100 Easy Lessons: Curriculum Content and Skill Progression: Lessons 31-35

Curriculum Content and Skill Progression: Lessons 31-35

This section maps the sequential introduction of new phonetic concepts, vocabulary, and reading material across Lessons 31-35. This analysis demonstrates the curriculum's incremental and cumulative design, where each lesson methodically builds upon the skills and knowledge established in the preceding ones. The careful pacing ensures that students are not overwhelmed and can achieve mastery at each step before moving forward.

The following table outlines the core learning objectives and content for each of the five lessons in this sequence.

Lesson Number	New Sound(s) / Sight Word(s) Introduced	Key Vocabulary Practice	Story Text for Reading Application
Lesson 31	Sound: w	lock, and, sand, fun, luck, sun, little, lick	a man sat in the sand. a little ant can see the man. the ant is mad.
Lesson 32	Review of previously learned sounds	duck, win, will, luck, with, we, fill, feel, mud	this little cat can run in sand. that little cat can sit on sand. see the feet.
Lesson 33	Sound: g	we, cat, run, lick, duck, win, will, with, can	we see a duck. we can sit in the sun with that duck. it is fun in the sun.
Lesson 34	Sight Word: I	got, sun, gun, win, rug, rag, duck, luck, with	we will run. I will win. I am not a duck. I am an ant.
Lesson 35	Sound: sh (digraph)	lot, rug, got, log, little, lick, win, we, duck	a cat sat on a little rug. the cat got mud on that rug. mom got mad at the cat.

The progression illustrated in the table is deliberate and highly effective. Each lesson introduces only one new phoneme or a single high-frequency sight word. This new element is then immediately integrated into carefully constructed "decodable passages." These texts are composed almost entirely of phonemes and sight words that have been explicitly taught, allowing students to apply their new skills with a high rate of success. Furthermore, Lesson 35 marks a crucial step from single letter-sound correspondences to digraphs ('sh'), where two letters represent a single sound, indicating an increase in phonetic complexity. This design ensures that students build a strong, interconnected foundation of phonetic knowledge.

This structured content progression serves as the vehicle for developing a range of interconnected literacy competencies.

My Reading Practice Stories: Lessons 31-35

A Note for Our New Reader!

Hello, Super Reader! You have been working so hard learning new words and sounds. Now it's time for the really fun part. Each story uses the special sounds and words you just practiced in your lessons, from 31 to 35. This is your special chance to show off all your amazing new reading skills. I know you can do it!

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1. Story from Lesson 31: The Mad Ant

a man sat in the sand. a little ant can see the man. the ant is mad.

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2. Story from Lesson 32: Cats in the Sand

this little cat can run in sand. that little cat can sit on sand. see the feet.

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3. Story from Lesson 33: Fun in the Sun

we see a duck. we can sit in the sun with that duck. it is fun in the sun.

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4. Story from Lesson 34: The Race

we will run. I will win. I am not a duck. I am an ant.

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5. Story from Lesson 35: The Muddy Cat

a cat sat on a little rug. the cat got mud on that rug. mom got mad at the cat.

The Hidden Genius of '-ed'

 

The Secret Language Rule You Use Every Day Without Knowing It

The Deceptively Simple Suffix

The suffix '-ed' seems about as simple as English grammar gets. We add it to the end of a verb to talk about the past. Walk becomes walked. Play becomes played. It’s a rule most of us learned early and haven’t thought about since.

But take a closer look—or rather, a closer listen. Say these three words out loud: walked, jogged, and wanted. They all end with the same two letters, yet we pronounce that ending in three completely different ways. Why is that? It turns out our brains are following an elegant and unconscious rule of phonetics every time we speak.

This article uncovers the three hidden identities of '-ed' and reveals the surprising linguistic logic our brains follow automatically, a logic you’ve mastered without ever being taught.

Takeaway 1: The Suffix with Three Faces

The first thing to understand is that the '-ed' suffix isn’t one sound, but three. Depending on the last sound of the verb it attaches to, the '-ed' ending will morph into one of the following distinct pronunciations.

