SP/ST/SN Blends: the sound, the words, the books

Star, spoon, snail, spider — SP, ST and SN blends. 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: SP/ST/SN Blends. Spellings tinted in the books: sp, st, sn. Say the sound in isolation, then in the twenty words, then find it in the captions.

2. The words

Sight words used in the captions: a, the, has, in, on, and, to, is.

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. “the child’s name and the Storm” — A storm keeps [NAME] awake, and then comes a huge snore. [NAME] creeps down the stairs past a spinning spider and finds Dad asleep on the sofa. A tap, a snort, a sneeze and a snack with two spoons, and by the time the stars come out both of them are asleep. (10 pages; uses star, spoon, spin, stair, spider, snore, splash, storm, snack, sneeze; with Dad)
2. “the child’s name in the Snow” — Snow! [NAME] and Sis build a snowman with stick arms and stone eyes, but it needs a nose. A stone drops off, a stick pokes Sis, and a spoon is just right, until [NAME] sneezes it off. Snap: Sis puts it back. (10 pages; uses spoon, snow, stamp, spin, stone, stick, snap, stump, sneeze; with Sis)
3. “the child’s name and the Snail” — A snail with one spot sits on the wet stone step, and [NAME] wants it to go. A stick ramp and a leaf snack only make it hide, so [NAME] sits still and watches a spider spin, until the snail peeps out and slides right onto [NAME]. (10 pages; uses spin, snail, stone, spot, stick, spider, splash, snack, spring)
4. “the child’s name in Space” — A cardboard box is a rocket. Three, two, one, blast off! [NAME] spins past a big star, stamps on a space stone, eats a space snack from a spoon and splashes down in the bath, then falls asleep in the rocket. (10 pages; uses star, spoon, stamp, spin, stone, spot, stair, snore, splash, space, snack)
5. “the child’s name and Spot” — Spot the dog will fetch anything except the stick: a stone, a snail, a whole tree stump and [NAME]'s snack. At last Spot brings the stick, and falls asleep on [NAME]'s lap still holding it. (10 pages; uses spin, snail, stone, spot, stick, snore, splash, snack, stump, sneeze)

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.