Cupcakes - Tip Sheet

An image of the cover for the book "Cupcakes" showing a father taking a selfie with his young daughter showing off a plate of cupcakes

- IT IS ESSENTIAL TO PRE-TEACH THE CONCEPTS INTRODUCED IN EACH BOOK PRIOR TO READING! -

Cupcakes - Teacher Tip Sheet

Purple Series - Book 4 - Cupcakes

Grapheme/Phoneme Correspondence

Tips and Activities to Try

Introduced in This Book

consonant digraph <wr>/r/

Previously Introduced

Vowels

all short vowels, <u>/o͝͝o/
<o>/ō/, <e>/ē/, <y>/ī/, <ee>/ē/, <ay>/ā/, <ai>/ā/, <y>/ē/, <a-e>/ā/, <i-e>/ī/, <o-e>/ō/, <u-e>/yū/, e>/o̅o̅/

Consonants

all single consonants and clusters
<ng>/ng/, <nk>/nk/
<s>/s/ and /z/, <c>/s/

Digraphs/Trigraphs

<th>/TH/ voiced, <th>/th/ unvoiced, <ck>/k/, <ff>/f/, <zz>/z/, <ss>/s/, <ll>/l/, <sh>/sh/, <ch>/ch/, <qu>/kw/, <-tch>/ch/, <-dge>/j/, <wh>/wh/

Additional Concepts

<al> (<a> as short /ŏ/ before <l>)
<wa> (<a> as short /ŏ/ after <w>)
<er>/er/, <or>/or/

Key Concepts to Understand

<wr> words are Germanic in origin and imply twisting or distortion

Words for Reading and Writing

Here is a list of words that can be used for phonemic awareness activities, reading, dictation, games cards, etc.:

wrap, write, wrench, wrong, wreck, wren, wrote, wring, wrist, wrack, wrath, wrung, wretch
add suffixes (e.g.,-s, -ed, -ing, -er) to suggested words where appropriate → be aware of suffixing conventions

Refer to Page 4 in Morphology Background Information Sheets

Morphology

Tips and Activities to Try

Introduced in This Book

suffix <-er> as an “agent” or “one who”

Previously Introduced

suffix <-s> third person singular, plural, and possessive
suffix <-ing> as present participle
suffix <-ed> as past tense of a verb
compound words
suffix <-y>
suffix <-er> as comparative

Key Concepts to Understand

suffix <-er> has multiple functions, some are:
1. as an agent → denotes a person (“one who”) or thing (“something that”) that performs a specified action or activity such as teacher or mixer
2. comparative (e.g., stronger)
3. derivational suffix of verbs, indicating repeated or diminutive action (e.g., flicker)

Note: remind students that suffixes come “after bases” and not “at the end of words” as there can be more than one suffix (e.g., play + er + s)

Note: sometimes <er> is just a grapheme and not a suffix (e.g., water)

Here are phrases that can be used for reading and/or dictation practice. These phrases can be combined to create sentences. A good opportunity arises to address syntax if the resulting sentence is not grammatically correct.

Noun Phrase	Verb Phrase	Prepositional Phrase
Wren, the catcher	was on the pitch	across from players
the wrong golfer	broke his wrist	after he fell into the bunker
the smaller wren	sat on her wrench	under the dormer
the milder child	wrote with a marker	in her day plan

You can differentiate for your students by dropping some of the words in these phases (e.g., “Wren the catcher” can just be “Wren”).

Comprehension Corner - Cupcakes

Vocabulary Development

Do you know another kind of whisker?
What is another way to say flipped?

Making Connections

Have you ever baked? Who do you bake with?

Inferencing

Why was the cake mix full of lumps?
How do you think Granddad will feel about Jordan’s cupcakes?

Retelling/Summarizing

What were the steps that Jordan took to make the cupcakes?