SPIRE Level 5

READER LEVEL 5

3rd Edition

Specialized Program Individualizing Reading Excellence

Sheila Clark-Edmands

®

Specialized Program Individualizing Reading Excellence

3rd Edition

Reader

Level 5

Sheila Clark-Edmands

Editorial Project Manager: Tracey Newman
Senior Editor: Laura A. Woollett
Assistant Editor: Rachel L. Smith

© 2012 by School Specialty, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized
in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, without permission in
writing from the publisher.

Printed in Benton Harbor, MI, in July 2011
ISBN 978-0-8388-5716-8

1 2 3 4 5 PPG 15 14 13 12 11

Contents

Soft c: Sound Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

New Sight Word, Review Sight Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Decoding and Sentence Reading A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Nancy Is My Cat (Poem). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Decoding and Sentence Reading B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Heat: Molecules on the Move (Article/Experiment). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Decoding and Sentence Reading C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Heat: From Hot to Cold (Article/Experiment). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Decoding and Sentence Reading D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Heat: Expanding and Contracting (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Soft g: Sound Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Review Sight Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Decoding and Sentence Reading A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Make a Gingerbread Gent (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Decoding and Sentence Reading B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Rooster and the Gemstone (Fable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Decoding and Sentence Reading C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
A Plan for Ginger (Story). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

er, ur, ir, ear, wor: Sound Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

New Sight Word, Review Sight Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Decoding and Sentence Reading A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A Big Goof (Story) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Decoding and Sentence Reading B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
From Rain to Shine (Story) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Decoding and Sentence Reading C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
A Great American: A School Essay (Essay). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Decoding and Sentence Reading D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Sayings Explained (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Contents iii

dge: Sound Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Review Sight Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Decoding and Sentence Reading A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
A Long Winter Sleep (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Decoding and Sentence Reading B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
The Badger (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Decoding and Sentence Reading C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Galloping Gertie (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Decoding and Sentence Reading D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Judge the Judge (Poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

s = /z/: Sound Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Review Sight Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Decoding and Sentence Reading A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Pearl in a Rush (Story). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Decoding and Sentence Reading B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Deserts of the World (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Decoding and Sentence Reading C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Matter: Changes of State (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Decoding and Sentence Reading D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Raisins (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

ow (snow), ow (plow): Sound Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Review Sight Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Decoding and Sentence Reading A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Clowning Around (Story). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Decoding and Sentence Reading B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Feeling on Top of the World (Story) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Decoding and Sentence Reading C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
High Seas, Calm Seas (Story). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Decoding and Sentence Reading D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
The Butterfly and the Moth (Article) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Decoding and Sentence Reading E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
The Housefly (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

iviv Contents

kn (knot): Sound Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

oe: Sound Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
New Sight Words, Review Sight Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Decoding and Sentence Reading A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
If You Can’t Say Something Nice (Story). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Decoding and Sentence Reading B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Winter Wonderland; Winter Walk; Snowman, Snowman; Hi, Joe! (Poems). . . . . 138

or: Sound Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
New Sight Words, Review Sight Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Decoding and Sentence Reading A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
The Dragonfly (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Decoding and Sentence Reading B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
More Sayings Explained (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Decoding and Sentence Reading C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
The Dormouse (Article), The Dormouse in Alice in Wonderland (Poem) . . . . . . . . 154
Decoding and Sentence Reading D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
The Loris (Article), The Loris (Poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Decoding and Sentence Reading E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
The Ugly Buckling (Story). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

ar: Sound Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Review Sight Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Decoding and Sentence Reading A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Moose in Love: A Real Story (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Decoding and Sentence Reading B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
The Armadillo (Article) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Decoding and Sentence Reading C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Marmots (Article). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Contents v



Soft c

nice mice spice ice rice
slice price twice face lace
place space race trace brace
fence trance lance pace Grace
flounce since prince ounce bounce
piece cell cent center cease
entrance niece pencil city cinder
distance cyclone prance cycle mince
practice dance peace prance dancer
cancel source balance

New Sight Word

once

Soft c 1

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

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, any, many

22 Soft c

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

nice space foolish cried cent
die race piece stayed shouting
sweeter light raining pencil flounce
tooth place cents fence proof
picnic wings suddenly runner kettle

Grace had a foolish look on her face.
Lance lost his place when he was reading the book.
May I have a piece of the fresh apple pie?
If we had wings, maybe we could fly.
Please put the kettle on so we may have some tea.
Nancy wanted to run in the road race.
Someday I hope to live in space.
We cannot have our picnic because it’s raining.
The pace of the race was quite fast.
Bring a pen and a pencil to class.

