Quinn’s Big Catch Reading guide

Phonics focus

Lessons 37–38: qu as /kw/; final tch and dge

Practise qu, tch and dge in these words: quit, quiz, quack, quick, quest, quilt, quill, squid; match, catch, patch, fetch, ditch, badge, edge, fudge. 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: and, play, Nick, throws, the, ball, stretches, out, her, hands, misses, rolls, under, she, can, see, a, of, red, crouches, by, cannot, reach, you, help, gently, lifts, branch, fetches, let’s, try, from, here, says, they, stand, closer, together, catches, ready, for, game, asks. Review other familiar words and help with endings.

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

Quinn misses a catch, and the ball rolls under a hedge. She cannot reach it alone. Nick lifts a branch so she can retrieve it. They try a closer throw, and Quinn catches the ball.

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 qu together as /k/ plus /w/. Tch represents one /ch/ sound, and dge one /j/ sound. Colours identify letters: the u in qu and silent e in dge belong to the complete pattern and must not be read as separate short-vowel sounds. Quinn is pronounced like qu plus in. In stretches, fetches and catches, only the base-word tch is highlighted; help with the ending es. Use a gentle throw with a soft ball.