Week 1: Sound Foundations

Focus: Phonemic Awareness + Short Vowel Phonics
Goal: Build the ability to hear, recognize, and blend sounds to form simple words. Introduce first set of sight words.

Session Breakdown

Day 1 – Meet the Sounds

• Phonics: Short A (a as in “cat”)
  
  

• Sight Words: I, a
  
  

• Vocabulary Theme: Pets
  Activities:
  
  

1. Sound Hunt – Walk around and find 5 objects starting with “a” sound.
   
   

2. Sandpaper Letter Tracing – Trace the letter “A” while saying the sound.
   
   

3. Flashcard Drill – Show letter cards and have child say the sound.
   
   

4. Mini-Read – 3–4 sentence decodable story using short A words.
   
   

Day 2 – Blending CVC Words

• Phonics: Short O (o as in “log”)
  
  

• Sight Words: see, my
  
  

• Vocabulary Theme: Farm Animals
  Activities:
  
  

1. Blending Board – Place letter cards c-a-t, m-o-p, etc., and blend.
   
   

2. “Sound Stretch” Game – Slowly say m…o…p, have child say “mop.”
   
   

3. Sight Word Spy – Highlight sight words in a short story.
   
   

4. Read Together – 5-sentence passage mixing short A/O words.
   
   

Day 3 – Middle Sounds

• Phonics: Short I (i as in “sit”)
  
  

• Sight Words: and, can
  
  

• Vocabulary Theme: School Objects
  Activities:
  
  

1. Mystery Middle – Say /s/ ?/ /t/ → have child fill in “i.”
   
   

2. Letter Tile Match – Match picture of “pig” to letter tiles p-i-g.
   
   

3. Echo Reading – Read a sentence, child repeats.
   
   

4. Story Map – Draw who was in the story, where, and what happened.
   
   

Day 4 – Review & Build

• Phonics: Short E (e as in “bed”)
  
  

• Sight Words: we, to
  
  

• Vocabulary Theme: Family
  Activities:
  
  

1. “What’s Missing?” – Say “bed” without /b/ → “ed.”
   
   

2. Sight Word Memory – Flip and match sight word cards.
   
   

3. Choral Reading – Read a decodable book together.
   
   

4. Stop & Jot – After reading, draw something from the story.
   
   

Day 5 – Short U + Celebration

• Phonics: Short U (u as in “sun”)
  
  

• Sight Words: go, you
  
  

• Vocabulary Theme: Nature
  Activities:
  
  

1. Sound Sort – Put pictures into baskets for short A, E, I, O, U.
   
   

2. Sentence Builder – Make simple sentences using sight words.
   
   

3. Performance Read – Read a short story to family member.
   
   

4. Sticker Chart Update – Reward for completing the week.
   
   

Parent Instructions

• Always model first: Show the correct way before asking the child to try.
  
  

• Don’t interrupt every mistake — let the child finish the sentence, then guide.
  
  

• Celebrate effort more than accuracy to build confidence.

Printables to Upload

1. Phonics Flashcards – Short vowels A, E, I, O, U (uppercase/lowercase)
   
   

2. Sight Word Cards – Week 1 words (I, a, see, my, and, can, we, to, go, you)
   
   

3. Blending Board Sheet – CVC word template with moveable letters
   
   

4. Story Map Worksheet – Characters, setting, problem, solution boxes
   
   

5. Sticker/Progress Chart – 12-week tracker with space for rewards
   
   

6. Mini Decodable Stories – 5 passages using Week 1 sounds & sight words
   
   

End-of-Week Quick Check

1. Ask child to read all Week 1 sight words without help.
   
   

2. Give 5 CVC words to blend aloud (cat, mop, sit, bed, sun).
   
   

3. Ask 2–3 questions after reading a short passage to check comprehension.