• The /t/ Sound: When a verb ends in a voiceless sound (like /k/, /p/, or /s/), the '-ed' is pronounced as a sharp /t/. There is no extra syllable.
  • Examples: packed, kissed, jumped, crashed, rushed
• The /d/ Sound: When a verb ends in a voiced sound (like /b/, /g/, or /m/), the '-ed' is pronounced as a humming /d/. Again, there is no extra syllable.
  • Examples: sobbed, wagged, hummed, filled, smiled
• The /ĕd/ Sound (An Extra Syllable): When a verb already ends in a /t/ or /d/ sound, the '-ed' is pronounced as /ĕd/, adding a full, distinct syllable to the word.
  • Examples: batted, landed, rested, planted, nodded

Takeaway 2: It's All About Voicing

So, we know there are three sounds, but why does our brain choose one over the others? The answer lies in a core concept of phonetics: voicing.

In simple terms, sounds can be either "voiceless" or "voiced."

• Voiceless sounds are made using only air passing through your mouth. Try making sounds like /p/, /k/, or /s/ while lightly touching your throat. You won’t feel any vibration.
• Voiced sounds require your vocal cords to vibrate. Try the same thing with sounds like /b/, /g/, or /z/. You’ll feel a distinct buzzing in your throat.

The rule your brain follows is one of phonetic harmony: the voicing of the '-ed' ending must match the voicing of the sound that comes right before it. This makes words easier and more natural to pronounce.

The voiceless /k/ sound in pack is followed by the voiceless /t/ sound (packed). The voiced /g/ sound in wag is followed by the voiced /d/ sound (wagged). The sounds harmonize, allowing speech to flow smoothly. This principle is so fundamental that it’s the rhythmic backbone of the very stories designed to teach reading. Children read about how "Dad grabbed a shovel," how "The dog jumped and wagged," and how after a job well done, "Mom hugged and kissed me." The seamless flow from the voiced /g/ in hug to the /d/ sound, and the voiceless /s/ in kiss to the /t/ sound, happens without a second thought.

Takeaway 3: Your Brain Knew the Rules Before You Did

While breaking down these rules might feel like a technical grammar lesson, here is the most remarkable part: you already knew all of this. Native English-speaking children master these complex phonetic shifts through listening and speaking long before they are ever formally taught in school. This presents a fascinating paradox: if children already know how to pronounce these words, why do phonics guides even need to explain these rules?

English speaking children will not need to know the rules for pronunciation when reading – they will pronounce the words correctly in context as it is part of their speaking vocabulary.

The key is the distinction between unconscious knowledge for speaking and explicit knowledge for decoding written text. Speaking is an auditory skill learned through imitation and immersion. Reading, on the other hand, requires the brain to perform the very different task of mapping abstract symbols (letters) back to those known sounds. The phonics lessons don't teach a child how to say jumped correctly; they teach the child to recognize that the written letters J-U-M-P-E-D correspond to the word they already use effortlessly.

This is a stunning example of the human brain's power as a pattern-recognition machine. It internalizes complex systems and applies them flawlessly without any conscious effort. There is a profound difference between knowing how to speak correctly and knowing the explicit rules for why it is correct. Your brain handled the "how" all on its own.

The Elegance Hiding in Plain Sight

The humble '-ed' suffix is a perfect illustration of the hidden complexity and elegance within our language. What seems like a simple spelling rule is actually a sophisticated phonetic system governed by clear, logical principles.

To recap, we’ve seen that:

1. The '-ed' suffix has three distinct sounds: /t/, /d/, and /ĕd/.
2. The sound is chosen based on the principle of "voicing" to make words easier to say.
3. We learn and apply this rule intuitively for speech, years before we learn to consciously decode it for reading.

It leaves one to wonder: What other complex rules of language might we be following perfectly every day without ever realizing it?

Windows to Heaven: How Medieval Stained Glass Turned Cathedrals into Glowing Storybooks

 

Light up your Middle Ages unit with this vibrant stained-glass craft — download now and watch your students shine!

Today we’re stepping into something truly magical—an art form that transformed hulking stone cathedrals into radiant, sun-powered storybooks. Forget ink and parchment. Here, the medium is light itself, streaming through jewel-toned glass to paint the air with color and narrative. Let’s walk through those towering doors and see how medieval ingenuity gave us the original illuminated manuscripts… only vertical, gigantic, and alive with sunshine.

A Divine Idea: Light as Heaven on Earth

Picture a medieval cathedral: thick stone walls, cavernous interiors, and before electricity, a perpetual twilight gloom. Small windows barely dented the darkness. The solution? Stained glass—an intricate jigsaw of hand-cut colored glass pieces joined by slender lead strips. But this wasn’t mere decoration.

