# Ten Foundation/Prep English lessons · Days 41–50

Each lesson takes **25 minutes**. Read adult passages from [MATERIALS.md](MATERIALS.md), and show child-reading print only after its link has been taught. Codes are proposed ACARA v9 Foundation English links, not official approval or proof that one lesson completes a description. Keep a roster with the day's exact exit item, independent/after model/not observed, meaning response and access route. Give one short model and retry **after** recording an independent check.

## Week 9 · Day 41 — The little word a

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLA05, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY14.  
**Goal:** Read **a/A** as an unstressed word meaning one, while keeping short /æ/ in **bag/hat**.  
**Prepare:** familiar letters and object cards, **a bag / a hat / a box; A box.** strips, a safe bag/hat/box or their plain shapes.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Show **bag, hat, box, fish** without pictures. Ask learners to sound through two and note any uncertain older link. Use clean stop sounds.
2. **Meaning before print · 4 min.** Hold up one bag, then two bags. Say “**a bag** means one bag here.” Ask a learner to choose the single object. Do not require number-language speed.
3. **Model the new word · 5 min.** Write the single letter **a** with a space on each side. “The letter name is *ay*. In **bag**, **a** shows /æ/. As the little word before **bag**, we usually say /ə/: **a bag**.” Show capital **A** at the start of **A box.**; it is the same word in a capital form. Do not tell learners every **a** changes sound.
4. **Guide then try · 7 min.** Read **a bag** slowly, then naturally. Guide **a hat**; invite **a box** without object cues. Return to **bag** and **hat** to hear /æ/ inside each word. Show **A box.** as a **caption fragment** under a box picture after decoding; explain that tomorrow they will build a full sentence.
5. **Use and sort · 4 min.** Learners place **a** before one of the taught object words and tell what it labels. Ask “Which **a** is the little word? Which **a** sits inside **bag**?” Take tiles, speech, AAC or pointing.
6. **Exit check · 2 min.** Present **a hat** in a new position. Ask the child to read the little word and then the whole phrase; record the article and noun separately.

**Access routes:** large/tactile separate **a** card, spacing that makes the word boundary visible, real objects or simple shapes after print attempt, digital tiles, quiet private turn, and speech/AAC/pointing. A one-object choice is meaning evidence, not independent reading of **a**.

## Week 9 · Day 42 — is and a checked sentence

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLA05, AC9EFLA09, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY13, AC9EFLY14.  
**Goal:** Read and spell the common word **is** /ɪz/, then verify **A box is on a mat.** against a real setup.  
**Prepare:** an empty safe box on a mat, **is / It / A box is on a mat.** strips, movable letters.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Contrast **a bag** with **bag**; ask for the little-word sound and the vowel inside **bag**. Blend **box** once.
2. **Observe · 4 min.** Put the box **on** the mat. Ask “What can you see? What would be a guess?” Read adult model B's first two sentences aloud. A child can point or use AAC to locate the box.
3. **Model is and It · 5 min.** Say **is** /ɪz/ with print hidden, then reveal **i s**. “We know /ɪ/ for **i**. In this common word, **s** gives /z/. We will learn other /z/ examples later.” Build **It** as capital **I** /ɪ/ plus **t** /t/; the separate word **I** has another pronunciation and is not today's reading word.
4. **Read the checked line · 7 min.** Model **A box is on a mat.** from left to right, touching the article, **is**, and full stop. Guide a second read with the box visible only **after** blending. Ask “Does the line match what we can see?” Move the box off the mat and ask if the same line still matches; restore it.
5. **Encode and reread · 4 min.** Hide **is** and dictate it inside “The box **is** on the mat.” Learners choose/write **i s**, say /ɪz/ and reread. Keep the adult sentence oral-only because **the** is untaught in print.
6. **Exit check · 2 min.** Show **is** by itself, then **A box is on a mat.** Ask for the word and the sentence's main idea; record decoding and meaning separately.

**Access routes:** object/shape placement by learner or partner under direction, enlarged/tactile words, uncluttered strip, keyboard or tiles, quiet reading, speech/AAC/pointing. Do not infer decoding from finding the box in the scene.

