4th-5th Grade Level 7 Sort It /er/ & Texts PDF

streamlined instruction

accelerated achievement

Advanced Phonics

Fourth to Fifth Grade
The /er/ Sound

The /er/ Sound
Switch It & Sort It

Her first nurse works early for a dollar.

er
Her

ir
first

ur
nurse

or
works

ear
early

ar
for a do llar.

Sort It list

artery
generous
deliberate
muscular
research
plural
Virginia

circus
furnace
sturdy
anchor
miserable
unfamiliar
earthquake

Key Sentence:

Her first nurse works
early for a dollar.

The /er/ Sound

Enjoy this famous tongue twister. It repeatedly uses the word, “peck,” which in this context
refers to a unit of measurement. Say, for instance,…pickled peppers! Re-read this until it rolls
off your tongue. Then circle all of the /er/ sound spellings you can find.

Peter Piper
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;
A peck of pickled
peppers Peter Piper
picked.
If Peter Piper picked a
peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of
pickled peppers Peter
Piper picked?

Make the Connection
The /er/ Sound

Read each famous saying. Discuss what it means and then draw a line to connect it to the
relevant picture. Finally, go back to each saying and circle the /er/ sound spelling.

Practice makes perfect.
Early to bed and
early to rise,
Makes a man
healthy, wealthy, and wise.
by Benjamin Franklin

The early bird gets the worm.
Better safe than sorry.
A place for everything and
everything in its place.
Benjamin Franklin was an American inventor, printer, writer and statesman.
Among many accomplishments, he is famous for many proverbs, or memorable
sayings that teach a truth. For example, you may have heard, “Time is money.”
That was made famous by Franklin. The saying above is also a famous creation
of Franklin.
© 2016 Reading Simplified

Write It
The /er/ Sound

Directions: Dictate the famous saying, “April showers
bring May flowers,” to your student. “Notice the /er/ sound
words. Remember to read and write the multi-chunk words by
chunks.” (Cover the sentence as your student writes.)

(Your student may choose to write below or on the dry erase board.)

The /er/ Sound

Before there was If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, there was the famous
song and nursery rhyme “Hush Little Baby.” Have you heard it before? Do you know the song?
Sing or read several times until you can read as well as a beautiful lullaby. Finally, go on an /er/
sound hunt, but don’t be tricked by the /ar/ sound. Write the /er/ sound words on the following
Sort It page.

Hush Little Baby
Hush little baby, don’t say a word,
Papa’s gonna buy you a mocking bird.
And if that mocking bird won’t sing,
Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.
And if that diamond
ring turns brass,
Papa’s gonna buy you
a looking glass.
And if that looking
glass gets broke,
Papa’s gonna buy you
a billy goat.
© 2016 Reading Simplified

continued…

And if that billy goat won’t pull,
Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull.
And if that cart and bull turn over,
Papa’s gonna buy you a dog named Rover.
And if that dog named Rover won’t bark,
Papa’s gonna buy you a horse and cart.
And if that horse and cart fall down,
You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

Switch It ~ Split & Write It
7

The /er/ Sound

Switch It word list: smud smid snid swid swud swun swunt swent slent slend

splend spland splant splont slont clont clon clen clep crep

Directions: Play the game as you have done previously, using nonsense words;
be ready for the challenge of pronouncing the words! Assume that the vowel sounds are the “short”
sounds: /ă/, /ĕ/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, or /ŭ/.

Letter-Sound Cards: a e i o u c d l m n p s t w

Split & Write It
Directions for Mentor: 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.
8.
9.
10.

fee l i n g
hungry
hearing
medical
shoulder
disease
d o cto r
human
physical
finger
(or feel/ing)

fee

Bonus: What topic do all the words above relate to?
Answer: the body or health

Sort It
8

The /er/ Sound

“Can you recall the key sentence for /er/? Use this page to write and say any /er/ sound
words from ‘Helen Keller Loses Her Hearing and Sight’ after you read it.”

er
Her

ir
first

ur
nurse

or
works

ear
early

ar
for a dollar.

