SPIRE Level 4

igh night light might right
bright sight
fight frighten flight sigh tightly
tight brightly
fright lighten mighty
fighting
lightning

New Sight Word

sign

Review Sight Words

the, has, is, a, his, I, was, to, do, said, what, you, who, into, of,
full, pull, push, put, through, your, walk, talk, want, live, give,
have, one, done, some, come, something, someone, where,
there, were, are, somewhere, love, gone, both, climb, clothes,
they, says, today, goes, does, strange, danger, listen, wonder,
could, would, should, castle, whistle, although, dough,
doughnut, though, again, against, other, mother, brother,
cover, father, another, friend, been, people, move, prove, shoe,
truth, fruit, suit, bruise, cruise, whom, whose, wolf, wolves

9944 igh

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 4 © SSI • Do Not Copy

light outside shampoo understood bright
driveway brain
crackers nineteen cleaning handful peanut
lightest shine
really toasted swimmer sleepy shone

flames chime frisky

skateboard proudly peacock

The peacock proudly spread his bright feathers.
Do not ride your skateboard on this sidewalk.
The crackers were lightly toasted.
The clock will chime at ten.
The swimmer was sleepy after the long swim.
The moon shone brightly in the night sky.
The big dog frightened the small child.
The light on our street is quite bright.
Did you miss your flight?
This dress is too tight.

igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable division, 95
review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,
vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

Decoding and Sentence Reading A

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A Crash in the Night

The raccoon sat and waited for all the lights in the
house to go out. It was a great night to raid some trash cans
for food. The moon shone brightly and lit his way, so he
could see everything well. He had been waiting a long time
and was as hungry as he could be. He could see a chicken
bone sticking out of a plastic bag. The sight of such lovely
food made him drool.

The raccoon walked lightly so as not to make a sound.
Little animals scattered out of his way. He looked like a
bandit in the night hunting for a bank to rob.

Suddenly, the raccoon jumped. He had run into a pile
of tin cans that were stacked next to the trash pile. The
cans tumbled to the ground. The loud bang frightened the
raccoon, and he made a fast dash back into the woods.

All the lights in the house went on. A man came out of
the house. He walked to the back and checked the lock to

96 igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable division,

review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,
vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

A Crash in the Night
S. P. I.R.E.® Level 4 © SSI • Do Not Copy

make sure it was latched. He looked around. He could see
that the trash had been tampered with. He pulled the trash
can into the shed. “I’ll put it out in the daytime for the
trash men when all these pesky night animals are sleeping,”
he said to himself. Then he went back inside.

The raccoon looked around. It dashed off into the
woods. There were plenty of other trash cans to try. He
would find some dinner before the night was through.

igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable division, 97
review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,
vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

A Crash in the Night

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found lightning different jumps cloud
thunder rushes flashed
nearer always strong helps light
talking plants flame
coast wonderful things biggest rumbling

mammals counted

copper welcome

Dad cut the copper wire with wire cutters.
The thunder and lightning made a loud rumbling sound and
a flash.
The lightning bug is a wonderful insect.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
The plants along the coast are different from the plants inland.
You are welcome to come home with me.
The nearer I get, the better you look.
Dad rushes home from his job to cook dinner before we
get home.
The biggest cloud dumped the most rain.
I counted six sunny days and one cloudy day last week.

98 igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable division,
review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
Decoding and Sentence Reading B

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Light

Back when people lived in caves, they could not light up
their homes by pushing a button, flipping a switch, pulling
a chain, or lighting a lamp or candle with a match. The
light they had to use at night was moonlight or the light of
a bonfire.

Today we can make night into day both inside and
outside. Streets are lit all night long. Lights let baseball
players play at night. People can stay at their jobs at night.
There isn’t a job or game that has to stop because it is
nighttime and the daylight is gone.

