I grabbed off the shop shelf the second I laid eyes on it! I have somewhat of a robust collection of children's books. I love to introduce just about every aspect and area of teaching, with a book. My aim is to always read at least 3-4 in one school day. Aim. We can all hope. Sometimes, I am lucky to get the pencils handed out - you know how it is!
Part of my collection includes a book to help introduce each double initial consonant blend.
I had struggled with the blend 'tw' for many years, and used to read a number book about 'twenty' and a 'twinkle twinkle' nursery rhyme story. It is a fairly uncommon blend. When I saw this one, I knew it was perfect, just from the cover!
It is called "It Takes Two to T'wit T'woo" and is written by Paula Knight. The children get LOADS of practice articulating and making the sound 'tw' when they read along with the story. I like to leave gaps, and have them fill in the 'twitting and twooing'!
It is the story of Olive the tawny owl, that is looking for a friend. She says 't'wit', but she needs to find an owl friend to say 't'woo'.
A host of animal friends come to help, including my favourite, the frog from the pond.
"No, 'ribbit' will never do," Olive told the frog!
By the end of the story, Olive has found Albert, and their t'wits and t'woos match perfectly.
This story is also perfect for when you are learning about the numbers two, pairs, nature, animals, homes/shelters and families.
I made this directed drawing, so your students can have a go at drawing Olive or Albert after reading! Click to grab it from Google Drive:
I would also like to share with you, a list of some of the books I read as I introduce the blends to my students.
Here are 20 great books to read when introducing consonant blends (double, in initial position).
bl - Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman
br - Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin
cl - Clocks, Clocks and More Clocks by Pat Hutchins
cr - Crocodile Crocodile by Margaret Mahy (Sunshine Books)
dr - Dragon with a Cold - Joy Cowley
fl - A Fly Went By - Mike McClintock
fr - Frog and Toad are Friends - Arnold Lobel
gl - Glamorous Glasses by Barbara Newman
gr - Grandma, Grandpa and Me - Mercer Mayer
pl - Planting a Rainbow - Loise Ehlert
pr - The Paper Bag Princess - Robert Munsch
sc - Scarecrow Pete - Mark Kimball Moulton
sk - The Skeleton on the Bus - Gwen Pascoe
sl - Grandpa's Slippers - Joy Watson
sm - Smarty Pants - Joy Cowley
sn - Snail Trail - Ruth Brown
sp - Are you a Spider by Judy Allen
st - How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers
sw - Froggy Learns to Swim - by Jonathon London
tr - Our Tree House by Mercer Mayer
tw - T'wit T'woo - Paula Knight
While I have you here - have you seen my 'Big Bundle of Number Books'? They are in my TpT store HERE
The idea of these books, is that they provide a whole week of SEQUENCED number learning.
You print, copy, staple and cut a book for each student, and after you have taught each of the concepts, students can record their learning in their number book.
The bundle includes a book for each number 1-10 and you can download Number Three for free to give it a try!
Have a great day!