(upbeat theme music) (door creaks) - Hey.

How are you today?

Good morning, super readers.

Thank you for joining us here in our Valley PBS classroom.

I am Mrs. Hammack.

- Hi, I'm Mrs. Vang.

- Hi, I'm Mrs. O'Leary, and I am the substitute for Mrs. Nix.

We're gonna miss her this week, but she'll be back next week.

- And we're so glad you're here with us.

- Thank you.

- This is a place for us to learn, and practice and- - [All] Grow our brains, - To become even stronger readers, writers, and thinkers.

So, let's get started warming up our brains with some- - [All] Ear training.

- Or as my friend, Mr. Dawson, called it, - [All] Daily Phonemic Awareness.

- All right.

So this morning I have a rhyming game.

We're gonna identify rhyme.

That means, figure out which words rhyme, and then think of another word that rhymes with them.

Are you ready?

Great.

Okay.

Let me show you one as a practice so you get the idea.

Okay.

Here are our words today.

Bus, run, fun.

Did you hear two words that rhyme?

- I did.

- Did you?

How about you?

- Yep.

- All right.

Did you hear run and fun?

- I did.

- All right.

Run, fun, they both say - un.

That's what makes them rhyming words.

The ending part matches.

All right, can you think of a word that rhymes with run and fun?

- Oh, I got one.

- You got one, what is it?

- How about sun?

- Great.

I like to run and have fun in the sun.

You see how that works?

All right.

Let's try another one.

Ready?

All right.

Get your listening ears on.

Hug, bug, hut.

Hmm.

Did you hear any rhyming words.

- Oh, that was tricky.

- Tricky, right?

- Yes, it was.

- Okay.

What do you think?

Hug, bug, they both say, - ug.

Great listening.

Can you think of a word that rhymes with hug and bug?

Hmm, Mrs. Leary, can you think of one?

- I can.

How about rug?

- Great idea.

Hug, bug, rug, they all have the -ug sound.

All right.

One last one.

Tub, block, rub.

- I got it.

- Did you get it?

- That was easy.

- Okay.

What'd you get?

- Tub, and rub.

- Yes.

Good listening.

Did you get that too?

Good for you.

Tub, rub, they both say -ub.

Oh, and I have a rhyming word for that too.

Tub, rub, sub.

Did you hear it?

Great listening.

Boy, I can tell your brains are growing, and you're getting stronger.

- Thinking of all that -ah sound, guess what I brought today?

- Tell me.

- I brought my umbrella, - Umbrella.

- Because I have a fun umbrella song for us.

Do you guys wanna learn it?

- [Both] Oh yes.

Please.

- Okay.

Get your umbrella, and I guess if you don't have one... - You can pretend.

- You can pretend, which is okay.

So, Mrs. Hammack, are you gonna pretend?

- I'm gonna to pretend that I have an umbrella.

So if you don't have one, you can do it just like me.

- So, everybody stand up, - Get your umbrella.

- Get ready for umbrella song.

This is a song called, My Umbrella.

- Here we go.

(upbeat music) Okay.

Oh, let's look far, let's look at the sky.

♪ I stay dry underneath my umbrella ♪ Open your umbrella.

♪ I stay dry underneath my umbrella ♪ ♪ My umbrella goes up ♪ ♪ When the rain comes down ♪ ♪ I stay dry underneath my umbrella ♪ - Did you get it?

Not too hard, right?

♪ When I look underneath my umbrella ♪ ♪ When I look underneath my umbrella ♪ ♪ I understand how nice ♪ - Up it goes.

♪ An umbrella can be ♪ - Down.

♪ I stay dry underneath my umbrella.

♪ - Great job.

That song was amazing.

How fun?

- So fun.

- That's fantastic.

- So, I don't think it's raining out today.

I wish it was, but guess what?

- Tell me.

- We're going to focus on the umbrella card today.

- Yeah.

That's awesome.

- All right.

Well, have fun.

- Bye.

So yes, boys and girls.

All week long, we're gonna be focusing on the short U sound, letter and sound, and it goes like this.

Umbrella card, -uh, umbrella, and it's spelled with a U.

So, all the words that we build and we blend, we'll be looking for that sound and looking for that letter.

But let's review first, 'cause it's always good to review what we've already learned.

And so we've got a few things.

Oh, another short vowel card.