The /er/ Sound

Directions: Buddy read (or, take turns reading)
this challenging autobiographical text with
your student. Encourage him to practice

Multi-Syllable Blending As He Reads. Ask
questions as you read, as well as at the end,
to ensure that he comprehends the passage.

Helen Keller Loses Her Hearing and Sight
Adapted from Helen Keller’s The Story of My Life (1887-1901)

The beginning of my life was simple
and much like every other little life.
I came, I saw, I conquered,1 as the
first baby in the family always does.
I am told that while I was still in
long dresses I showed many signs
of an eager, stubborn nature. Everything that I saw
other people do I insisted2 upon copying.
At six months I could say, “How d’ye.”
One day I got every one’s attention by saying “Tea,
tea, tea,” quite plainly3.
1 to

win or to master
or really wanting something
3 clearly
2 demanding

continued…

Even after my illness, I remembered one of the
words I had learned in these ear ly months. It was
the word “water,” and I continued to make some
sound for that word after all other speech was lost.
I stopped making the sound “wah-wah” only when I
learned to spell the word.
They tell me I discovered how to walk the day I
was a year old. My mother had just taken me out of
the bathtub and was holding me in her lap. I was
suddenly drawn by the flickering4 shadows of leaves
that danced in the summer sunlight on the smooth
floor. I slipped from my mother’s lap and almost ran
toward them. When the whim5 was gone, I fell down
and cried for her to pick me up into her arms.
These happy days did not last long, however.
One brief spring, musical with the song of robin
and mocking-bird,
One summer rich in fruit and roses,
One fall of gold and red sped by and left their
gifts at the feet of an eager, delighted child.
4
5

light that comes and goes
sudden desire or idea

continued…

Then, in the colorless month of February, came the
powerful illness that closed my eyes and ears. It
plunged me into the unconsciousness of a new-born
baby. They called it fever of the brain.
The doctor thought I could not
live. Early one morning,
however, the fever left me
as suddenly and mysteriously6
as it had come. There was
great rejoicing7 in the family
that morning, but no one, not
even the doctor, knew that I
should never see or hear again.

No one,
not even
the doctor,
knew that
I should
never
see or hear
again.

I still have clouded8 memories of
that ill ness. I do remember the tenderness with
which my mother tried to calm me in my wailing9 hours
of fret10 and hurt. I remem ber the woe11 and
6

an unknown, curious way
7 to be delighted and joyful
8 unclear

crying
worry
11
trouble or misery
10

continued…

confusion with which I awoke after a tossing half
sleep. And I turned my eyes, so dry and hot, to the
wall away from the once-loved light, which became
dim12 and yet more dim each day.
But, except for these fleeting13 memories, it all seems
very unreal, like a nightmare. Gradually14 I got used
to the silence and darkness that surrounded me. I
forgot that it had ever been
If we have different, until she came—my
once seen, teacher—who was to set my
spirit free.

“the day
is ours,
and what
the day has
shown.”

And yet, during the first
nineteen months of my life I
had seen bits of broad, green
fields, a glowing sky, trees and
flowers which the darkness
that followed could not crush. If we have once seen,
“the day is ours, and what the day has shown.”
“What do think of this story of Helen Keller?”
12

not bright
passing, disappearing
14
slowly
13

After reading and discussing, take turns with your friend
finding all the /er/ sound spellings that you can. You can
search for 1, 2, or 3 pages, depending on time and interest.

Improve Your Time

“Each time you read Helen Keller’s story, it will probably become easier and easier to read and sound
fluent, like talking. Try re-reading the first 2 pages of Helen Keller’s life a couple of times and record
your improving times.”

Seconds
200
195
190
185
180
175
170
165
160
155
150
145
140
135
130
125
120
115
110
105
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55

2nd Read
13

3rd Read

4th Read