Story Petal
Teacher guide · Pack 1 — Short A

Short A: the sound, the words, the books

The very first sound most readers meet: cat, hat, bat, map. Five decodable stories and twenty flashcards, each child’s copy starring that child. This guide maps the pack onto the components of systematic, explicit early-literacy instruction (the ones Wisconsin’s 2023 Act 20 names: phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding, letter–sound knowledge, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension).

1. The sound

Target: Short A. Spellings tinted in the books: a. Say the sound in isolation, then in the twenty words, then find it in the captions.

2. The words

cathatbatmapbagfanvanjamcapnaptappanramyamclapflagcrablampsandhand

Sight words used in the captions: a, the, in, on, of, and, is, no, my, has, had, can, will, what, where, up, to, into, past, for, hi.

3. Phonemic awareness (5 minutes)

  • Blend: say the sounds of a pack word slowly; children say the word.
  • Segment: say a word; children tap out its sounds.
  • Swap: change one sound (cat → hat → hot) with the flashcards face down.

4. Decoding with the flashcards (5 minutes)

  • Picture side up: name it, find the tinted sound, say the word.
  • Word side up: sound out, blend, check with the picture.
  • Speed round: the child reads the word side of ten cards as fast as accuracy allows.

5. The stories (10 minutes each)

  1. “Cat Ran!” — Cat sees a bat at the window and bursts off the mat in a streak of motion. Past a hat, past a bag, past a pan, past a fan, past a van, past a ram, past a crab — Cat tears through the house and into the yard. Where did the bat go? A hush, then — there! The bat is hanging on the porch lamp. Cat skids to a stop. They look at each other. Pals. (15 pages; uses cat, nap, tap, bat, hat, bag, pan, fan, van, ram, crab, lamp, clap)
  2. “Where is My Hat?” — [NAME] can't find their favorite hat. Is it in the bag? No. In the pan? No. In the van? On the map? No, no, no. Cat has a plan — Cat dashes up to the tall floor lamp. There, hanging from the lamp, is a tiny bat wearing [NAME]'s hat! With a gentle pat, [NAME] gets the hat back and the bat gets a new pal. (14 pages; uses hat, bag, pan, van, map, cat, lamp, bat, hand, clap, nap)
  3. “A Yam for Gran” — [NAME] is taking a big orange yam to Gran's house. On the path, a cat asks "Can I have it?" — No! A bat asks — No! A ram asks — No! A crab asks — No! [NAME] holds tight and races up the path to Gran. Gran is delighted. She rewards [NAME] with a pan of warm jam. Glad and full, [NAME] takes a nap on Gran's lap. (15 pages; uses yam, cap, bag, cat, bat, ram, crab, pan, jam, nap)
  4. “Tap! Tap! Tap!” — [NAME] is sound asleep when — TAP! TAP! TAP! — a mysterious sound wakes them up. Is it a cat? No. Is it a ram? No. Is it a crab? No. The tap-tap-tap keeps going. [NAME] gathers courage and extends a hand toward the window. The reveal: a tiny friendly bat wanting to be let in! New pal, peaceful nap. (13 pages; uses tap, nap, lamp, cat, ram, crab, hand, bat, clap)
  5. “the child’s name and the Crab” — [NAME] is at the beach building the world's best sand castle. Pat, pat, pat — UP, UP, UP it grows. Then a tiny crab scuttles right through and the castle tumbles! [NAME] sits in the wreckage, sad. Then [NAME] has an idea — they pat the sand patiently again, and this time they extend a hand toward the crab. Together [NAME] and Crab build a new castle, taller than ever, and plant a tiny flag on top. (14 pages; uses crab, sand, bag, pan, hand, flag, clap, nap)

First read: the child decodes every word; wait, do not rush in. Second read: fluency, with expression. Then talk about the pictures in any language the child has.

6. Checking progress

  • Accuracy: words read correctly on the first pass of a story (aim for 95%+ before the next pack).
  • Letter–sound knowledge: the tinted spellings named in isolation.
  • Comprehension: retell the story in three sentences; the pictures are the prompt.
  • Engagement: how many re-reads the child asks for. Personalised books are re-read more; count it.

7. Families

Send the flashcards home; the word side is a two-minute routine.

Story Petal books are generated by an image model from instructions we write, checked by a person, and never used to train anything beyond a child’s own order. What our art must get right.