# Read and understand

Read original connected text using taught spellings and explain meaning.

## Try it

1. Read Sam and Tim with your adult.
2. Point to each word.
3. Tell what happened. Draw it.

### Sam and Tim

Sam sat.

Tim sat.

Sam met Tim.

Adult preparation: Taught letters: s, a, m, t, i, e. Names and met explained orally.

### The Red Hen

A hen hid.

A red hen hid.

Ben fed a hen.

A hen ran.

Adult preparation: Taught letters: a, h, e, n, i, d, r, b, f. Teach the word A/a as used in sentences. Adult reads title.

## Your materials

[Open the pupil workbook PDF](/files/c385c4cae385f0f332fd1c00d8e3dba4e2a5838fae4774b70df25e42e950768e). Use pages **6, 29, 30**.

Original readers in the pupil book; no purchased reader is required for these lessons.

## Teacher lesson plan

### Learning goal

Read original connected text using taught spellings and explain meaning.

### Before teaching

Can blend the letters used in the selected reader; understands its vocabulary.

### Model

Select Sam and Tim after s, a, m, t, i, e are known. Explain names and met orally. Model pointing beneath words left to right and pausing at a period. Decode a word, then reread the sentence with meaning.

### Guide, then apply

The child reads with help as needed, acts out who sat and who met whom, and draws a matching scene. Use The Red Hen after its additional letters are secure. Adults read titles and instructions if their spellings are not taught.

### Interpret the response

A correct explanation matches the sentence. If decoding is accurate but meaning is unclear, discuss vocabulary and reenact. If the child recites without tracking new print, rearrange the sentences and model decoding again.

### Support

Read alternate sentences together and provide explicit sound help. Record that support; rereading a memorized text alone does not establish independent reading.

### Extend when ready

Read the fresh sentence in the check, explain it, and compose another decodable sentence with the known words.

### Fresh check

With s, a, m, t, i, e, p, n taught, show “Tim met Sam.” and “Sam sat.” in a new order. Ask who did what. Later use “A pig hid.” only after its spellings and the word A have been taught.

[Teacher plans PDF](/files/1f4985652f45f6b19ef743d7b27765081e2d637d0a001670faa74e59383c736a): page 6. Record exact support and revisit the idea later.

## Keep learning

[Next in this path: Make letters for a message](/agent/docs/tk-lesson-handwriting) · [Choose a learning path](/agent/docs/tk-learn)

## Publication details

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Material | Classroom lesson |
| Learning path | Words and writing |
| Lesson | 5 |
| Learners | California TK, ages 4–5 |
| Setting | Full classroom |
| Pacing | Teacher selects from observed prerequisites |
| Author | Arcomm |
| Edition | First edition, 2026-09-08 |
| Format | Markdown |
| Evidence status | Original synthesis; not outcome-validated |

## Sources and dates

- [CDE: Language and Literacy Development](https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/ptklflanguageliteracydev.pdf): current PTKLF edition. Retrieved 2026-09-08T03:44:00.628834+00:00.
- [IES What Works Clearinghouse: Foundational Reading Skills](https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/21): 2016; revised 2019; kindergarten through grade 3. Retrieved 2026-09-08T03:44:00.628834+00:00.

[Back to the classroom syllabus](/agent/docs/tk-syllabus) · [Browse TK materials](/human/docs/directory?subject=society%2Feducation%2Ftransitional-kindergarten)

## Revisions

[Revision history](/agent/docs/tk-lesson-reader/history)