Oh my goodness.

It's the apple card.

It says -ah, apple.

And it's spelled with an A.

Beautiful.

How about this one?

You guessed it.

It's another short vowel card.

Oh my goodness.

It's the egg card.

It says -eh, egg, and it's spelled mostly with an E, and sometimes with an ea.

Beautiful job.

Let's see what the next one is.

You guessed it again.

It's our insect card.

And that also is a short vowel sound, and it says -ih, insect, and it's spelled with an I.

Let's see if we have another one.

I bet we do.

Yep.

We sure do.

We have our octopus card, and it says, -oh, octopus, and it's spelled with an O. Oh, okay, so now we switch to a consonant, and it is our guitar card.

It says -guh, guitar, and it's spelled with a G. And another one that we've learned in the past is the hippo card.

I remember that.

It says, -h, hippo, and it's spelled with an H. And our last review card for today is our nest card.

And it says -n, nest, it's spelled with an N. And sometimes it's has a silent letter in front of it too, a silent K, and a silent G. Good job on reviewing with me today.

So we're going to build and blend some words, but I'd like to know if my friends might be able to come and help me.

Alrighty.

So let's start off with blending and, Well, hello.

Thank you for coming.

- Good morning, Mrs. O'Leary.

- Good morning.

I am so happy to be here.

- I am so happy you're here to help me.

Thank you for coming.

So we're going to start blending some words.

So I have a couple written up here.

How about if I model one first and then you helped me with the second one.

- Yeah.

That sounds great.

- Alright.

So our first word is, and I'm going to stretch it out since we're learning right now about blending and then I'm going to shorten it up and say it a little bit quicker.

So here it goes.

Buh, buh, uh, ug.

Hmm.

I know that word, I think.

Do you?

Bug.

Buh, uh, guh.

Bug.

Good job.

Okay.

Which one have you can blend this word for me?

- I think I have it.

- Okay, go ahead.

- Okay.

M, uh, d. M, uh, d. Mud.

It says mud.

- Nice.

Very good.

Very good.

That's excellent.

So let's build something.

Let's build a word.

All right.

So I'm going to start first.

And my first word is going to be hug.

Hug.

I love to hug my friends.

Hug.

And so let me think about that.

Hmm.. Huh, uh, guh.

- Oh, Mrs. O'Leary?

- Yes?

- Could I tap it out on my arm?

- You sure can.

- Okay.

- Thank you.

- Yeah.

Okay.

Huh, uh, guh.

Hug.

- Hug.

That's exactly it.

- Is that the H sound?

- That's the H sound.

What was that second sound that we heard?

- Oh, I think that's the umbrella.

(laughs) - I think you're right.

That is our short vowel U sound, - uh.

And then.

- The next one.

Oh, oh.

I remember, 'cause you reviewed it.

It's the -guh.

Which is the guitar card, that's the G. - You are so smart.

Excellent.

And so boys, let's say this together.

Hug.

We just built the word hug.

Let's try one more.

We'll see if old retell over there can help us too.

So how about a Nut?

Nut.

Can you sound that out?

- I got it, Mrs. O'Leary.

- Go.

Okay, go ahead.

- N, uh, t. Nut.

I heard three sounds.

The first sound is the -n sound, which is the N. - N, you've got it.

That is the N sound.

- And then, uh, uh, it's our focus sound.

That's the U.

- Where's my U.

There it is, very good.

I love to spell words.

- N, uh, t. That's the T. - You are so smart.

- Nut.

- Nut.

- I am smart, Mrs. O'Leary.

- You both are the smartest in the world.

Thank you so much for helping me this morning.

I'm going to go ahead and start with our sentences now.

So thank you so much for joining us.

- Bye-bye.

- Bye.

All right, boys and girls, let's finish up.

And I would like to chorally read the sentence with you.

That means we all read it together.

So get ready.

Russ is as snug as a hmm in his bed.

Ooh, that's a long sentence, isn't it?

My goodness.

And so sentences need to make sense.

So we can't just put any word in here.

You might be able to look at our board and figure out maybe a word that could go there.

Let's think about it.

It doesn't have to be on the board either.

But, Russ is as snug as a mud?

As a nut?

I don't think a nut would be too snugly.

How about a bug?

I'm not sure that would be that snugly either.

I wouldn't want a bug in my bed, but you know what?

