z/
SAY
We know the ending -s. Sometimes it sounds like a buzz: /z/. Listen to dog, dogs; bug, bugs; tub, tubs. Your voice keeps buzzing for this ending. Now we’ll read sentences with this ending.
LISTEN FOR
Says /z/ at the end of dogs, bugs, and tubs.
PARENT TIP
Teach this sound here, after the review and before sentence reading.
Slide 19 — Sentence 1
SAY
Touch under each word and read the sentence.
LISTEN FOR
Dad tugs on the tags.
PARENT TIP
Let your child sound out any word they need to, then read the whole sentence smoothly. The s at the end of tugs and tags says /z/.
Slide 20 — Sentence 2
SAY
Touch under each word and read the sentence.
LISTEN FOR
The pugs dig in the mud.
PARENT TIP
Let your child sound out any word they need to, then read the whole sentence smoothly. The s at the end of pugs says /z/.
Slide 21 — Sentence dictation — listen and write
SAY
Listen to this sentence: The moms sit in the cabs. Say the whole sentence back to me. Now write it.
LISTEN FOR
The moms sit in the cabs.
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 22 — Sentence reveal and check
SAY
Now let’s check the sentence you wrote. Read your writing, then compare it with this sentence.
LISTEN FOR
The moms sit in the cabs.
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 23 — Good Bye
SAY
Great work today. See you next time.
LISTEN FOR
Your child saying goodbye.
Slide 24 — Copyright
Adult information only. No child-facing script is needed; you may skip this slide during teaching.
Workbook Pages
Alphabet tic-tac-toe
Do: Play with a partner. Each player picks a letter you know and writes it in a Player box. Take turns writing your letter in a square. Say its sound each time. Get three in a row to win.
If stuck: "What sound does your letter make?" Have the child say the sound every time they write it.
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 review
Do: Read each sentence. Circle every heart word. At the bottom, count how many times you found each heart word and write the number in its box.
If stuck: "Is this a heart word, or can we sound it out?" Say it, spell it aloud, read it again.
Roll and read
Do: Roll a die. Find the column with the same dots and read the next word in it. Keep rolling until every word is read. The ✱ row has made-up words.
If stuck: Point to the letter they missed: "Check this sound." Then "Say the sounds, now blend them fast."
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: dogs → dog → dig → digs → dips → dims.
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 /s/ for every ending s. Let the child feel the throat buzz for /z/.
- Now is and as can be sounded out; praise the child for noticing.
Game: Buzz or Hiss
Materials
- Index cards or paper strips for the word cards
- Marker
- Optional: a picture of a snake and a picture of a bee to show which sound is which
Word cards
Hiss (s says /s/): maps, taps, cats, cups, pots
Buzz (s says /z/): bags, tubs, pads, dogs, digs, pins
How to play
- Mix up the word cards and turn them face down.
- The child flips a card and reads the word.
- If the s at the end says /s/, they hiss. If it says /z/, they buzz.
- Keep going until every card has been read.
Tip
Have the child put a hand on their throat. The buzz makes it vibrate and the hiss does not.