Lesson 29: j /j/
Overview
Focus: j as in jet; heart word was
Graphemes and Heart Words
New grapheme: j /j/
New heart words: was
Heart words so far: the, I, a, said, to, do, of, see, he, be, me, from, look, book, are
No longer heart words: and, is, as
Letter Formation Cues
Big J: Line down, hook left. Line across the top.
Small j: Line down from the middle, below the bottom line, hook left. Dot on top.
Say while modeling: "This is j. It says /j/." Have the child say the sound each time they write the letter.
Word List
Words: jam, ham, jet, wet, jug, jump, just, must, jog, fog, jab, job, jig, jut, jest, rust, runt, rent, rest, nest, west, went, lent, lug, slug, plug
Made-up words (✱): jeb, jup, jod, jom, jud, jop
Sentences
- It was a big jet.
- Jen can jump on the bed.
- I was just a bit mad.
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 29
SAY
Today we’ll learn a new letter, j, and the sound it makes. We’ll also learn a new heart word, was. Then we’ll read sentences together.
LISTEN FOR
Gets ready.
PARENT TIP
Have the known letter tiles and j ready.
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 /ă/ /t/? Now /s/ /ă/ /t/. Now /s/ /ĭ/ /p/. Now /p/ /ă/ /t/.
LISTEN FOR
at; sat; sip; pat.
PARENT TIP
Parent-supplied prompts for the ear picture. These words use letters already taught. Do not introduce j 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 sip. Tell me its sounds. Now do sap. Now do mat.
LISTEN FOR
sip: /s/ /ĭ/ /p/; sap: /s/ /ă/ /p/; mat: /m/ /ă/ /t/.
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 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 8 — Visual drill h
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/h/
PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.
Slide 9 — Visual drill r
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/r/
PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.
Slide 10 — Visual drill l
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/l/
PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.
Slide 11 — Visual drill w
SAY
What sound does this letter spell?
LISTEN FOR
/w/
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 wet, wig, wag.
LISTEN FOR
wet: /w/ /ĕ/ /t/; wig: /w/ /ĭ/ /g/; wag: /w/ /ă/ /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 j
SAY
This is uppercase J and lowercase j. The letter j spells /j/. Say the sound with me.
LISTEN FOR
/j/
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 j
SAY
These letters look a little different, but they are all j. Can you find a capital one? Can you find a lowercase one? They can all spell /j/.
LISTEN FOR
Points to uppercase and lowercase forms; says /j/.
PARENT TIP
Use this as letter recognition practice. There is no need to name every font or trace every example.
Slide 21 — J is a Consonant
SAY
Look at the mouth picture for /j/. Say it with me: /j/.
LISTEN FOR
Says /j/ while watching the mouth picture.
PARENT TIP
The icon shows that /j/ is a voiced sound. Have your child touch their throat: there is a buzz.
Slide 22 — Beginning sound
SAY
Jam starts with /j/. Say the first sound with me.
LISTEN FOR
Says /j/ for jam.
PARENT TIP
Point to the j at the start of the word.
Slide 23 — Blend the sounds
SAY
Point to each letter and say its sound: /j/ /ĕ/ /t/. Now blend them together and read the word.
LISTEN FOR
jet
PARENT TIP
Slide your finger under the letters from left to right as your child says each sound.
Slide 24 — Write lowercase j
SAY
Watch how to write small j. Line down from the middle, below the bottom line, hook left. Dot on top. Now you try. Say /j/ each time you write it.
LISTEN FOR
Writes j and says /j/.
PARENT TIP
Have your child say the sound each time they write the letter.
Slide 25 — Write uppercase J
SAY
Watch how to write big J. Line down, hook left. Line across the top. Now you try.
LISTEN FOR
Writes J and says /j/.
PARENT TIP
Let your child trace in the air first if that helps.
Slide 26 — Heart Words
SAY
Some words do not follow the sounds we know yet. We learn them by heart.
LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.
Slide 27 — Heart word: was
SAY
This is the word was. Say the word with me: was. Look at the letters and say the word again.
LISTEN FOR
Reads or repeats the word was.
PARENT TIP
Have your child point to each letter, say the word, and write it once. Watch for reading was as /wăs/. Revisit this word during the sentences that follow.
Slide 28 — Reading
SAY
Now we are going to read some sentences.
LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.
Slide 29 — Sentence 1
SAY
Read this sentence. Sound out any word you need to.
LISTEN FOR
It was a big jet.
PARENT TIP
Point to each word as your child reads. Was and a are heart words. Celebrate the effort.
Slide 30 — Sentence 2
SAY
Read this sentence. Sound out any word you need to.
LISTEN FOR
Jen can jump on the bed.
PARENT TIP
Jen starts with a capital letter because it is a name. The is a heart word. Celebrate the effort.
Slide 31 — Sentence dictation — listen and write
SAY
Listen to this sentence: I was just a bit mad. Say the whole sentence back to me. Now write it.
LISTEN FOR
I was just a bit mad.
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 32 — Sentence reveal and check
SAY
Now let’s check the sentence you wrote. Read your writing, then compare it with this sentence.
LISTEN FOR
I was just a bit mad.
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 33 — Good Bye
SAY
Great job today! We learned the letter j, the sound /j/, and the heart word was.
LISTEN FOR
Says /j/ when shown j.
PARENT TIP
Celebrate the effort. Keep practice short and positive.
Slide 34 — 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 J and j. Circle the best one in each row. Say /j/ 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: Cut out the letter cards. Glue every J and j under ✓, even when it looks different. Glue the letters that are not j under ✗.
Missing sound
Do: Name the picture. Say the word slowly and listen for the last 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 at the end?"
New heart word
Do: Read the heart word. The ♡ marks the part to remember. Trace it, fill in the missing letters, color it (the ♡ part in red, the rest any color), write it, then circle it every time you find it.
Say: "This is a heart word. Most of it follows the sounds we know. The heart shows the part we learn by heart."
If stuck: "Which part can we sound out? Which part has the heart, the part we remember?"
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."
Reading fluency
Do: Read the heart words, then the phrases, then the sentences. Tick each sentence box after reading it. Read the page again the next day and listen for smoother reading.
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: job → jog → jug → lug → slug → plug.
If stuck: "What changed? Which sound is different from the word before?"
Dictation
Do: Read each sentence from the Teacher's Guide two times. The child says it back, counts the words on their fingers, then writes it on the lines. Check for a capital letter, spaces between words, and an end mark.
Say: Dictate: 1. "It was a big jet." 2. "Jen can jump on the bed."
Watch For
- Confusing j and g in writing (both have a tail).
- Reading was as /wăs/.
Game: Jump from the Jar
Materials
- A jar or bowl
- Word cards: jam, jet, jog, jug, job, jab
How to play
- Put the word cards in the jar.
- The learner pulls one out and reads the word, saying /j/ at the start.
- Then they jump once for each sound in the word. Jam has three sounds, so three jumps.
- Put the card on the table. Keep going until the jar is empty.
Word list
jam, jet, jog, jug, job, jab