I've heard that saying said so many times.

Russ is as snug as a bug.

I'm going to use it even though I don't want one in my bed, in his bed.

Wonderful reading, wonderful decoding words.

And so I'm going to have Mrs. Hammock take it away with our high-frequency words.

- Good morning.

Well, our high frequency words, remember those are the words that we see most often, or basically all the time in things that we read.

And so we want to save our brain power to sound out some of the other words and high-frequency words are the ones we want to know as fast as we know our name.

All right, here we go.

We have five this week.

We're going to read all five of them.

And then we're just going to focus on one.

We have could, three, live, one, and then.

Today we're going to focus on this word, could.

It's tricky because we don't hear the L in it.

And so sometimes that can be a trick.

So let's spell it together.

C - O - U - L - D, could.

Very good.

Now I have a sentence here that will help us use it in context.

I could.

Oh, my little card has bent up.

I could pull a big sled.

You see how we can use that word?

Now, one strategy that you could use to practice, because we always want to say the word and spell it out loud, but then it helps to lock it into our brain if we can write it.

And I like to do some fun writing.

So I have our gel words here.

I have our gel.

Now remember this.

Sometimes doesn't work quite as well hanging on a wall, but if you put it on a table, then you can trace it with your finger.

C - O - U - L - D, could.

See how that works?

And then that's just a fun way for you to practice.

Today, we are going to listen to a story about three animals, and each one of them builds a shelter.

We're going to continue working on predictions.

So that means we look at the pictures and listen to the words and we think, hmm, what could happen next?

So I want you to make some predictions about what materials you think they will use to build their shelters.

Enjoy this story.

- The Three Little Dassies by Jan Brett.

Hot, hot, hot!

The little dassies were almost grown up, and it was time for them to find their own place.

Mimbi, Pimbi, and Timbi waved goodbye to mommy, daddy, aunties, uncles, and all their cousins, and set out for the distant mountain.

"Come and visit us," they shouted, "A place cooler, a place less crowded, a place safe from big eagles."

The sisters traveled all day and all night across the Namib desert, arriving at the foot of the mountain the next morning.

"This is where we will live", they agreed excitedly.

"Welcome", a squeaky voice called out from the scree.

It came from a handsome, smiling Agama Man.

"No one has lived here for a long, long time.

Just me and a family of eagle up on the mountain."

"Eagles?"

the three little dassies shivered in the hot, hot sun.

Where would they build their houses?

Mimbi eyed long grasses, "These grasses will make a lovely, cool house," she said, and she set to work.

Cutting, twisting, braiding, and bundling.

She finished in no time.

"Be near, and dear sisters," she said crawling inside for a nap.

Pimbi spotted pieces of driftwood, silver from the sun, lying in the sand of the dry river bed.

"These will make a fine wooden house," she said, and she set about collecting as many pieces as she could find.

When it was finished, she hung up a hammock and called out, "Be near and dear sisters, while I rest my eyes."

Timbi looked at the rocks around their mountain.

"I will make a stone house," she said, "But it won't be as easy to build, as one made of grasses or sticks."

And it wasn't.

She had to work all day in the hot sun to get it finished in time to sleep in it that night.

Agama Man had been watching them.

He was happy they were staying on.

He had missed having company.

The three little dassies slept late into the morning, as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky.

The big old eagle who lived up on the mountain, stretched his wings and flew down to look for a meal for his hungry chicks.

Mimbi woke up hungry and went outside.

Suddenly, a long-winged shadow passed over her.

"The Eagle!"

she cried, and hurried back into her grass house.

"I see you, dassie," the Eagle screeched and swooped down.

"I'll flap, and I'll clap, and I'll blow your house in" He squawked beating the air with his wings until the grass roof sailed off.

The eagle grabbed Mimbi and lifted her up, up, up to his nest.

But the Eagle was greedy.

No sooner had he dropped Mimbi into the nest, then he spotted Pimbi in front of her stick house far below.

"Two dassies would be double delicious," He thought, and down he went, feathers flying.

Pimbi looked up and saw him coming.

She turned and ran back inside.

The eagle landed and screeched, "I'll flap, and I'll clap, and I'll blow your house in," he squawked.

Twigs flew, sticks rattled, until Pimbi's stick house fell apart.

Then, just like Mimbi, she felt herself being lifted high in the sky, and plunked down in the Eagle's nest.

