Before Reading High-Frequency Words Practice reading these high-frequency words in the story gave like want would Meet the Characters Get to know the characters from the story by looking at the pictures and the names below Stephanie Stephanie’s mother The kids at school 2
Adding Extra Letters to Words Each time Stephanie says No to her mom an extra letter is added to the word Authors sometimes choose to do this to add emphasis to certain words spoken by the characters It is a way to make the reader say the word out loud with more expression How would you add extra letters to the words below to make sure the reader read them with more expression yes okay maybe never Making Connections Being Proud of Who You Are In the story Stephanie keeps changing her hairstyle when the other students copy her because it’s important for her to feel special and different Make a list of things that help you feel special or different e g languages you speak where your family comes from your favorite place to visit how many siblings you have your favorite food special activities you love etc 3
Phonics In the word ponytail the ai makes a long A sound Can you make a long A sound Listen to the way the ai makes the long A sound in the following words tail wait stain Pay close attention to the shape of your mouth as you make the long A sound It might be helpful to make this sound while you look in a mirror to see the shape your mouth makes Try these different activities to help practice the ai sound 1 Take a close look around you and try to find three objects that have one long A sound 2 Think of three other words that also have these sounds Pay close attention to where in the word you hear the long A sound the beginning middle or end 4
3 Here are three other words that have the long A sound Break down these words into their sounds e g f-ai-l p-ai-n-t fail paint email 4 When two words rhyme they have the same sounds at the end of the word Take a look at the pictures below and point to any of the words that rhyme with tail nail jail soil 5 While you read look out for the ai sound throughout the story You can see the sound easily because it will be written in a different color 5
