• Write the word circus on the board and have students read it aloud. Ask them what sound the first c stands for (/s/). Ask them what the second c stands for (/k/). What vowel comes after the soft c?
• Have students turn to page 3 and look for examples of hard c (comes, cotton, candy, clowns). What vowels follow the letter c in these words?
• Explain that c is usually soft when followed by i or e, and hard when followed by o or a. When they encounter a word with c, they can check the vowel to see which pronunciation they should try first.
• Hand out Worksheet 2. On it are pictures and words that have a hard or a soft c. Students are to write the sound that the c makes, either /s/ or /k/, on the line underneath the word and the picture. 

Phonics
ck Digraph

• Point out the word rock on page 4 and have students circle or highlight the word. Ask students what sound they hear at the end of the word (/k/). Point out that two letters, c and k, stand for the /k/ sound. Have students circle or underline the ck digraph.
• Have students find a word on page 11 that has the ck digraph and mark it.
• Encourage students to look through other books and find words with the ck digraph.