4th-5th Grade Level 4 Sort It /ay/ & Texts PDF

streamlined instruction

accelerated achievement

Advanced Phonics

Fourth to Fifth Grade
The /ay/ Sound

Sort It

The /ay/ Sound

Sort It list

ey
They

oa ea

great

a_e
came

ay
to play

eigh
with the eight,

ai
trains

a
on the table.

Key Sentence:

They came to
play with the eight,
great trains
on the table.

sla ver y
dis play
ex claim neigh bor
steak
shake
ess ay
sur vey
pay ment a gent
com plain
main ten ance
i ma gin a tion

The /ay/ Sound

come Come
some Some

/k/ /ŭ/ /m/
/s/ /ŭ/ /m/

“Rover, come here.”
“I will just eat some of the cake.”

“These 2 words don’t sound like the typical pattern for the spelling: o_e.
We just have to remember that these are quirky!”

Rain, Rain, Go Away
Rain, rain, go away,
Come again a noth er day.
Litt le Johnny wants to play,
Rain, rain, go away,
Come again a noth er day.
Write It

Directions: Dictate this couplet,
“Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.

The /ay/ Sound

“Do you usually sleep in or wake up early? Read this silly poem and consider the consequences of
sleeping in!  Also, time your first reading and record it on the chart on the following page.
After you discuss this, circle all the /ay/ sound spellings with a gray pencil and and all the /ee/ sound
spelling with a green pencil.”

Don’t Be Late!
by Christie Cavanaugh

If you don’t set your alarm clock, you might not wake.
If you don’t wake, you may be late.
If you are late, you might have to rush.
If you have to rush, you may trip.
If you trip, you might scrape your knee.
If you scrape your knee, you may be in pain.
If you are in pain, you might not think.
If you don’t think, your brain may not work well.

continued…

t
t

t
So, don’t forget to set your alarm clock

OR
Have someone wake you up!

If your brain doesn’t work well, you might feel sleepy.
If you feel sleepy, you will need to nap.
If you need to nap, you may miss some fun.
If you miss some fun, you will feel blue.
If you feel blue, your friends might too!

Improve Your Time

“Each time you read “Don’t Be Late!” you will probably get faster and faster at it. Re-reading helps you
memorize more words so you can recongnize them more quickly in the future. Try re-reading ‘Don’t Be
Late!’ a couple of times and record your improving times.”

Seconds
150
145
140
135
130
125
120
115
110
105
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5

1st Read
© 2016 Reading Simplified

2nd Read

3rd Read
5

4th Read

5th Read

Dot It

The /ay/ Sound

Invite your student to use a Dot It marker or a regular marker to dot each train with an /ay/ sound word.

main

trade

deal

straight

raise

coast

maybe

break

pay

space

strange

really

weight

draw

afraid

stay

table

rose

late

shape

paper

great

reason

paid

explain

wave

brain

game

main

dawn

straight

road

maybe

space

always

date

Switch It
Split & Write It
The /ay/ Sound

Directions: We continue to use nonsense words to challenge your student’s perception of individual
sounds in words (phonemic awareness). This will help her reading of long multi-syllable
words as well as her spelling ability.
Play the game as you have previously; the only difference is the challenge of pronouncing the words!
Assume that the vowel sounds are the “short” sounds: /ă/, /ĕ/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, or /ŭ/.

Switch It word list: bluct blict brict drict drit drik* drulk rulk rilk rilp relp grelp
grolp grulp grult trult trilt brilt brelt

Letter-Sound Cards: e i o u b c d g k l p r t t
*Teacher remove the “c” and leave only the “k”

Split & Write It
Directions: Support your student’s reading of the following multi-syllable words. Then ask him to
split the word into chunks with a slash mark, as in the example below. Finally, have him write each
word by chunks as he says each word by chunks. (Not all lines below will be needed.)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

con fi dence
equator
t rop ica l
poverty
plat form
or g anic
painting

con

dence

Sort It

The /ay/ Sound

Sort It list

ey
They

oa ea

great

a_e
came

ay
to play

ai
trains

a
on the table.

eigh
with the eight,

Key Sentence:
They came to
play with the eight,
great trains
on the table.

phase
es ti mate
o bey
may or
o cca sion behave
pace
pray er
faint
eigh teen
cra zy break
door way
ra di a tion
en ter tain ment

The /ay/ Sound

1. Read and discuss the poem.
2. Search for the /oa/ sound with one color or shape.
3. Then search for the /ee/ sound with another.