Decoding and Sentence Reading A 3

soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions,

so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Nancy Is My Cat

Some cats are grand, and some are fancy.
My cat is plain. I call her Nancy.
A mighty hunter of rats and mice,
She brings them to me. I’d say that’s nice.
She sits and stares. She licks my face.
Then all at once, she has to race—
Around the room and up the hall,
Then whoosh! she’s back, to bat a ball.
She stalks, and she prances.
She walks, and she dances.
She climbs and takes chances.
She always entrances!
At night I let her out to roam.
But then she always comes back home.
Nancy is my cat.
And that is that.

44 Nancy Is My Cat
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

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

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

niece city grabbed pout mountain
cinder nice play game asked
right when rice nearly little
spend satisfy satisfied around street
hundreds silver belonged puffing center

Mother hung hundreds of lights on the tree.
An airplane passed above their heads.
After the race, Grace was out of breath, puffing and panting.
There once was a city mouse and a country mouse.
“Look around,” said Beth proudly. “We have the best place.”
The price of the wool coat was too high.
The city lights shone brightly at night.
My sister’s child is my niece.
It isn’t nice to play tricks on friends.
The queen met a prince at the dance.

Decoding and Sentence Reading B 5
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions,
so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Heat: Molecules on the Move

Heat is one kind of energy. You can’t see it, but you
can see what it does. Plants get bigger and bigger under
the sun. They use the sun’s heat and light to make food
for themselves. A truck speeds along a highway. Under
its hood, gas is being heated up to make the truck run.
The water in a teakettle on the stove begins to bubble and
steam. It’s being heated up to make tea.

When something contains a lot of heat, we say that it is
hot. What makes some things hot and some things cold?
Molecules. Molecules are the smallest pieces of a substance.
A glass of water contains many, many drops of water. Each
little drop of water contains many, many, many water
molecules! Most things around you—such as food, trees,
cats, dogs, people, streets, houses—are made up of lots of
different kinds of molecules.

6 Heat: Molecules on the Move
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

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

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Molecules are always on the move. The faster a
molecule in a substance moves, the hotter that substance
is. The molecules in a sizzling hot dog are racing and
bouncing about, banging into one another. But say that
you freeze that sizzling hot dog. As the hot dog molecules
get colder and colder, they move less and less quickly.
Soon, they are barely moving at all. The hot dog is
really cold.

What happens when you heat up something cold? Say
that you heat up some cold milk. Before too long, it begins
to bubble. Its molecules have sped up and are bumping into
each other. The faster the molecules move, the more heat
there is.

You can see for yourself what molecules do in hot
and cold substances. Try this experiment, but do it with
an adult:

Heat: Molecules on the Move 7
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions,
so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Experiment 1
1. Place two same-sized cups side by side.
2. Fill one cup with ice-cold water.
3. Fill the other cup with the same amount of hot (but

not bubbling hot) water.
4. Carefully place a drop of red food dye in the center of

the water in each cup.

Make a note of what you think will happen—and why
you think it will happen. In our next lesson, you will read
and find out what happens to the food dye in the two cups.
Before then, you might try this experiment to find out for
yourself.

Have fun!

88 Heat: Molecules on the Move
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

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

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

something milk space coffee lot
amount ice sister
glass cream becomes happen rocks
middle roam himself
bottle freezer cyclone dance left

sizzling faster

rounded price

In this tale, a bandit steals a chest filled with gold pieces.
May Lee was stunned.
The boss sat in a bright red chair with his feet on his desk.
It cost a lot of money to enter the race.
Could Lance and his dog win a sled race against the best
dogs in the country?
Lester gave Callie a big bottle of what looked like milk, but
was really cream.
The road was full of potholes.
One sign said Entrance and the other said Exit.
A cyclone can be also called a twister.
The ice will melt in the hot sun.

Decoding and Sentence Reading C 9
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions,
so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Heat: From Hot to Cold

In the last lesson, you read about heat and what happens
to molecules in something when it is heated. You found
out that hot molecules move faster than cold molecules.
You read about an experiment with food dye and two cups,
one filled with hot water and one with cold. You were
asked what would happen and why. Maybe you did the
experiment to see for yourself. Were you right?

Here is what happens in the two cups of water:

• In both cups, the red food dye placed in the center
quickly sinks to the bottom of the cup.

• In the cold water, the red dye mostly stays at the
bottom of the cup in a red blob. It doesn’t move
around much.

• In the hot water, the red dye spreads out into a light-
red ball. There is no blob of red at the bottom of
the cup.

