The Mountain Flag Challenge Reading guide

Phonics focus

Lessons 87–89: two closed syllables, open syllables and comparing first syllables

Practise closed and open syllables; syllable division in these words: closed: rabbit, cabin, basket, picnic, blanket, Robin; open: robot (ro/bot), tiny (ti/ny), paper (pa/per), opens (o/pens); supported name: Helen. 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 spelling or syllable in context. Vowel y is red. Silent letters may be blue although they do not represent a sound. Apostrophes remain dark. Read compound words in meaningful parts. 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 Helen, join, Dad’s, mountain, flag, challenge, follow, broad, path, gentle, hill, carries, clues, little, map, first, clue, beside, picture, Look, wooden, reads, spot, its, roof, beyond, grass, puts, second, shows, finds, level, patch, But, there, no, top, Have, come, wrong, place, sits, down, think, Something, crinkles, beneath, lifts, one, corner, There, were, sitting, red, look, around, sees, toy, backpack, Behind, stands, hidden, waves, rings, small, bell, clever, team, finished, Next, time, I’ll, check, under, my, bottom, laughs. Also support unfamiliar parts of focus words. These are shared-reading narratives, not a claim that 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

Helen and Robin follow a mountain puzzle trail, find a clue beneath a blanket and discover a flag hidden beside a toy robot.

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.

Use rab/bit, cab/in, bas/ket, pic/nic, blan/ket and Rob/in for closed syllables. Compare ro/bot, ti/ny, pa/per and o/pens for open first syllables. Help with Helen as a name: its first e is usually short, so do not use it as a long-e open-syllable example. The selected vowel letters are red; syllable consonants are ordinary dark text. Pronunciation follows local English. Dad leads on broad gentle paths away from cliffs.