Ten 25-minute English lessons… | Year 1 English · T1 W5–6 · Lessons

Every day: retrieve 3 + model 5 + guided try 7 + child try 7 + exit 3 = 25 minutes. Read a chosen scene in learner practice aloud; the child reads its marked controlled line only. Bring three alternative contexts so children can choose without sharing personal information. Route A ck is a substitute or extra only after the school's explicit teaching. Use the matching held-out check. For a child still learning a core correspondence, give the rich oral story and teach that correspondence in a small group; log any adult support on child print. Do not interpret speech, AAC or motor route as a decoding score. Literature is teacher-read. A rotating focus group gives individual evidence; complete remaining observations later in the school day. Code links are partial and checked in the crosswalk.

Day 21 — A sign needs a reader

Goal: read a cumulative sentence accurately and ask what the intended reader can see. Codes: AC9E1LY04, AC9E1LY05, AC9E1LY02, AC9E1LY09. Prepare: Day 21 choice, paper sign, blank reader figure.

Retrieve · 3 min. Blend familiar ship, stand, mend; point to one digraph and two separate blend sounds. Invite a spoken, signed or pointed answer.
Model · 5 min. Place a drawn sign facing away from a paper figure. Think aloud: “A sign can be made, yet a reader may not see it.” Read a chosen child line by pointing across every grapheme and then rereading in a phrase; show that the line, not a guess from the drawing, fixes its meaning.
Guide · 7 min. Read the opening two paragraphs of The sign that faced the wall aloud. Partners say or show what Kori and Jules intended and what the model visitor actually faced. Read one chosen controlled line together and identify actor/action or object/location.
Child try · 7 min. Children independently read their selected line, retell its exact event, then move a blank sign so the paper visitor could encounter it. Label a change as a proposed test, not a fact about a real hall. Record print and story talk separately.
Exit · 3 min. Focus group rereads its line without the picture, then says one unanswered question about the model sign. If print was guessed from context, return to a first-to-last grapheme sweep.

Access/home/extension: Large print, tactile sign/figure and AAC “face wall/face door” choices. Home adult reads the original story opening and child explains the model; no local sign or location is requested. Extension: compare two invented sign positions and state what a paper visitor could test.

Day 22 — What changed when the sign turned?

Goal: retell problem, action and result using story evidence and read a new controlled context. Codes: AC9E1LE03, AC9E1LY05, AC9E1LY04. Prepare: Day 22 choice, three blank event cards.

Retrieve · 3 min. Children recall who made the sign and where it first faced. Ask “How do we know?”; reread aloud if the detail was not retained.
Model · 5 min. Read the rest of the story aloud. On cards draw sign made, sign faced wall, sign turned/tested. Point out that the second visitor was a paper figure and cannot prove how all real people would respond.
Guide · 7 min. Partners arrange cards and retell with “first, then, after that.” Ask whether the sign's colour is known; demonstrate “The story does not say.” Shared-read a selected Day 22 line, mapping st or sh/ch if present.
Child try · 7 min. Child reads their chosen line without adult blending, selects a picture/gesture showing exactly what it says, then explains the Week 5 story's change via speech, sign, AAC or three cards.
Exit · 3 min. Ask a focus child to point to the event that solved the story's problem and read one familiar word from their line. If sequence is reversed, reread the turning paragraph and try again with two cards.

Access/home/extension: Tactile orientation of a card permits nonvisual retell; adult may scribe the child's wording. Home retell uses three scrap-paper shapes. Extension: ask a new visitor which of two cue sizes works in the fictional model, without asserting the answer.

Day 23 — Who did what, in which order?

Goal: phrase two controlled sentences and distinguish a printed fact from an invented inference. Codes: AC9E1LY04, AC9E1LY05, AC9E1LA06. Prepare: Day 23 choice, two action tokens.

Retrieve · 3 min. Build stop, step, stand; make the /s/ and /t/ two separate taps. Reread each once smoothly.
Model · 5 min. With the model bus choice, read each sentence to its stop. Show “the bus can stop” as printed; refuse to invent a town or passenger from that line. Point to capital/full stop as one complete idea's boundary.
Guide · 7 min. Children choose any of the three Day 23 contexts. Adult reads its scene only. Shared-read its two controlled sentences; move a token for each action or location statement. Ask which claim the actual line supports.
Child try · 7 min. Children read the selected two-sentence line independently and arrange first/second cards. They make one new oral sentence about the fictional objects, marking it as their own idea rather than a quotation from print.
Exit · 3 min. Focus group identifies the word after the first full stop and says why it starts a second idea. If child runs sentences together, add tactile start/end tiles and reread.

