SET 5
Brad’s boat
Written by Angela Weeks. Illustrated by Tsunami Hee Ja.
SPELD SA
Phonic Book Series
Practice page
Practise the sounds
s, a, t, i, p, n
c, k, ck, e, h, r, m, d
g, o, u, l, f, b
ai, j, oa, ie, ee, or
z, w, ng, v, oo (book), oo (room)
Practise blending sounds
cries, swims, will, swings, floating,
hanging, Wilfred
Practise high frequency words
are, into, the, he, onto, likes, to,
they, me, I, says, have, come,
hole, water, rope, pretend
Vocabulary
The words on this page can be used to help the student’s comprehension before, during or
after reading the book. Link the meanings of words with what the student already knows,
show examples or have students act out the words.
log – a large piece of a tree
trunk – the thick main stem of a tree, from which its branches grow
grab – take hold of something suddenly
hanging – dropping down from a fixed point
floating – staying on the surface of water without sinking
drops – falls
plans – thinks of ideas for how to use something
pretend – make believe
sinks – goes below the surface of the water
1
It is hot. Gavin, Wilfred and
Brad are at the water hole.
2
Gavin gets up on a tree trunk
and jumps into the water.
Wilfred has a swim.
3
Brad grabs the old rope hanging
from the gum tree. He sees a big
log, floating in the water.
4
Brad swings and drops into the
water. He has plans for the log.
He will pretend it is a boat.
5
Brad drags himself onto the log.
He likes his ‘boat’.
6
Gavin looks at Brad sitting on
the log and swims across to
him. He drags himself on too.
They float on the ‘boat’.
7
“Wait for me,” cries Wilfred.
He tries to lift himself up, but
the log sinks. Gavin and Brad tip
off the log.
8
“Hold the log still. I will stand
on it,” says Brad. Brad stands
on the log and flips off into
the water.
9
“Me too!” says Wilfred.
The kids have fun flipping into
the water off the ‘boat’.
10
“Come in!” says Mum.
The kids swim to the bank.
11
Brad looks back at his ‘boat’.
He had fun pretending.
12
From blending to fluency
To develop fluency, the student needs to re-read the same book multiple times. Students
might initially sound out every word and re-read every sentence but, with practice, blending
will become more automatic. The fluency chart can be used to develop automaticity of
blending by providing single word blending practice.
While reading the book, the student:
• blends the sounds of each unknown word in the sentence
• identifies and reads high frequency words
• re-reads the sentence from the beginning
• discusses the meaning of the sentence
When finished, the student needs to re-read the whole book and practise reading the same
book until they can read at a steady pace with minimal sounding out.
Making connections - questions and discussion
After the student has read the book, or the relevant page, ask them one or more of the
following questions and discuss:
1. What happened in the story? What was Brad pretending?.
2. Have you ever tried to swing on a rope hanging from a tree?
Tell me what happened.
3. Have you ever tried to pull yourself up onto something that was
floating in the water? What happened?
4. What does it mean to ‘have plans for something’?
5. What does the word ‘bank’ mean in the story? (the side of the water
hole) What is another meaning for the word ‘bank’?
6. Tell me about a time when you have played a pretending game.
Fluency chart
off for too tip
will rock log fun
hang wait boat drag
jump hold tries lift
grab plan looks bank
trunk swing float flipping
SPELD SA Phonic Books follow the sequence of letter-sounds used in the Jolly Phonics
synthetic phonics program. The books can be used with other phonics programs.
Set 1 s, a, t, p, i, n
Set 2 c, k, ck, e, h, r, m, d
Set 3 g, o, u, l, f, b
Set 4 ai, j, oa, ie, ee, or
Set 5 z, w, ng, v, oo (book), oo (room)
Set 6 y, x, sh, ch, th (think), th (that)
Set 7 qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar
Set 8 y (sunny), a (apron), a-e (cake), e (female), e-e (eve), i (silent), i-e (kite),
o (open), o-e (home), u (student), u-e (tune)
Set 9 ay (play), ey (they), oy (toy), y (mystery), ea (dream), ie (chief), y (dry),
igh (night)
Set 10 oe (toe), ow (rainbow), ow (now), ir (bird), ur (turn), ew (few),
au (launch), aw (paw), al (talk)
Reproduction of this material, as a whole, with appropriate acknowledgment, for non-
commercial or private purposes is permitted. Text and images remain the intellectual
property of SPELD SA.
SPELD SA acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we deliver our
services. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their
cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land.
Copyright SPELD SA, 2021
SPELD SA
Phonic Book Series
