Red~ Building CVC Fluency for Early Readers

How to Use This Book

• Show the cover and point to the title.

  • Ask students to share what they notice about the title.
  • Name the letters in "Red" and say each sound:
    • R /r/, e /e/, d /d/ → "Red"
  • Blend the sounds together and invite students to try it with you.
    • Use a post-it note to cover the letter "R" in the title.
    • Write a letter "B" on the post-it note and ask, "What does the word say now?"
    • Continue replacing the first letter with other consonants (e.g., "T," "L," "S") to create new words, even nonsense words!
    • Encourage students to listen for how the word changes when the first sound changes.

• Read some of the pages aloud and model how to sound out the CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant) that label each picture.

  • Point to each letter, make its sound, and then blend the sounds together.
  • Example: "red" → /r/ /e/ /d/ → "red"

• Show students how to find the target word within the sentence.

  • Read a sentence and point to the word "red" when it appears.
  • Example: "The hat is red."
  • Ask: "Where is the word 'red' in this sentence?"
  • Have students underline or point to it.

Comprehension & Discussion:

• Ask students to describe the pictures in the book.

  • What objects in the book are red?
  • Have students name other red objects in the classroom or at home.
  • Ask: "What do you notice about all the things in this book?"
  • Ask: "How does the book end? Does the last page surprise you? Why/why not?
  • Ask: " Can you think of other things that are red that are not in the book?" (They can look around the room for anything red)
  • Have students draw a red object and label it with the word "red."