Access/home/extension: Offer two raised action tokens and large stop symbols; allow AAC response. At home use only the printed invented choices. Extension: make a second order and explain how changing the two sentences changes meaning.

Day 24 — Ask a reader, then write one idea

Goal: ask an evidence-linked question about the story and compose/re-read one simple sentence. Codes: AC9E1LY02, AC9E1LE03, AC9E1LY06, AC9E1LA10. Prepare: Day 24 choice, blank sentence strip.

Retrieve · 3 min. Show the Week 5 event cards. Partners take turns asking a question; the other may ask for a reread rather than guess.
Model · 5 min. Model “Kori turned the sign.” as an adult-written story sentence, with a capital and full stop. This richer story wording is not a child decoding test. Reread and ask whether the sentence names a real location (it does not).
Guide · 7 min. Children discuss one Week 5 plot/character/setting question with turn-taking. Read a chosen Day 24 controlled line together; identify where one idea stops and the next starts.
Child try · 7 min. Child independently reads that line, then writes or directs one original sentence about an invented sign, chosen puppet or pictured object. Child rereads it, checks one complete idea, spaces, initial capital and full stop. Adult records dictated vocabulary and prompts honestly.
Exit · 3 min. Invite a focus child to show where their sentence ends and answer their partner's question with a story clue. If boundary is absent, place a stop tile after the final word and have the child reread.

Access/home/extension: Pen, keyboard, tiles, AAC or child-directed scribe; assess composition separately from handwriting. Home adults may use the story with no outing. Extension: create two different complete ideas and tell which is story evidence.

Day 25 — Unseen Week 5 sample

Goal: sample route-specific new print and listening retell without rehearsal. Codes: AC9E1LY04, AC9E1LY05, AC9E1LY11, AC9E1LY06. Prepare: secure Day 25 check, correct route, teacher-only record; Day 25 practice stays covered until afterward.

Retrieve · 3 min. Review only familiar tiles sh, ch, st, nd; Route A may review a known ck tile. Do not show scored words.
Model · 5 min. Demonstrate “look through, blend, then check meaning” with previously taught ship. Model a first/next retell from the earlier sign story, never the fresh check story.
Guide · 7 min. Shared-read an already practised Day 21–24 line and take a paired sign-story retell. Explain that a new card is now coming and children can use their usual access method; no answer coaching.
Child try · 7 min. Focus learners read two unseen route words, one connected line and encode one dictated word. Log independent/prompted/not observed by subskill. Others begin Day 25 practice after their own check, or do nonprint story cards while waiting.
Exit · 3 min. Adult reads the new microstory aloud once (repeat if required and mark support); children respond with problem/response cards. Complete remaining individual interviews later that day. Use the teacher key for next teaching.

Access/home/extension: Hearing, visual, tactile and motor access are documented without changing the scored print. Home practice follows the check. Extension asks an evidence-based question about the new adult-read story after the sample.

Day 26 — Character, setting, event

Goal: distinguish character from setting and read an independent two-event line. Codes: AC9E1LE03, AC9E1LY04, AC9E1LY05. Prepare: Day 26 choice, blank character/place/event cards.

Retrieve · 3 min. Reread a known sh/ch word and a known st/nd word appropriate to the learner's route. Ask which sound needs one box and which blend two.
Model · 5 min. Begin reading The missing middle picture aloud. Place Ada and Neri on character cards; the imagined art room is a setting. Say that drawn path and park do not reveal any real child's location.
Guide · 7 min. Read the middle paragraph aloud. Partners sort “Ada,” “art room,” and “picture slid under table” into character, setting, event. Read a chosen Day 26 child line together, keeping its printed facts distinct from the adult story.
Child try · 7 min. Child independently reads their selected line and sorts its actors or places. They predict one possible ending to the adult story and mark it as a prediction, not already established fact.
Exit · 3 min. Ask a focus child to name a character and a setting from the heard story and one action from their own print. If categories blur, revisit with tactile person/place/action symbols.

Access/home/extension: Use objects, tactile outlines, large print or AAC. Home adult reads the story opening; no family/community disclosure. Extension gives two possible middle pictures and explains which clue supports a prediction.

Day 27 — Evidence can change a guess

Goal: retell how an earlier inference changes when a missing picture is found. Codes: AC9E1LE03, AC9E1LY05, AC9E1LY04, AC9E1LY02. Prepare: Day 27 choice, three blank frames.