1100 Heat: From Hot to Cold
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

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

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Why does this happen? The hot water makes all the red
molecules speed up and spread out. The cold water keeps
the red molecules from moving about very much.

You have seen what happens in a hot substance and
a cold substance. But what if a hot substance and a cold
substance come together? When that happens, the heat will
always move from the hotter substance to the cooler one.
If you drop ice cubes in a glass of hot tea, the heat from
the tea will go into the ice cubes. The tea will be cooler,
since some of the heat has gone out of it. The ice cubes will
melt, since the heat has gone into them. And you have just
made yourself some iced tea!

Here is another heat experiment that you can do with
the help of an adult.

Experiment 2
1. Fill a deep pan or dish half full of ice-cold water.
2. Fill another deep dish or pan half full of almost

hot water.

Heat: From Hot to Cold 11
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions,
so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

3. Place one hand in the hot water and the other hand in
the cold water.

4. Leave them there and count to ten.

Make note of what you think will happen and why. In
the next lesson, you will find out. Before then, you might
want to try this experiment to find out for yourself.

1122 Heat: From Hot to Cold
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

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

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

finished colder happened feet same
container hotter rubber
balloon less teacher thing careful
outside cooler cracking
sidewalk smaller heat faster between

spaces bigger

hotter without

I happen to feel the same way that you do.
The concrete sidewalk was full of cracks.
I would love to take a hot-air balloon ride.
The container of milk is empty.
The teacher told us all about heat.
It’s cooler outside than inside.
That problem is just between the two of you.
Bounce the rubber ball as high as you can.
The robber was put into a jail cell.
The prince wanted to become king, but he would have
to wait.

Decoding and Sentence Reading D 13
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions,
so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Heat: Expanding and Contracting

In the last lesson, you read about an experiment with
two containers of water, one with cold water and one with
hot. You were asked what would happen if you put your
hands in both containers for a short time. And you were
asked to think about why this would happen.

See if your thinking was right. Here is what happens
and why:

• The hand in the cold water gets colder.
• The hand in the hot water gets hotter.

You may think that your hand gets colder because the
cold spreads into it. No, it is really the other way around.
Heat from your hand spreads into the cold water. Heat
always moves from a hot substance to a colder substance.
In the hot water, your hand is cooler than the water. So the
heat from the water spreads into your hand.

1144 Heat: Expanding and Contracting
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

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

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

And here’s something odd. If you had checked the water
after your hands came out, you would find that the water in
the two pans feels about the same! Some heat has left the
hot water (it went into your hand). Some heat has entered
the cold water (it came from your hand).

There are more odd things to find out about hot and
cold substances. They can get bigger and smaller. When a
substance such as air gets cold, it contracts (gets smaller).
As air gets colder, its molecules move less and less. They
end up closer together. When a substance such as air gets
hotter, it expands (gets bigger). The air molecules race
around, spread out, and take up more space.

If you leave a squishy beach ball out in the sun, the ball
will expand to its full size. The sun will heat the air inside
the beach ball. The heated air molecules will move faster
and bounce against the inside of the ball more and more.
The expanding air molecules push the squishy ball out to
its full size.

Heat: Expanding and Contracting 15
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions,
so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

To see how cold air contracts, try this: Take a full
balloon outside on a cold day. The balloon will soon
get smaller or just go limp. The air molecules inside the
balloon have been cooled by the air outside. So they have
contracted and shrunk the balloon.

Think about substances expanding with heat and
contracting with cold. Can you see why there are spaces
between the concrete slabs in a sidewalk? In summer, the
slabs soak up the heat of the sun. The molecules in the
concrete began to race about as the slabs get hotter and
hotter. The spaces give them room to expand. Without the
spaces, the slabs would most likely bump up against each
other and crack. This is also why bricks in a deck, street, or
walkway are placed with spaces around them—to give hot
bricks room to expand in the heat.

When a gas, such as air, is heated, it not only expands, it
gets less dense. This means that as hot air molecules race

1166 Heat: Expanding and Contracting
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

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

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

about, they move away from each other. They expand. As
this happens, the substance gets lighter. This means that
hot air is lighter than cold air. And since it is lighter, the
hot air will float higher than the cold air.

Speaking of air, floating in a hot-air balloon is a nice
way to spend a sunny afternoon. But think about this:
There is a hole at the bottom of a hot-air balloon. Under
this hole is a fire that can be switched on and off. When
the people in the balloon are ready to fly, they switch on
the heat. Why?

That’s right—because hot air rises. The fire heats the air
in the balloon until it is hotter than the air in the sky.

Heat does some wonderful things!