## Week 9 · Day 43 — A tiny information page about fish

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLA07, AC9EFLA08, AC9EFLY01, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY14.  
**Goal:** Read two controlled information lines and distinguish a pictured example from a wider source-supported claim.  
**Prepare:** adult information text A, [fish page](fish-fact-page.svg) and its text alternative, four sound boxes, **pond, swim** cards.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Read **a box, is, fish** in mixed order. Ask where the little **a** is a whole word and where **is** has /z/.
2. **Adult-read information · 4 min.** Read *A Fish in Water* aloud; keep its print hidden. Ask “Are all fish exactly alike?” No. Show the Australian Museum source note to the adult/teacher, not as a child decoding page.
3. **Model adjacent sounds · 5 min.** Say **pond** /p/ /ɒ/ /n/ /d/ into four counters and reveal **p o n d**. Then **swim** /s/ /w/ /ɪ/ /m/; both first consonants keep their sound. Do not add a new grapheme value.
4. **Read the page · 7 min.** Show the two child-read lines **A fish is in a pond. A fish can swim.** Blend them left to right. Use careful **can** /kæn/ for decoding, then natural rereading. Reveal the original outline drawing after the attempt. Ask which line tells what the drawing depicts.
5. **Fact and model · 4 min.** “The drawing is an invented example, not a photo of a local fish. The museum background supports that fish are varied and many swim.” Ask what would be needed to claim a **particular local fish** had been seen. Accept an observation or trustworthy record. Do not infer species from the outline.
6. **Exit check · 2 min.** Show **swim** without the picture. Ask for an independent blend, then ask which of the page's two lines says something a fish **can do**. Record word reading and comprehension separately.

**Access routes:** original SVG or exact text alternative, large/tactile **swim** cards, counters, teacher-read source with transcript, audio replay, quiet turn, speech/AAC/pointing/drawing. An image description supports meaning; it does not replace printed-word evidence.

## Week 9 · Day 44 — Make a page with a checkable fact

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLA07, AC9EFLA08, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY06, AC9EFLY13.  
**Goal:** Create a two-line information page whose words and picture match an observation or named source.  
**Prepare:** [page/portfolio mat](page-portfolio-mat.svg), safe box/mat for optional test, fish page, controlled line bank in MATERIALS.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Reblend **pond, swim, is**. Ask which printed unit in **is** gives /z/ and which pair starts **swim**; give a brief model if needed.
2. **Check a box claim · 4 min.** Read adult model B aloud while safely showing a box on a mat. If it tips with a gentle adult demonstration, note that; if not, **do not** select “It can tip.” Ask “What did we actually see?”
3. **Model the page · 5 min.** On the blank mat point to title, two fact lines, image and “How did we check?” Model copying **A box is on a mat.** only if the setup matches, or one fish line from the reviewed source. Say “A picture can help show a fact, but a made-up picture alone is not proof of a real animal.”
4. **Create with choice · 7 min.** Learners choose fish or box. For box, use verified **A box is on a mat.** and, only after a real safe test, **It can tip.** For fish, use the two controlled lines on the original fish page and mark the museum background as an adult-read source. Children select tiles, type or write, and add a drawing/tactile layout. Record the support.
5. **Partner question · 4 min.** A partner asks “How did you check?” Learner points to object observation or the adult-read source and tells one fact. If the drawing and line disagree, guide a revision before keeping the page.
6. **Exit check · 2 min.** Ask the learner to read one self-selected line and name/point to its check route: **saw/tested** or **source read by adult**. Record the exact line, independence and route.

**Access routes:** plain-text template, large/tactile box spaces, object/diagram, selectable word tiles, AAC, dictation with exact adult support logged, quiet partner or private teacher report. Do not require artistic skill or handwriting speed to show information-text understanding.

## Week 9 · Day 45 — Tell a partner what the page shows

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLY01, AC9EFLY02, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY06, AC9EFLY07.  
**Goal:** Deliver a short report with one checked fact, listen to a partner and improve the page or explanation.  
**Prepare:** each learner's Day 44 page or an unidentifiable model page, fact-source prompt card, private/quiet reporting option.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Read **A fish can swim.** and **A box is on a mat.** from strips. Each learner decodes one word independently; note which link needs review.
2. **Teacher report model · 4 min.** Say “My page says **A box is on a mat**. I know because I placed the box there and looked.” Point to sentence, object and evidence note. Then model one question: “What did you check?” The full report is adult oral language, not child decoding.
3. **Plan and rehearse · 5 min.** Learner chooses one page line and a reason/source. Offer the frame “My page says __. I checked by __.” Speech, home language with verified interpretation, AAC, pointing to the real object or teacher-supported wording may be used; record how the meaning was communicated.
4. **Partner report · 7 min.** In pairs or private teacher–learner turns, learner gives the fact and how it was checked. Partner listens, asks the agreed question and says what they understood. No eye contact or public performance is required. Do not claim a child independently said words supplied by an adult.
5. **Revise · 4 min.** Compare the listener's understanding with the page. If the claim is unclear, revise a word, image or spoken explanation. If the fish picture appears to claim a named local species, remove that claim; the image is a generic model.
6. **Exit check · 2 min.** Ask the learner to point to/read one fact and communicate its check route **without a content hint**. Record fact, source/observation and listening response separately.

