Listening for sounds
Reading · Kindergarten
Words in a sentence
By the end, Eli will be able to hear each word in a short sentence and count how many words it has.
About 20 minutes to teach
Teach the idea
Read this together:Sam and the Egg Hunt
149 words
Sam was five, and he loved Saturdays, because on Saturday he went next door to help Nan with the hens.
Nan was Sam's grandmother. She wore big boots and a straw hat, and she knew every hen by name.
"Good morning, Sam," said Nan. "The hens have been busy. Can you find the eggs?"
Sam took the basket. He looked in the straw. One brown egg! He looked under the bench. Two white eggs! Then he looked behind the water pan and found a hen named Dot, sitting very still.
"Dot is sitting on her egg," said Nan. "We will let her keep that one."
Sam counted the eggs in his basket. "One, two, three."
"Three eggs for three pancakes," said Nan. "One for you, one for me, and one for Tess."
Tess was Sam's big sister. She was still asleep.
"Let's save her the biggest one," said Sam.
A sentence is a group of words that tells one whole idea. A short one might sound like Nan has hens. Those three words work together to say one clear thing.
We can hear each word when we slow down. Say a sentence slowly and tap the table once for every word you say. One tap means one word.
In a book, a small space sits between words so readers can tell where one word stops and the next begins. You can run a finger under a line and pause at each space.
The people and animals a story is about are its characters. In "Sam and the Egg Hunt", the characters are Sam, Nan (Sam's grandmother), Tess (Sam's sister), and a hen named Dot.
Do it together
1. Go back to the very first sentence of "Sam and the Egg Hunt." Run one finger slowly under the words and pause at every little space. Ask Eli what those spaces are for.
2. Say this sentence from the story out loud, very slowly: Sam took the basket. Tap the table once for each word as you say it. Have Eli tap along, then ask Eli how many taps were heard.
3. Try another line from the story the same way. Say One brown egg slowly and tap together. Ask Eli how many words were heard.
4. Ask Eli who the characters were in "Sam and the Egg Hunt." Help Eli name Sam, Nan, Tess, and the hen Dot if a nudge is needed.
5. When that feels steady, go on to the Word blocks activity below.
Activity
Together: Word blocks. Put six blocks, spoons, or pennies in a row. Say a short sentence slowly, like "Sam found an egg." Eli pushes one block forward for each word heard, then touches each block while saying the sentence back. Try three more sentences of two to six words, like "Nan has hens" and "The hen sat very still." Last, Eli makes up a sentence about breakfast, and you push a block for each word while Eli says it.
Tip If Eli loses the count, slow way down and hold up one finger for each word instead of tapping. If Eli flies through it, let Eli invent a short silly sentence and you do the counting while Eli listens.
On paper
Worksheet
Counting Words
The worksheet, as it prints
Reading · Worksheet
Counting Words
Read each item to your child. Your child makes a mark on the page for each word, or answers out loud.
Name: Eli
Score: ____ / 5
1. Write one mark for each word you hear when your grown-up says: Nan has hens.
2. Write one mark for each word you hear when your grown-up says: Sam found two white eggs.
3. Write one mark for each word you hear when your grown-up says: Tess was still asleep.
4. Say a sentence about your breakfast, and count its words on your fingers.
5. What would happen if Nan had not told Sam to leave Dot's egg alone?
This took Arbor about a minute
Your child’s year, written like this
Eli isn’t real. Arbor writes these for your kid: their name, what they love, and where they actually are in each subject.