Retrieve · 3 min. Ask what Ada guessed and what mark Neri noticed. An adult rereads those exact sentences if needed; distinguish remembering from prompted response.
Model · 5 min. Read the rest of Week 6 story aloud. Draw three frames and say: “Ada's guess changed after they checked under the table.” Do not describe any real park route.
Guide · 7 min. Partners use first/middle/last frames, then one asks “What showed Ada's first guess was wrong?” Shared-read a Day 27 controlled line and point to its two complete ideas.
Child try · 7 min. Child reads one chosen line, retells the heard plot with frames and answers the partner with a text clue. Record printed reading, oral evidence and interaction separately. Accept sign/AAC.
Exit · 3 min. Focus child states or points to one story fact and one proposed different middle. If proposed middle is reported as the original, reread the found-picture sentence.

Access/home/extension: Blank textured cards can be arranged by touch. Home story retell may use three scrap-paper marks. Extension invents an alternative middle and explains how it changes the ending without claiming it was in the source.

Day 28 — Write a short recount

Goal: make a simple sentence about a story event and reread to edit. Codes: AC9E1LY06, AC9E1LA06, AC9E1LA10, AC9E1LY04. Prepare: Day 28 choice, blank writing strip.

Retrieve · 3 min. Put the Week 6 three frames in order. Ask child which event is missing if the middle is removed.
Model · 5 min. Adult writes “Neri found the picture.” about the heard story, speaking each word and showing capital, spaces and full stop. Rich text is adult model, not child-decodable assignment; child may choose different vocabulary.
Guide · 7 min. Read a selected Day 28 controlled line together and show two sentence boundaries. With a partner, orally form one complete idea about a fictional scene or story frame. Ask what evidence supports it.
Child try · 7 min. Child independently reads chosen line, writes/types/dictates a one-idea recount, then rereads to check actor/action, capital, spaces and full stop. If scribed, preserve child's words and log adult spelling help.
Exit · 3 min. Focus child identifies one change made during reread. If no complete idea appears, use who/did-what tiles and invite a revised sentence; retain first attempt as evidence.

Access/home/extension: Keyboard, stamps, braille, AAC or child-directed scribe are legitimate composition routes; no handwriting inference. Home may use the invented art story. Extension adds a second sentence for the next event, with its own boundary.

Day 29 — Caption and edit for a listener

Goal: choose an accurate caption, check that another reader can follow, and edit sentence boundary. Codes: AC9E1LY06, AC9E1LY05, AC9E1LA10, AC9E1LY04. Prepare: Day 29 choice, three blank frame captions.

Retrieve · 3 min. Children retell first/middle/last of Week 6. Ask whether a different invented middle would change the story; accept reasons tied to the frames.
Model · 5 min. Adult writes a short caption for an invented frame, deliberately omits the full stop, rereads, then adds it. Say “The caption must match this picture; the story does not tell us a real address.”
Guide · 7 min. Shared-read a chosen Day 29 controlled line with one stop per sentence. Partners compare two oral captions for a blank picture and identify the one that fits their own drawing, not an unseen real place.
Child try · 7 min. Child reads the chosen line, writes or directs a one-sentence caption for a frame they invent, and rereads it to edit capital, spaces, stop and accuracy. Partner describes what they understood; author may revise.
Exit · 3 min. Focus child points to one word/mark changed and says how it helped a reader. If caption and drawing conflict, ask author which one they want to change and log the revision.

Access/home/extension: A tactile sequence or oral caption is available; scribed mark remains attributed to child direction. Home task is optional scrap-paper picture/caption. Extension tests a caption with a second listener and asks what remained unclear.

Day 30 — Unseen Week 6 transfer and next teaching

Goal: sample new route print, short composition/edit and fresh heard plot response. Codes: AC9E1LY04, AC9E1LY05, AC9E1LY06, AC9E1LY11, AC9E1LA10, AC9E1LY13. Prepare: secure Day 30 check, teacher record, Day 30 practice concealed until afterward.

Retrieve · 3 min. Review previously taught route tiles with familiar words; do not display scored print or dictation.
Model · 5 min. Reread known ship by grapheme and a familiar two-sentence card for boundary. Demonstrate one story frame question using the Week 6 story, not the fresh check story.
Guide · 7 min. Shared-read an earlier Day 26–29 line. Partners use the Week 6 first/middle/last frames and note an evidence-linked correction; scored card remains hidden.
Child try · 7 min. Give correct route: two fresh words, one fresh line, dictated word and one short authored sentence/edit. Keep learner text apart from the teacher key. Record independent/prompted/not observed separately; peers do Day 30 practice only after their own sample.
Exit · 3 min. Adult reads the new microstory; focus child gives problem, action, outcome or honest unknown. Finish unsampled learners later same day. Use exact error-to-next-move notes in the teacher key.

Access/home/extension: Usual print/access form is maintained and prompting noted. Home work follows assessment. Extension asks which detail is stated and which is inferred in the new story.