A Kite in the Sky Reading guide

Phonics focus

Lessons 67–68: igh for long i; y as long i or long e

Practise igh and y as a vowel in these words: igh: bright, right, light, tight, tightly, high; y as long i: try, fly, sky, why; y as long e: Henry, Lily, ready, happy. Blend practice words using the focus spelling and compare short and long vowel examples where appropriate. Use the programme lessons to introduce new sounds; the story is original.

Bold red vowel letters and bold blue consonant letters show the selected focus spellings. Read each selected vowel spelling as one unit. Vowel y is red; consonant letters within spellings such as igh, ow and ew are blue. Colour is a visual aid, and every letter in a spelling does not represent a separate sound. Read the guide note for each pattern. Help children with other letters and patterns in the word when needed. A highlighted letter does not mean the whole word is independently decodable.

Adult supported words

An adult reads the title with the child. Preview kite, above, meadow, holds, while, grips, string, rise, says, lifts, then, spins, drops, onto, grass, won’t, asks, looks, its, short, tail, Shall, longer, ties, strip, cloth, are, again, into, breeze, lets, little, long, hangs, straight, climbs, gives, turn, floats, I’m, stays, beside, watch. Help with other unfamiliar words and with unselected spellings inside focus words. This is supported shared reading; highlighting does not mean every word is independently decodable.

Before reading

Read three practice words and name the selected spelling. Look at the cover, name the setting and predict what might happen.

During reading

Read each sentence aloud together. Point to the highlighted letters, blend the focus words and reread naturally. Use Talk Together to discuss the character, problem, actions and ending.

Narrative structure

Henry and Lily’s kite spins and falls. They add a longer light cloth tail with Dad’s help, try again and share a successful flight.

After reading

Invite the child to retell what happened first, what went wrong, what the character tried and how the story ended. Reread the book to build confidence.

Read igh as a three-letter spelling for long i, without separate g or h sounds. The vowel i is red; consonant letters g and h are blue. Selected y is red when it represents the vowel sound in try, sky, happy and the names Henry and Lily. In tightly the igh and final vowel y are highlighted. Fly has long i and happy has long e. Adults manage the kite on an open meadow away from roads, wires and cliffs.