FL/FR Blends: the sound, the words, the books

Flag, flower, frog, fruit — FL and FR 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: FL/FR Blends. Spellings tinted in the books: fl, fr. 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. “Flip It, the child’s name!” — Dad is frying eggs and [NAME] wants to flip one. The first flip sends the egg flying onto the floor, where a fly and the dog both want it. A frown, a second go, and this time the egg lands back in the pan. Fresh eggs and fresh fruit for everyone, and the dog gets the floor. (10 pages; uses fry, fruit, flame, floor, fly, frown, fresh, flip, flap; with Dad)
2. “the child’s name Sets the Frog Free” — On a frosty morning [NAME] finds a cold, still frog on the back step and warms it in a box by the sunny window. When it starts hopping again, [NAME] carries it down to the pond and sets it free: it floats on a leaf, flicks its tongue at a fly, and the flock of ducks flaps. The frog is [NAME]'s friend now. (10 pages; uses frog, float, fly, frown, free, friend, flap, flock, frost)
3. “Flap, Flag, Flap!” — [NAME] paints a flag with a frog on it and takes it to the park on a windy day. The flag flaps, then flies right off its stick, over a flock of pigeons and onto the pond, where it floats out of reach. A long stick and a big stretch bring it back, and at home the flag goes safely into a frame. (10 pages; uses frog, flag, float, frown, free, fresh, flap, flock, frame)
4. “the child’s name and the Flood” — [NAME] is giving the toy frog and the toy boat a bath. The tap stays on, the tub fills up and up, and a small flood pours across the bathroom floor, with the frog floating away on it. Mom shuts the tap, the two of them mop, the frog sails past on the boat like a captain, and a fresh towel and a hug end the day. (10 pages; uses frog, flag, float, floor, frown, fresh, flip, flap, flood; with Mom)
5. “the child’s name and the Floss” — [NAME] frowns all the way to the clinic. But the dentist has a big toy frog with big white teeth and a job for [NAME]: floss out the fly stuck in them. Floss, floss, floss, the frog's teeth are fresh again, the big chair flips back like a ride, and [NAME] leaves with a fresh grin, a sticker and a new friend. (10 pages; uses frog, floss, fly, frown, free, fresh, friend, flip)

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.