Timbi looked out to call her sisters to come for a breakfast of tasty seed porridge, but instead of a grass house, and a stick house, she saw a long shadow streaking across the rocks.

"I see you, dassie, here I come," the eagle landed and shrieked, "I'll flap, and I'll clap and I'll blow your house in."

He flapped, and clapped and beat his wings, dust and sand blew everywhere.

But the stone house didn't move.

He tried again, flapping and clapping even harder, dust and sand got in his eyes, but the stone house didn't budge.

When the dust settled, the stone house was still standing, but the Eagle was coughing and sneezing.

His wing feathers were bent and broken, and he was missing tail feathers.

Knowing when to quit, he hopped his way up to his nest.

At least he had two dassies waiting for his dinner.

The eagle reached his nest, but the dassies were gone.

He looked down and saw them at the bottom of the mountain, heading for the stone house.

It was his last chance.

He streaked down toward the open chimney.

Inside, the three sisters hugged each other.

"There's nothing like a stone house when there are eagle abundant," they cried.

Just then, the eagle tumbled down the chimney, "I'll flap, and I'll clap, and I'll-" A hot blast from the fire hit him.

"Fly home for a nap."

he squealed.

As fast as he could, he squeezed back up the chimney, and flew home.

All black and singed from the smokey fire.

And Mimbi, Pimbi, and Timbi never saw so much as a tail feather of that Eagle ever again.

Mommy, daddy, aunties, uncles, and all their cousins, and Agama Man, too, had come to celebrate.

"Welcome," the sisters cried, "To a place cooler, to a place, less crowded, to a place safe from eagles."

And if you travel to Namibia today, you will see dassies living in stone houses with handsome Agama men looking out for them.

As for the pesky eagles, they are easily spotted.

- Ah, I really enjoyed that story.

- Did you?

I enjoyed it too.

- I'm going to start retelling- - Ricky.

We don't have time.

So can you just tell me, did you guys enjoy that story?

And look, I printed a picture of what dassies actually look like.

Aren't they super cute?

They are a small creature that they, and they live in Southern Africa.

So here's what they really look like.

They are super cute, but let's go back to the story now.

Okay.

So we know that, why were they so scared?

They were scared of an eagle because the eagle is going to eat them, right?

- Oh no.

That was a mean eagle.

- It was.

And then how do they escape?

Oh, that Eagle was a big birdie.

Greedy, wasn't he?

And so that's how he escaped because he went back to get the other dassie and then the both dassies got out, but boys and girls tell me which house was the strongest?

The house made out of stone.

Good job.

That was the strongest house.

Now, let's quickly go into our writing, and our writing in today has to do with our stories.

So, write about different things people use to build houses.

And let me say, if our friends can quickly come and help us with some of our answers.

Why, hello there.

- Hey, cousin.

- Hey there, cuz.

How are ya?

- I'm doing great.

- Look at that.

- It is so nice to be here.

(laughing) - Cousins.

- So Rhonda, what can people use to build houses?

- Hmm.

How about mud?

I think they can use mud.

- I like that.

And I see that you've already written it down.

Can I have you writing?

Oh, thank you so much.

People can use mud to build houses and Rhonda, what were you thinking?

- I said bricks, 'cause they're so strong.

- That great answer.

People can use bricks to build houses.

Great answer.

Okay.

Are you guys ready?

Let's go and listen and see what story you guys can read at your library.

- Hi, I'm Jordan.

And this, this is Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman.

The fifth epic novel by Dave Pilkey.

Now I like the Captain Underpants books because to me, they're funny.

In this book, Captain Underpants tries to stop the Wicked Wedgie Woman from trying to take over the world.

Will he succeed?

Find out by reading this book.

- Thank you so much for sharing that book with us, Jordan.

If you guys have not read those Captain Underpants books, boy, are they hilarious.

- Man, he is hilarious.

I love reading them.

- I bet you do.

- I haven't read any, so I'm going to have to go get one at the library.

- You're going to love it.

- Knock, knock.

- Oh, who's there?

- Who's there?

- Anita.

- [All] Anita who?

- Anita borrow a pencil.

- Oh, my goodness.

- Rickey... - Have a great day.

I hope we see you again tomorrow.

Bye-bye.

- Bye-bye (upbeat theme music)