Printable Cheat Sheets: Run Lessons 1–4 (ParentTutor Training)

Apricot Tree AcademyParentTutor Training

Module 4 · Lesson 1 cheat sheet

Syllables & Counting

Week one's new concept. Say it, sign it, sing it, then count with the chin trick.

The definition

A syllable is a word, or part of a word, with one vowel sound.

The hand signals: do it together ×3

“A word”: hold your hands apart in front of you, palms facing.
“Or part of a word”: thumb and pointer finger about an inch apart.
“With one vowel sound”: hold up one finger.

Then play the Syllable Song and do the signals every time the definition comes around.

The chin trick

Say this “Take your learning fingers, pointer and middle finger, and hold them under your chin. When you say a word, count how many times your chin touches your fingers. That's how many vowel sounds there are, which is the number of syllables. Let's try cat… one! Now button… two!”

Monday's counting wordsanswers in parentheses

seven (2) · mice (1) · hotdog (2) · window (2) · truck (1) · paper (2) · yellow (2) · toys (1) · elephant (3)

The trap word Mice has two vowel letters but one vowel sound: one syllable. The chin knows. If it comes up, celebrate it: that's the definition doing its job.

Apricot Tree AcademyParentTutor Training

Module 4 · Lesson 2 cheat sheet

Digraphs & Closed Syllables

Two ideas this week: five digraphs join the sound cards, and your child meets the first syllable type.

Digraph vs. blend

A digraph is two letters that make one brand-new sound. A blend keeps both sounds: in stop you can still hear /s/ and /t/.

sh shop ch chat th thin wh whip ck duck (says /k/)

The thumbs game: say this “Thumbs up if the word has a digraph, down if it's a blend. Drip: down, dr is a blend. Ship: up!” Then: chip (up) · clip (down) · whip (up) · slip (down) · thin (up) · chin (up) · plan (down) · than (up) · duck (up) · dust (down).

Closed syllable: the definition

One vowel, followed by one or more consonants, and the vowel is short.

Signals: one finger up (“1 vowel”), finger pointing left-to-right (“followed by 1 or more consonants”), thumb and finger an inch apart (“the vowel is short”). Then the Closed Syllable Song.

The word sort: three questions per card “Does cat have one vowel? Yes. Is it followed by a consonant? Yes. Is the vowel short? Yes. Yes column! What about boat? Two vowels, so No column.” After a few cards, just ask: “Is it a closed syllable? Why, or why not?”

Blocks change this week A digraph is one sound = one block: chug is three blocks (/ch/ /u/ /g/), not four.

Apricot Tree AcademyParentTutor Training

Module 4 · Lesson 3 cheat sheet

Double Letters & Welded Sounds

The first spelling rule, and the first letter chunks your child learns as single units.

The double letter rule

In a closed syllable, when a word ends in f, l, s, or z right after the vowel, that letter doubles.

Say this “The letters f, l, s, and z are shy, and they like to bring along a friend. To remember which letters double, we say: Lizz will miss Muff. Lizz has double z, will has double l, miss has double s, and Muff has double f.”

Examples by letterfrom the Teacher Guide

ll will · bill · fill · fall · ball · mall · fell · tell
ff cliff · Jeff · muff · puff · bluff · stuff
ss miss · kiss · class · chess · bless · mass
zz jazz · buzz · fuzz · fizz · frizz

Welded sounds: new cards this week

all ball an can am ram alk chalk

Brainstorm more together: call, fall, wall · fan, man, tan · bam, Sam · walk, talk, stalk. (Careful: hawk sounds right but isn't spelled a-l-k.)

The picture sort: three questions “Is milk a closed syllable? Yes. Is the last letter f, l, s, or z? No. The k comes after the l, so no double. Is pill a closed syllable? Yes. Does it end in l, right after the vowel? Yes, double the l!”

Apricot Tree AcademyParentTutor Training

Module 4 · Lesson 4 cheat sheet

Plural ‘s’ & the Exceptions

The last week of month one: one letter with three sounds, plus five welded chunks that keep a long vowel.

Introduce it on the tile mat: say this “Here's the word cat. What do we say when there's more than one? Cats! We add an s and it says /s/. Now bug… bugs. But listen… that s says /z/! One more: dress. It already ends in s, so we add es, dresses, and it says /iz/.”

The three rulesyour child discovers these by sorting

Ends in f, k, p, t, th: add s, it says /s/ (cups, cats, moths)
Ends in b, d, g, l, m, n (also r, v, vowels): add s, it says /z/ (beds, frogs, cans)
Ends in j, s, x, z, ch, sh: add es, it says /iz/ (foxes, wishes, benches)

Run the three-column sort first, then look at each column together and let your child find what the endings have in common. They write the rule at the top of the column. A rule you discovered is a rule you keep.

Closed-syllable exceptions: new cards this week

old gold ild child olt bolt ind kind ost post

They look closed, but the vowel stays long. Not rule-breakers, but a short VIP list, learned as units: sold, told, cold · wild, mild · colt, jolt · find, mind, blind · host, most.

Hand on throat /s/ is quiet; /z/ buzzes. Say cats and bugs with a hand on your throat and feel the difference. Your child's mouth has been doing this correctly for years. The lesson just gives it letters.