Lesson 9: n /n/

Overview

Focus: n as in nest; heart word is

Graphemes and Heart Words

New grapheme: n /n/

New heart words: is

Heart words so far: the, I, and, a

Letter Formation Cues

Big N: Line down. Back to the top, slant down. Line up.

Small n: Line down from the middle. Back up, hump down.

Say while modeling: "This is n. It says /n/." Have the child say the sound each time they write the letter.

Word List

Words: nap, sap, fin, nip, in, it, pin, pit, tin, tip, if, at, mat, sat, tat, pat, sit, sip

Made-up words (✱): nit, nim, mip, min, fim, mim

Sentences

  • It is in.
  • Tim is at the mat.
  • A pin is in the tin.
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 9

SAY
Today we’ll practice our sounds and learn n. Then we’ll read words and sentences together.

LISTEN FOR
Gets ready.

PARENT TIP
Have the known letter tiles and n ready. Introduce n 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 /n/ 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 m

SAY
What sound does this letter spell?

LISTEN FOR
/m/

PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.

Slide 8 — Visual drill t

SAY
What sound does this letter spell?

LISTEN FOR
/t/

PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.

Slide 9 — Visual drill p

SAY
What sound does this letter spell?

LISTEN FOR
/p/

PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.

Slide 10 — Visual drill f

SAY
What sound does this letter spell?

LISTEN FOR
/f/

PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.

Slide 11 — 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 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 pat, pit, sip.

LISTEN FOR
pat: /p/ /ă/ /t/; pit: /p/ /ĭ/ /t/; sip: /s/ /ĭ/ /p/.

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
Today we are learning a new letter and its sound.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

Slide 19 — Meet n

SAY
This is uppercase N and lowercase n. The letter n spells /n/. Say the sound with me.

LISTEN FOR
/n/

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 n

SAY
These letters look a little different, but they are all n. Can you find a capital one? Can you find a lowercase one? They can all spell /n/.

LISTEN FOR
Points to uppercase and lowercase forms; says /n/.

PARENT TIP
Use this as letter recognition practice. There is no need to name every font or trace every example.

Slide 21 — N is a consonant

SAY
N is a consonant. Say /n/ and notice your mouth. The tip of your tongue touches behind your top teeth, and your voice is on. Feel your throat with your hand.

LISTEN FOR
Says /n/ with the voice on.

PARENT TIP
Use the mouth picture to model the sound. /n/ is a voiced sound, so your child should feel a buzz when a hand rests on the throat. Say the sound only, without adding an “uh”.

Slide 22 — N at the beginning

SAY
Listen for /n/ at the beginning of the word. Net. Nut. Say each word and tell me the first sound.

LISTEN FOR
/n/ at the start of net and nut.

PARENT TIP
Stretch the first sound, like nnnet and nnnut, then say the whole word. Stay on the beginning sound only.

Slide 23 — N at the end

SAY
Now listen for /n/ at the end of a word. Pin. What sound do you hear last?

LISTEN FOR
/n/ at the end of pin.

PARENT TIP
Say the word slowly and let the last sound linger. If your child says /p/, repeat it and have them tap three fingers, one for each sound.

Slide 24 — Blend with n

SAY
Let’s blend. Say each sound, then slide them together to read the word.

LISTEN FOR
Blends the sounds smoothly into a word.

PARENT TIP
Point under each letter as your child says its sound, then sweep your finger under the whole word. The word on the slide is built from the tiles shown.

Slide 25 — Write lowercase n

SAY
Watch how to write the lowercase n. Now you try. Say /n/ as you write it.

LISTEN FOR
Says /n/ while writing.

PARENT TIP
Follow the animation's starting dot and stroke direction. Pause or replay as needed. Paper or a whiteboard both work.

Slide 26 — Write uppercase N

SAY
Watch how to write the uppercase N. Now you try. Say /n/ as you write it.

LISTEN FOR
Says /n/ while writing.

PARENT TIP
Follow the animation's starting dot and stroke direction. Pause or replay as needed. Paper or a whiteboard both work.

Slide 27 — 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 28 — Heart word: is

SAY
This is the word is. Say the word with me: is. Look at the letters and say the word again.

LISTEN FOR
Reads or repeats the word is.

PARENT TIP
Have your child point to each letter, say the word, and write it once. Revisit this word during the sentences that follow.

Slide 29 — Reading

SAY
Now we will read sentences using the sounds and words we learned.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

Slide 30 — Sentence 1

SAY
Let’s read this sentence together. Say the sounds, blend the words, then read it smoothly.

LISTEN FOR
It is in.

PARENT TIP
The word is is a heart word. Help with it if needed. Point under each word as your child reads.

Slide 31 — Sentence 2

SAY
Let’s read this sentence. Take your time and sound out each word.

LISTEN FOR
Tim is at the mat.

PARENT TIP
The words is and the are heart words. Help with them if needed. Point under each word as your child reads.

Slide 32 — Sentence dictation — listen and write

SAY
Listen to this sentence: A pin is in the tin. Say the whole sentence back to me. Now write it.

LISTEN FOR
A pin is in the tin.

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 33 — Sentence reveal and check

SAY
Now let’s check the sentence you wrote. Read your writing, then compare it with this sentence.

LISTEN FOR
A pin is in the tin.

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 34 — Good Bye

SAY
Great work today. We learned the letter n and the sound /n/. See you next time.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

PARENT TIP
Praise the effort. Come back to n and the words from today whenever you have a spare minute.

Slide 35 — Copyright

Adult information only. No child-facing script is needed; you may skip this slide during teaching.

Workbook Pages

Letter formation

Do: Trace the big and small N and n. Circle the best one in each row. Say /n/ 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.

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 first 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 start?"

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."

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: tat → pat → pit → sit → sip → tip.

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

  • Mixing up n and m.
  • Nasal a (an, am) is taught in Lesson 11, so words like fan and man are left out on purpose.

Game: Noodle Necklace

Materials

  • Uncooked tube pasta, such as penne or ziti
  • Cardstock
  • Scissors
  • Hole punch
  • Marker
  • Yarn or string
  • Tape (to stiffen the tip of the string)

Get ready

Cut the cardstock into small "gems." Write one letter on each gem, and make a lot of n's. Make some gems with other letters too. Punch a hole in each gem. Wrap a little tape around one end of the string so it threads easily.

How to play

  1. Mix the noodles and the gems together in a pile.
  2. The child strings only the noodles and the gems that say n.
  3. Each time an n goes on the necklace, the child says /n/.
  4. The other letter gems stay in the pile.
  5. Tie the ends when the necklace is full.

Note for the grown-up

The pieces are small and the pasta is hard, so stay close with little ones.