Jack’s Ring Game Reading guide

Phonics focus

Lessons 35–36: ng after short vowels; ck after a short vowel

Practise ng and ck in these words: ring, sing, song, long, hang, king, wing, bang; back, neck, sick, rock, duck, pack, lock, sock. Review the consonant sounds needed for each word before reading. 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 digraph or trigraph together: two or three letters can represent one sound. Qu represents /k/ plus /w/. Colours identify letters, not the number of sounds; the u in qu and silent e in dge belong to the complete 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. Adult help: Rose, play, a, game, they, toss, at, it, is, way, off, hits, ground, rolls, behind, where, did, go, looks, by, the, grass, cannot, see, spots, up, let’s, stand, closer, tosses, again, slips, over, claps, my, turn, next. Review familiar short-vowel and blend words together.

Before reading

Say the focus sounds. Blend three practice words. 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

Jack misses the target in a meadow ring game, and his ring rolls behind a rock. The children search, Rose spots it and Jack retrieves it. They stand closer, Jack lands a ring and Rose is ready for her turn.

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.

Ng usually represents one sound in ring, sing and long; do not add a separate g sound. Ck represents one /k/ sound after a short vowel. In rings, picks and checks, the final s is outside the highlighted focus pattern. Ring game uses a simple wooden toy, not jewellery. Rose, game, closer and other later vowel patterns need adult support.