**Access routes:** text, object, tactile drawing, AAC, quiet pair, private report or recorded rehearsal with transcript under school policy. Translation or interpretation of a learner's home-language report must be checked by a competent human; do not infer content from an unverified machine version.

## Week 10 · Day 46 — An imagined box story

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLE02, AC9EFLE03, AC9EFLY03, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY14.  
**Goal:** Read a controlled short story, retell stated events and distinguish fiction from the earlier checked information page.  
**Prepare:** adult literary story C, controlled story S, fish/box information page, three blank event cards.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Review **a**, **is**, **It**, **box**, **fish**, **swim**. Ask for two independent word reads; respond to one actual error with a later model.
2. **Adult-read literature · 4 min.** Read *The Box and the Hat* aloud. Ask who put the paper hat inside the box. Tell learners “This is an invented story; the print I read includes details beyond the tiny story you will read.”
3. **Text type model · 5 min.** Point to a Day 44 information page and the story title. Ask “Which tries to report a checked fact? Which tells imagined events?” Model one reason, without claiming fictional details are observations.
4. **Controlled story read · 7 min.** Show **Kit got a box. Kit hid a hat in it. Jem got a hat.** Track and blend the first line, guide the second, then listen to as much independent third-line reading as possible. Ask learners to locate the little **a** and the lower-case word **it**. Reveal props only after decoding attempts.
5. **Literal versus possible · 4 min.** Use three event cards to retell exactly what the short print says. Ask “Does it say where Jem got the hat?” No. “Could it be Kit's hidden hat?” Yes, as a possible inference. Keep adult-read extras separate.
6. **Exit check · 2 min.** Show the fresh fragment **a hat in it**. Ask for a read; then ask whether the short story **states** that Jem opened the box. It does not. Record word reading and evidence reasoning separately.

**Access routes:** adult live reading/recording and transcript, one child sentence per strip, large/tactile tiles, objects after print attempt, blank event boxes, speech/AAC/pointing, quiet reading. A retell after adult support is logged as supported.

## Week 10 · Day 47 — Reread, retell, revise

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLA09, AC9EFLE05, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY06, AC9EFLY13.  
**Goal:** Reread a familiar controlled story, retell its sequence and change one repeated noun while preserving meaning and sentence boundaries.  
**Prepare:** story S in strips, **hat / bag / map** tiles, three blank event cards, adult rhyme D.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Read **hat, bag, map, is** out of order; ask where **a** is an article in **a hat**. Mark an uncertain word for a brief model.
2. **Oral pattern · 4 min.** Read adult rhyme D twice. Ask which spoken pair rhymes, **box/fox** or **box/fish**. This sound check is separate from story reading.
3. **Reread and retell · 5 min.** Let the child reread story S with a cover strip. Model only a word missed on a prior attempt. Place event cards for Kit getting a box, hiding a hat and Jem getting a hat. Ask which detail may be inferred rather than stated.
4. **Guided revision · 7 min.** Replace **hat** with **bag** in both later sentences, or use **map**. Read the new three-line text and ask whether the first line still sets it up. Check both occurrences, capital names and end marks. Do not accept a picture-driven word substitute that disagrees with print.
5. **Encode one change · 4 min.** With print hidden, dictate the chosen replacement word. Learners segment, select/write its letters and reread the changed sentence. Record independent spelling separately from copied text.
6. **Exit check · 2 min.** Present one revised line, **Kit hid a map in it.** or **Kit hid a bag in it.**, that the learner did not just copy. Ask for an independent read and what changed from the old story.

**Access routes:** tactile/large strip, digital or loose word tiles, blank objects/cards, quiet partner, speech/AAC/pointing for retell, typing or handwriting for one word. Do not make a fixed “visual learner” or “auditory learner” assignment.

## Week 10 · Day 48 — What kind of text am I rereading?

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLA07, AC9EFLE05, AC9EFLY01, AC9EFLY03, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY05.  
**Goal:** Reread one information line and one story line, compare their purposes and choose a portfolio sample with a reason.  
**Prepare:** fish/box page, story S, two blank purpose cards, page/portfolio mat.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Mix **a, is, y, x, sh, ch**. Ask for their taught word/print values and give one cumulative model. Do not infer mastery of untaught q or other vowel values.
2. **Reread two lines · 4 min.** Show **A fish can swim.** and **Kit hid a hat in it.** without pictures. Learners read one or more words independently; adult reads any remainder for meaning and records which.
3. **Purpose model · 5 min.** Say “The fish line on our page reports a source-supported general capability. Kit's line belongs to an invented story.” Ask what a generic fish drawing can show and what it cannot prove about a named local species.
4. **Sort and explain · 7 min.** Learners put two text strips under **information** and **story** purpose cards read aloud by the adult. Ask for a reason: checked fact or imagined event. Invite a retell of the Kit line using an object or AAC, and a source/observation reminder for the information line.
5. **Choose evidence · 4 min.** Each learner chooses a Day 44 page or Day 47 revised story for the portfolio, then marks a word they can now read and a place they improved meaning or print. Record if selection was prompted.
6. **Exit check · 2 min.** Show the two strips in a new order without purpose labels. Ask which belongs on an information page and why. Record text-purpose reasoning separately from printed-word reading.