Enter Abbot Suger, the 12th-century French visionary behind the Gothic revolution at Saint-Denis. Suger believed light was divine—a tangible slice of heaven touching earth. Flood the nave with it, he argued, and worshippers would feel transported into sacred glow. Sunlight pouring through ruby reds, sapphire blues, and emerald greens didn’t just illuminate; it sanctified. Every beam became a brushstroke in a living painting, turning cold stone into a preview of paradise.

The Poor Man’s Bible: Stories for the Illiterate Majority

Medieval Europe ran on stories, especially Bible stories. Yet books were rare, hand-copied luxuries; literacy was a privilege of the elite. How do you teach faith to an entire community—rich, poor, young, old—without words?

Enter the Biblia Pauperum, the Poor Man’s Bible. Stained-glass windows became vibrant, wordless scriptures. Arranged in sequences across towering walls, they narrated Creation, the Nativity, the Crucifixion, and Resurrection in explosive color. No reading required—just look up. A shepherd glancing at the Good Shepherd window during Mass absorbed the parable as easily as a nobleman. These weren’t static images; sunlight shifted through the day, animating scenes like slow-motion film.

An Encyclopedia in Glass: From Saints to Bakers

The windows formed a medieval Wikipedia in glass. Core canon? Absolutely: Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath. But the scope exploded outward. Saints battled dragons; knights jousted; zodiac wheels tracked sacred calendars. Daily life muscled in too—farmers plowing, merchants weighing goods, bakers sliding loaves into ovens. Mythical beasts like griffins guarded the margins. The entire cosmos—spiritual, social, and fantastical—shimmered in the nave.

A Community Crowdfund: Who Paid for the Rainbow?

Crafting these masterpieces was neither quick nor cheap. Glass had to be blown, colored with metallic oxides, cut, painted with grisaille for details, and fired. One rose window could take years. So who footed the bill?

Everyone. It was the original Kickstarter.

• Kings and queens donated entire lancets to broadcast piety and power—their coats of arms glowing alongside saints.
• Wealthy merchant families sponsored panels, ensuring their names endured in light.
• Trade guilds pooled pennies: the Bakers’ Guild might fund a window showing Christ multiplying loaves, with bakers proudly depicted below their patron saint.

Every donation was both offering and advertisement, a permanent thank-you etched in eternity.

Survivors of Smash and Time

Tragically, not all windows endured. The 16th-century Reformation sparked iconoclastic fury; reformers smashed “idolatrous” images across Europe. Thousands of irreplaceable panels became rubble. The survivors—Chartres, Sainte-Chapelle, York Minster—are miracles of resilience. Today, conservators battle pollution, weathering, and lead fatigue to preserve these fragile storytellers for future eyes.

Your Window, Your Story

Stained glass remains one of humanity’s most collaborative art forms: part engineering, part theology, part community diary. Sunlight still ignites the same awe Suger envisioned nearly 900 years ago.

So here’s the question: If you could design a stained-glass window for our time—what story would you tell? Climate struggle and renewal? The quiet heroism of essential workers? The digital connections binding a fragmented world? Whatever your narrative, remember: the best stories don’t need words. Sometimes, all it takes is light, color, and a window to the soul.

What scene would you set aglow?

Ignite your students’ curiosity and creativity with this immersive medieval-history art experience: download the Medieval Stained Glass Craft & Activity today and watch them bring the age of cathedrals to life, constructing their own vibrant “stained-glass” windows while exploring the fascinating history and design of this timeless art form!

Stepping into Stories: The Epic Tales Hidden in Ancient Roman Mosaics

 “Bring ancient Rome alive in your classroom with this hands-on Roman mosaics art project—grab it now!”

You know, some of the greatest stories ever told aren't tucked away in dusty books or scrolling across screens. Nope—they're literally underfoot, embedded in the floors of ancient Roman homes, baths, and public spaces. These aren't just pretty decorations; they're vivid narratives crafted from tiny stones, whispering tales of gods, heroes, monsters, and everyday triumphs from nearly 2,000 years ago. Today, let's lace up our imaginary sandals and walk across time to decode these stone-pixel masterpieces. Who knows? By the end, you might even dream up your own mosaic story.

The Face That Stared Back Through Centuries

Imagine this: Archaeologists uncover a Roman bathhouse, and there she is—a woman's face gazing up from the floor, her expression frozen in time. Discovered in an ancient bath, she's not painted on canvas or etched in marble. She's staring at us from almost 2,000 years ago, pieced together in a way that defies modern shortcuts. Who was she? What dramas unfolded in her world? And how on earth was this hyper-realistic image created without a drop of paint?