4. Finally, search for the /ay/ sound.
5. Write each word in the appropriate column below.

A Peanut Sat On A Railroad Track
Anonymous

A peanut sat on a railroad track,
His heart was all a-flutter.
The five-fifteen came rushing by-Toot toot! Peanut butter!
o
Go

e
As he

o_e
home

ea
dreams

ey
They

a_e
came

ow
to show

oa
the boat

ee
ie
of cookies, he sees

ay
to play

y
many

ai
with the train

A shorter version of the /ay/ sound key sentence
9

oe
to Joe.

e_e
of these.

a
on the table.1

The /ay/ Sound

What effect can one small, sick child have? Read this story and consider what the author wants
you to learn from this day in the child’s life. Be sure to re-tell the story, too.
After discussing the story, go on a hunt for /ay/ sound spellings.

The Sick Child

Adapted. By Laura E. Richards (1850-1943)

he sick child stayed inside,
sat at his window, and looked out
on the summer world. He was
sad at heart, for he was in pain.
But yet he smiled—because that
pleased his mother.
“I am of no use in the world,” said the child to himself.
“I am of less worth than that broken limb that lies on the
ground. At least it gives trouble to no one, and by and by it
will make a fire to warm some poor person.
But still, I must smile, otherwise my mother should be
sad.”

continued…

Soon the old field mouse who lived over the way came out
of her house, with a strange brown velvet bundle in her
mouth. It was one of her eight babies, and she was taking
it to a new place, for the mole who was their landlord had
kicked them out. She had taken five of the little ones to
the new house, but now she was so so tired of holding the
weight of her babies.
“I cannot carry them all!” she cried.
“The rest must die, since it cannot be
helped,” she said, afraid.
Just then she raised her head, and saw
the child smiling at the window.
“Look!” she said to herself. “That child has been watching
me. He smiles with pleasure at the beauty of my young
ones, but he has not seen the prettiest one yet. It will never
do to give up now. I must try again, and let him see that
there are eight, all the most lovely of their family.”

continued…

So she tried again, and brought all the eight in safety to
their new home.
By and by a horse came along the road, dragging a heavy
load. He was old, and his bones were sore, and the collar
hurt his neck.
“Maybe I should give up,” he said to himself, “and refuse
to go on. My master could only beat me, and he does that
as it is. If I were dead, I should not feel the blows. Why
should I struggle further with this burden1?”
Just then he happened to lift his eyes, and saw the child
smiling at the window.
“Ah!” he said, “that child is smiling at me. He sees that I
was once a fine animal; he knows good blood2 when he sees
it. Ah! If he had seen me in my youth! But I can still show
him something.”
And he arched his neck proudly, and stepped out bravely,
tossing his head, and the labor came more easily for him.
1

pain or trouble
“good blood” is an expression that means good or worthy creature or person.

continued…

By and by a man passed by,
walking slowly, with his sad
face down. He had lost the
treasure of his heart, and the
whole world was gray about him.
“Why should I live longer?” he
explained to himself. “I have
nothing to live for in this unhappy
world. Let me lie down and die; in
death I can at least forget my
pain and the pain of others.”
As he spoke, he raised his eyes by
chance, and saw the child smiling
at the window.
“Wow!” said the man. “There at least is one happy heart. He
smiles, as if he were glad to see me pass. He is a sick child,
too, pale and thin. I must not cast a shadow3 on his cheerful

to “cast a shadow” is to cause something sad or dark in someone else’s life.

continued…

day. And indeed, the sun is bright and warm, even if my joy
be cold.”
He smiled and nodded to the child,
and the child nodded to him, and
waved his hand, and the man went
on, carrying the smile warm at his
heart, and took up the burden of
life again.
Now it was evening. The child was tired.
His head drooped on his chest, and his
eyes closed. Then his mother came, and
lifted him from his chair, and laid him in
his little bed.
“God bless him!” she said softly. “He has had a happy day,
for he is smiling even in his sleep.”
Can you retell me the story of “The Sick Child”?
What do you think the author is trying to teach us?
Invite your student to select a sentence that one person or animal spoke in this
story and re-read it. Then try to write it on a dry erase board, saying each chunk
as she writes each chunk.