**Access routes:** plain text, tactile or large strips, text-to-speech for adult-purpose labels, quiet response, AAC/pointing/drawing, adult transcription with support logged. No family or personal information is needed.

## Week 10 · Day 49 — Prepare a small portfolio conversation

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLA09, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY06, AC9EFLY07.  
**Goal:** Choose two genuine samples, fix one sentence boundary and explain one strength and one next step to a listener.  
**Prepare:** learner's verified information page, controlled story revision, earlier sound/word notes, page/portfolio mat.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Give a private two-word check from **pond, swim, box, fish, a, is, sh, ch** according to the learner's previous note. Record exact reading, not a generic “good”.
2. **Teacher edit model · 4 min.** Show **kit got a box** as a deliberately unedited strip. Say “Kit is a name. At the start I need capital **K** and at the end a full stop.” Change it to **Kit got a box.** and reread. The lower-case word **kit** remains decodable before correction.
3. **Child edit · 5 min.** Give **jem got a hat** with the same two missing features. Ask learner to correct it with tiles, typing or pen; if unable, model after recording and retry. Ask what the marks help a reader see.
4. **Portfolio rehearsal · 7 min.** Lay out one Day 44 information page and one Day 47 story/revision, with dates or learner codes. Ask “Which page shows a checked fact? What changed in the story? What can you read now? What will you practise?” The learner chooses the audience: teacher, partner or approved private recording.
5. **Partner/listener check · 4 min.** Listener repeats one understood strength and one next step. If the adult supplied an answer, record it as support. Do not rank learners publicly or compare family experiences.
6. **Exit check · 2 min.** Present **Sam got a box.** and ask for an independent read plus the capital and ending mark; then ask learner to select a specific next word/link to practise. Record both.

**Access routes:** actual dated work or coded facsimiles, large/tactile print, AAC, drawing/objects, quiet conference, typed/handwritten edit or adult scribe with exact support noted. The child need not perform for the whole class.

## Week 10 · Day 50 — End-of-term evidence review

**Proposed codes:** AC9EFLA09, AC9EFLE05, AC9EFLY01, AC9EFLY03, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY06, AC9EFLY07, AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY13, AC9EFLY14.  
**Goal:** Use a fresh check **and** two dated portfolio samples to plan the next teaching; communicate a strength and next step.  
**Prepare:** [ASSESSMENT.md](ASSESSMENT.md), its original adult-read information/story pair, five unseen printed words, four dictations, two portfolio samples.

1. **Set purpose · 2 min.** Say “Today we will notice what is ready and what to learn next. Your pages show your work over time. You may ask me to repeat a direction.” Offer a private response route.
2. **Fresh listening pair · 5 min.** Read the assessment's short observation report and invented story, print hidden. Ask which is an information report and which is fiction, and one detail from each.
3. **Meaning and oral sounds · 5 min.** Ask the assessment's purpose/meaning questions and a small oral sound sample. Record a first independent response, any repeat and any content hint.
4. **New print sample · 5 min.** Show **tax, mend, brush, chest, nest**, then the new **A hat is in a box.** sentence one at a time. Collect private blends through scheduled rotations; do not claim to hear every child individually in these five minutes.
5. **Dictation and portfolio · 6 min.** Dictate the four assessment items with print hidden. Ask for one selected fact page and one revised story, with the source or observation behind the fact and one improvement in the story. Record exact support.
6. **Exit check and close · 2 min.** Ask the learner to name/point to one independently read word and one next step. Say one precise observed strength. Finish rubric and teaching plan after the lesson.

**Feasible administration:** This class block gathers group evidence. Schedule about 7 minutes per learner for private letter/word reading in ordinary independent-work periods across Days 46–50. Extend the window if needed. A missing item stays **not observed**. Judge progress from the fresh sample **and** the portfolio, not from one speed score.

**Access routes:** teacher-read passages with transcript, large/tactile cards, movable/digital letters, quiet check, flexible response time, speech/AAC/pointing/typing or drawing. A teacher-read word is not an independent decoded word.