In the beginning, people most likely used a burning stick
of thick wood for light. People then found out that sticks
gave better light if the ends were dipped in animal fat, or in
pitch. Racks were put on the walls to hold the lit sticks, so
people could see without the bother of having to hold the
sticks themselves.

igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable division, 99
review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,
vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

Light

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Then people came up with an even better way to light
their homes. They would dip a string made of moss or
grassy plants, which is called a wick, into something fatty,
such as beeswax. They would dip the wick many times,
until the wax got thick around the wick. When it was lit, it
would shine brightly and last a long time. We still use such
candles today.

More than one hundred years ago, people discovered
that gas was a good way to make lights in lamps that would
stay lit and not go out. These lamps were used to light
streets and houses. The gas came to the lamps from pipes.
Gas lamps could not be moved from place to place, but
they made good street lights and wall lights.

This all may seem funny to us, but it is the way it was.

100 igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable division,
review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
Light

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raccoon frighten flashed pile mouth
walked plastic hunting
scattered animals juggle sunny flight
hungry battle slide
toothbrush ruffle Steve earmuffs rooster

sticky messy

mistake complete

You can sweep a room with a broom.
The mouse was frightened by the trap.
Did you complete the job?
The candy made a sticky mess in the child’s pocket.
Do not put those plastic bags in the trash.
The rooster was hungry and wanted to be fed.
The little wild animals scattered as we walked on the path
in the woods.
The man can juggle three balls at the same time.
Pat’s flight was late.
I might enter the cooking contest.

igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable division, 101
review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,
vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

Decoding and Sentence Reading C

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The Lightning Bug

A lightbulb gets hot when it’s lighted. Candles and gas
lamps, too, give off heat as well as light. But some insects
can give off light without heat. The lightning bug is just
such an insect. It gives off “cold light.” The lightning bug
gets its name from the light on its belly that flashes on and
off. It is also called a firefly.

A lightning bug is not a bug, and it’s not a fly. It is a
beetle. The light from a group of lightning bugs is bright
enough to read by, if you don’t mind blinking lights. Long
ago, the Aztecs in Mexico had lightning bugs help them
light the way at night.

Lightning bugs use their lights to find mates. A male
lightning bug flashes his light as a signal, while flying
through the air. A nearby female lightning bug, waiting on
the ground, sees the signal. She flashes back her light to the
male, so he can see where she is.

102 igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable division,
review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
The Lightning Bug

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Lightning bugs lay eggs on the ground. A young lightning
bug takes 1–2 years to become an adult. It cannot flash a
light until then. Adult lightning bugs live just 5–30 days.

Do you want to see where the light comes from on a
lightning bug? Go out at night, just after the sun sets. If
you see a small flashing light in the air, you have found a
lightning bug. Carefully close your hands around it. Peek
inside to see the lightning bug’s display of light. After you
take a good look, let the lightning bug go free.

igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable division, 103
review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,
vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

The Lightning Bug

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ie (pie) tie lie die
tries tried drier
pie flies
try cries cried
fly fries fried
cry dries dried
fry skies
dry spies
sky
spy

ie (chief)

chief thief thieves belief believe
priest yield fairies
brief field grief grieve

tier shield

110044 ie

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New Sight Words

any, many

Review Sight Words

the, has, is, a, his, I, was, to, do, said, what, you, who,
into, of, full, pull, push, put, through, your, walk, talk,
want, live, give, have, one, done, some, come, something,
someone, where, there, were, are, somewhere, love, gone,
both, climb, clothes, they, says, today, goes, does, strange,
danger, listen, wonder, could, would, should, castle,
whistle, although, dough, doughnut, though, again,
against, other, mother, brother, cover, father, another,
friend, been, people, move, prove, shoe, truth, fruit, suit,
bruise, cruise, whom, whose, wolf, wolves, sign

ie 105

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pie sleeping away rested puddle
temper besides master fed foods
ugly across soft path passed
bundle light chief played field
lied shrimp mouth seemed flapping

I made fresh apple pie last night.
Wolves live in the big woods, and so do bears and wildcats.
The small child lay awake in the trundle bed.
The man strapped his bundle on his back and climbed to the
top of the mountain.
Mother stayed up late to see what time my brother would
come home.
Mother finished mending the pants and then smoothed them
with her hands.
Mel climbed the steep stairs to Fred’s room.
No one was at the ticket booth, so they could not go through
the turnstile.
The toddler tugged at his mother’s coat sleeve.
They stood out of the wind at the head of the line.

