Bob the Cat ~ Developing Segmenting and Blending Skills

How to Use This Book:

Before Reading:

• Show the cover and point to the title. Ask students: “What do you notice?”
• Introduce the story: “This book is about two friends, a cat and a rat, and the things they like to do together.”
• Discuss the names Bob and Pat—break them down phonetically by segmenting and blending the sounds.

During Reading:

• Read some of the pages aloud, modeling fluency and using the correct intonation for punctuation (exclamation marks, question marks).
• Ask: “What activities do Bob and Pat enjoy together?”

After Reading:

• Discuss: “What other things do you think Bob and Pat might like to do?”
  
• Explore why the author chose a cat and a rat as the main characters. Ask: “Why do you think the author picked these two animals? What makes this choice fun or interesting?”
• Encourage students to share their own ideas: “If you wrote a story about two animal friends, which animals would you choose and why?”