Which Path, Beth? Reading guide

Phonics focus

Lessons 33–34: voiced and unvoiced th; common wh words

Practise th and wh in these words: thin, thick, bath, path, this, that, them, then; when, which, whip, whisk, whiz, whiff. 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: William, play, trail, game, walks, they, have, a, splits, two, asks, sure, one, says, sign, let’s, check, thumb, bench, way, take, tree, there, sit, can, we, again. Review all other words as needed; this is shared reading with adult help, not a fully decodable text.

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

Beth and William reach a fork during a woodland trail game with Dad. They are unsure which path to take. They check the map, find the bench symbol and follow the marked path to their destination.

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 unvoiced th in thin and Beth with voiced th in this, that, them and the. Thumb has a silent b and needs adult help. In New Zealand English, wh often sounds like w; model the family’s natural pronunciation rather than requiring an extra h sound. Do not sound out wh as two unrelated letters. Path and bath can have a long vowel locally.