The Moonlit Footprints Reading guide

Phonics focus

Lessons 76–77: long oo as in moon and short oo as in book

Practise oo: moon and book sounds in these words: long oo: moon, boots, stool, too; short oo: book, looks, wooden, good. 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 in oy is red; consonant r in ar, or, er, ir and ur and consonant w in ow 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 Lucy, Tom, camp, field, read, tent, rises, over, trees, sets, their, muddy, morning, outside, Small, prints, cross, soft, mud, lead, towards, Who, came, asks, clues, One, tipped, its, side, Something, rustles, beside, Could, tiny, dragon, whispers, step, back, again, hedgehog, sniffs, empty, Its, round, body, covered, prickles, way, through, says, moves, clear, path, walks, hedge, stay, still, go, No, then, draws, huge, laughs, picture, make, story. Help with unfamiliar spellings within focus words too. 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

Small muddy prints and a rustling boot spark a campsite mystery. A hedgehog is revealed instead of Tom’s imagined dragon, and the family clears its route before drawing the adventure.

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.

Compare oo in moon, boots and stool with oo in book, look, wooden and good. The same spelling can represent two sounds, so identify the sound from the word rather than the colour. Lucy and Dad are adult-supported names. The hedgehog is outdoors at early dawn; the family watches from a distance, does not touch or feed it, and clears a route to the hedge.