The Note by the Waterfall Reading guide

Phonics focus

Lessons 55–57: compare a_e, i_e, o_e and u_e; short-vowel and split-digraph word pairs

Practise split-digraph review and short/long vowels in these words: a_e: game, gate, cape; i_e: Mike, fine, pine, wipe; o_e: Rose, note, hope; u_e: cube, tube. Compare cap/cape, pin/pine, not/note, hop/hope, cub/cube and tub/tube. 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 split digraphs as one spelling across the intervening consonant; do not add a separate final-e sound. Only their paired vowel letters are bold red. Soft c and g focus letters are bold blue. Colours identify letter categories, not pronunciation. 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 trail, Mum, stop, wide, path, waterfall, clue, mist, drifts, paper, looks, ink, run, tree, asks, cannot, tell, wipes, cap, tears, clear, says, opens, bag, have, spare, takes, dry, read, together, find, follow, away, there, puts, finish. Preview unfamiliar words with adult help.

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

Mist blurs Rose’s trail-game clue beside a waterfall. Wiping tears the wet paper. Mum has a dry spare, so they find their next stop and protect the replacement note.

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.

Contrast cap/cape, pin/pine and not/note by listening to the vowel and noticing the final e. The short words cap and not occur in the story without split-digraph highlighting. Use hop/hope, cub/cube and tub/tube in the guide to compare other short and long vowels. Tube provides u_e review in the story. Spare, clear, tree and tears contain other spellings and need adult support. Wipes has i_e with an added s; review it together. Highlight only the paired vowel letters in selected story words. The family stays on a wide marked path with a railing, away from the water and slippery rocks.