106 ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable

division, review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

Decoding and Sentence Reading A

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The Oak and the Reeds

A big oak stood in a field beside a brook. In the brook
were many slender reeds.

When a gust of wind came along, the great oak stood
proudly upright. Its great branches stretched up to the skies.
But the little reeds bent in the wind and sang a sad song.

“I see why you are complaining,” said the oak. He was
kind and tried to be friendly to those around him. “The
slightest breeze that ruffles the grass makes you bend and
sway. Meanwhile I, a great oak, stand tall and proud in the
strongest wind.”

“But we are just fine,” said the little reeds. “We do not
mind the wind. We yield to his gusts so that we do not break.
You are too proud to bend, great oak. You have been lucky
these many years, but be careful. The end may be near.”

But the oak just shook its branches. “I will not yield to
some weak puff of air that chooses to push at my leaves,”

ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable 107

division,review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
The Oak and the Reeds

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he told the little reeds. “I do not believe that this would be
a good thing to do. After all, I am the king of this field. I
must stand tall.”

The reeds just sighed and went back to singing their sad
song. As they sang, a mighty wind rushed out of the west.
The oak stood proudly against it, while the reeds yielded
and bent in the wind.

The wind got stronger . . . and stronger . . . and stronger.
It flattened the grasses and plants of the field. It whipped
the slender little reeds around. Suddenly the great oak tree,
king of the field, was uprooted. It fell to the ground with a
loud crash and died. The reeds in the brook, still standing,
were filled with grief to see such a sight. They cried and
sang their sad song.

And here is the lesson of this tale: It is better to yield when
you cannot win. If you do not give in, you may be lost.

108 ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable

division, review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

The Oak and the Reeds

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tried brightly angry golden skies
happy found before
mountain waiting fountain rigging grade
needles stitches outline
spies looked field belief useful

thing drier

treated meat

The tot cried when his mother left.
Would you like some more fries?
I tried to get home before nightfall.
I like apple pie.
Do not tell a lie. Always tell the truth!
The flies landed on the trash and had a feast.
The wash on the line dried in the sun.
We played baseball in the grassy field.
I tried to tell you not to go.
The moon shone brightly in the night sky.

ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable 109

division,review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
Decoding and Sentence Reading B

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To Tell the Truth

Sometimes it is tempting to tell a fib. We may think
that it’s all right to tell a fib, because it’s just a little lie.
Sometimes we do it to impress someone. We might tell a
fib to make ourselves feel more important or because we
think this will make someone like us better. We might
say that we have something that we really don’t have, or
that we went somewhere that we really didn’t go. But big
or little, we are still telling a lie. We need and want our
family, friends and teachers to trust us and believe us. If we
don’t always tell the truth, they may not believe us when
we do tell the truth. This is what happened to the boy who
cried wolf. Here is the tale.

There was once a boy whose job it was to watch a flock
of sheep eating grass in the field. In the nearby woods lived
a wolf that would try to eat the sheep from time to time.

110 ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable

division, review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

Tell the Truth

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Alone and with no one to talk to, the boy became bored
one day. So he played a joke.

“Wolf! Wolf!” he cried, and the people came running,
ready to catch the wolf and save the sheep. They found the
boy rolling on the grass, giggling. They were filled with
relief that the flock was safe. But then they felt foolish and
got angry. They didn’t think the joke was funny and told
the boy so. They told him not to call for help when he
really didn’t need it, and then they all left.

The next day, the boy did the same thing to amuse
himself. He called, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again the people came
running. When they got to the field and saw the boy
giggling, they became quite angry. They left, grumbling to
each other about how rude and selfish he was.

The next day, a big wolf really did attack the sheep. The
boy cried, “Wolf! Wolf!”

ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable 111

division,review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
To Tell the Truth

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 4 © SSI • Do Not Copy

But this time the people in the nearby fields would not
be fooled again and no one came to help. They didn’t
believe the boy because he had told lies before.

The wolf killed all the sheep in the poor boy’s flock, and
he was ashamed. His lies had cost him a painful lesson.

Moral: If you often lie, or cry “Wolf,” people may not
believe you when you are telling the truth.

11 2 ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable

division, review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

To Tell the Truth

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puppies almost pier cruise highest
mountain bedroom left
frighten fire happened tool misty
summer snail teaspoon
house trotting spin patch cried

shampoo yield

frosty wishes

I love to play with my puppies.
The air was cold and frosty.
I would love to take a cruise on a ship.
A yield sign can help with traffic.
May I please have just a teaspoon of milk in my tea?
Mother sat by the fire to spin the wool on the
spinning wheel.
The child cried when his mother left.
I will climb to the top of the mountain in the summer.
Trucks can drive faster on a highway.
When a dog is happy, it will wag its tail.

ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable 113

division,review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
Decoding and Sentence Reading C

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The Little Golden Fairy

Connie loved to read. She would read day and night if
her mother let her. She had a room full of books. Connie
often said that books were wonderful friends.

All she had to do was pick a book, she would say, and
she could go anywhere she wanted. She could fly the skies,
cruise the seas, or climb the highest mountains. Connie
never felt bored when there were books around.

One of the things Connie loved to read about most were
fairies, like Tinkerbell. She liked to think that good fairies
would help people and often wished that one could visit
her. One night, a strange thing happened to Connie.

She was getting ready for bed. As she reached out to
switch off the bedside lamp, there was a flash of light.
Connie cried out in fright and shivered in fear. The light
became a small twinkling dot. This dot sat on the top of
Connie’s lampshade. She could feel a soft breeze around it.

114 ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable

division, review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

The Golden Fairy

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 4 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Connie looked closely at the dot. She could see that it was
something that was flapping its little wings to make the
breeze. It sat on the lampshade for a brief time, and then it
lit upon the headboard of Connie’s bed. Connie watched
it as it sat there, and she became less frightened. Then she
inched nearer to see what it was.

Connie could not believe what she saw! Before her sat
a fairy with golden wings and silky, golden hair. The fairy
gave a wave to Connie and told Connie that her name was
the Little Golden Fairy.

The Little Golden Fairy had come to ask for Connie’s
help. She was not just any fairy, it seemed. The Fairy
Queen had sent her. The Fairy Queen and all the fairies
felt that children were watching so much TV these days
that they no longer had time to read great books. They felt
that children were missing so much by not reading about
the wonderful things that happened in these books. And

ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable 115

division,review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
The Golden Fairy

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 4 © SSI • Do Not Copy

the more wonderful things you read about in books, they
felt, the more wonderful things you would see when you
looked all around you.

The Fairy Queen needed help to get the children away
from TV and into books.

She had sent the Little Golden Fairy to ask Connie to help.
Connie was more than happy to help! This was her
dream come true. She and the Little Golden Fairy came up
with a great plan.
The next day at school, Connie talked with her teacher.
She asked if she could make signs to put up around the
school to get others interested in reading. Her teacher
told her to go right ahead. So Connie made signs. One
said, “I SPY,” and then had a list of good books to read.
Another sign had a group of children climbing a mountain
and said in big letters, “YOU GET TO THE TOP BY
READING.” The kids in the school were impressed by

116 ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable
division, review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
The Golden Fairy

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 4 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Connie’s signs and began looking for the books listed
there. They took the books home. And the more they read,
the less they watched TV.

The Little Golden Fairy was glad. She thanked Connie,
and gave her a light little kiss on the cheek. She told
Connie that the Fairy Queen would be very grateful.

Connie says she believes that the Little Golden Fairy
visits her from time to time. When her lamp sometimes
flickers, she believes it’s the Little Golden Fairy’s way of
saying, “Keep up the reading and pass it on.”

ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllables, ea, ou, nontwin-consonant syllable 117

division,review twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so, he, fly,

vowel-consonant-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
The Golden Fairy

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