This isn't a painting—it's a mosaic. Every Roman mosaic is a storytelling marvel, built from thousands (sometimes millions) of minuscule pieces. These "pixels" of the ancient world weren't born from electricity but from painstaking human craft. And once you understand the medium, the messages come alive.

Decoding the Language: Tesserae, the Ancient Pixels

Before we dive into the plots, let's master the grammar. Every mosaic starts with tesserae—tiny cubes of stone or colored glass, each one hand-cut to size. Think about that labor: artisans chiseling away at marble, limestone, or vibrant glass, then placing each piece by hand. No copy-paste, no digital filters—just pure, gritty dedication.

Your smartphone screen? It's pixels of light forming images. Roman tesserae? The OG version—physical stone blocks composing scenes of breathtaking detail. From afar, they blend into lifelike portraits or sweeping landscapes. Up close, it's a grid of deliberate choices, each tessera a "word" in a visual sentence. The Romans didn't just decorate; they wrote with stone, turning floors into epic canvases.

Mythic Guardians: Medusa as Home Security

With their stone vocabulary mastered, what tales did the Romans tell? They went big—or rather, mythological. Gods thundered across villa floors, heroes battled beasts, and monsters lurked with purpose.

Take Medusa, the snake-haired Gorgon whose gaze could petrify anyone foolish enough to meet her eyes. Terrifying, right? So why slap her face on your entryway floor? The Romans were clever: They believed her fearsome stare would ward off evil spirits, bad luck, or intruders. It was an ancient alarm system—apotropaic magic in mosaic form. Step on Medusa, and you're safe; her petrifying power now protected the household. From nightmare to guardian angel, all in tiny stones. Wild, huh?

Real-Life Action Heroes: The Bear Hunt Saga

Mosaics weren't all fantasy. They captured the adrenaline of Roman real life—or at least the glamorous, danger-fueled highlights. Picture this: A sprawling floor scene from a wealthy estate depicting a bear hunt. Hunters on horseback charge through the wilderness, spears raised, bears roaring in defiance. You can almost hear the snarls and feel the dust kick up.

This wasn't generic clip art. The artist inscribed the hunters' names—Minus and Lucius—right into the tesserae. Suddenly, it's personal: Their glory moment, immortalized in stone. For the villa owner, this mosaic was bragging rights etched eternally. Forget fleeting social media posts; this was an ancient Instagram feed in durable form—showcasing adventures, status, and sheer bravado for generations of guests to admire (and envy).

Community Narratives: Rewriting Roman Art for Jewish Faith

Mosaics scaled up too, broadcasting not just individual flexes but collective identity. The Roman Empire sprawled across continents, blending cultures like a vast mosaic itself. How did minority communities stake their claim?

Enter ancient synagogues, where Jewish artisans adopted the Roman style but infused it with profound meaning. Compare two images: On the left, a classic Roman motif—the sun god Helios in his chariot, symbolizing imperial power. On the right, a synagogue floor in places like Hammat Tiberias or Sepphoris. Helios remains central, but now encircled by a zodiac wheel.

No pagan worship here. The zodiac became a Jewish calendar, marking holy days, seasons, and festivals. It was cultural remix at its finest: Borrowing a recognizable Roman framework to proclaim, "This is our story, our beliefs." Mosaics became billboards of resilience, turning imperial art into tools of faith and community pride.

Your Turn: What Mosaic Would Tell Your Story?

From Medusa's protective glare to hunters' heroic hunts, from personal triumphs to communal creeds—these floors weren't silent. Every tessera pulsed with narrative, waiting for curious feet to "read" them piece by piece.

It's incredible: Tiny stones outlasting empires, preserving laughs, fears, faiths, and flexes. So, here's my challenge to you: If you could craft a mosaic of your life—your adventures, values, pivotal moments—what story would emerge? A family epic? A personal triumph over odds? A symbol of what grounds you?

The Romans proved it: Great tales don't need words or screens. Sometimes, all it takes is a floor full of stories, ready for the next wanderer to step in and listen. What's yours?

 

Bring the grandeur of ancient Rome into your classroom with this hands-on mosaic art experience — download the Ancient Roman Mosaics resource today, and watch your students become little Roman artisans as they glue, create, and explore history in vivid colour!

WCPM Calculator

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