Heat: Expanding and Contracting 17
soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions,
so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Soft g ginger ale gentle page
gel gymnastics gene
age gent gingerbread gentry
ginger plunge stage giblet
gee gym gemstone gent
change bulge gerbil ginseng
hinge rage sage gentle
gibber gem tinge gentleman
gist germ fringe generate
range
cage

1188 Soft g

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

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, any, many, move, prove, shoe, truth,
fruit, suit, bruise, cruise, whom, whose, wolf, wolves, sign,
any, many, once

Soft g 19

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

ginger painter spied place nice
race tried fight today toaster
muffin earmuffs pumpkin east pipe
cookbook games mouse mailbox sometime
puppies cuddle shuffle blanket rotten

Ginny Chin came in tenth in the race.
The fog was so thick that they could not see the coast.
There was a sadness in his face.
The race across the rocky ground took a lot out of me.
At the foot of the hill is a stream, teeming with fish and frogs.
She ran down to the basement and found the things she
needed.
When she had everything ready, she left.
Mother looked at her with a sad little smile.
I put my sick cat in a cage and took him to the vet.
Luz put some whipped cream on top of a piece of
gingerbread.

20 Decoding and Sentence Reading A

soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,

he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Make a Gingerbread Gent

Ginger is a spice that is added to many things that
people eat and drink. You can nibble on gingersnaps and
gingerbread. You can lick a ginger ice cream cone. You can
sip ginger tea and ginger ale. And you can make gingerbread
people. Here’s what you need to do to make them.

You will need

21⁄2 cups flour 1 tablespoon white vinegar
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1⁄2 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground ginger 1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves 1⁄2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda 1 big egg
a pinch of salt

In one container, mix the flour with the cinnamon,
ginger, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In
another container, mix the butter and sugar until they are

Make a Gingerbread Gent 21
soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,
he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

light and fluffy. Then add the vinegar, molasses, and egg,
and mix them in too.

Last, add the flour mixture, and mix all of it to make a
stiff dough.

Give the dough plenty of time to chill. Then:
1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Grease a cookie sheet, and set it aside.
3. Lightly flour a clean cutting board.
4. Get out the chilled dough. Take a rolling pin, and roll

out the dough on the cutting board—until it is about
1⁄4 inch thick.
5. Use a cookie cutter in the shape of a gingerbread
man. Press the cookie cutter all the way into the
dough, and carefully pull it out. Drop the cookie
cutout onto the cookie sheet. Dip the cookie cutter
sides into flour from time to time—to keep dough
from sticking to them.

22 Make a Gingerbread Gent

soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,

he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

6. When the cookie sheet is full, bake the gingerbread
cookies at 375º for 6–8 minutes.

7. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a minute. Then
place them on a wire rack so that they can cool a bit
more. Be gentle with each cookie, since it will still be
soft and can break.

8. When the cookies have cooled, use plastic tubes filled
with icing. Make a face on each gingerbread cookie,
and add some cute details. You might put on an icing
tie, buttons, mittens, pants, and boots. Really dress up
your gingerbread gent!

Have fun—but don’t eat too much!

Make a Gingerbread Gent 23
soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,
he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

herself singing skill games weeping
kindness gentle angry mood visit
slanted kept safely brighter sleeping
center footstep believe cries shield
yesterday price prince age page

Do you use much water each day?
Where could they get some money so that they could stay
longer?
She pulled the soiled rug into the kitchen.
The pen dragged, and ink oozed out.
Her three sisters were older, bigger, and stronger than she was.
We keep our tools in a wooden shed.
A snake sheds its skin.
The man shed his coat as soon as he entered.
A cat sheds a lot of hair in the summer.
“Did you sleep soundly, James?” his mother asked at the
breakfast meal.

24 Decoding and Sentence Reading B

soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,

he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

The Rooster and the Gemstone
(A Fable)

A rooster and his family made their home at the
edge of the woods. Winter had been long and cold.
The family—Father Rooster, Mother Hen, and six little
chicks—did not have much food left to get through the
rest of the winter.

As the sun came up, the rooster got ready to leave home.
The hen put on a brave smile. “I am sure you will find us
some food, dear,” she said gently to him.

The rooster nodded. He put on a brave smile as well.
“I think today will be our lucky day,” he said to his wife.
“I will be back as soon as I can. Take care of your mother,
children!” he called to the six chicks.

With that, he went out into the cold. As he began
looking, he made his way into the woods. After a while,
he came to a strange path. “I haven’t tried this way before.

The Rooster and the Gemstone 25
soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,
he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Maybe it will be filled with food!” the rooster said to
himself hopefully.

He went along the path, pecking at the ground, sniffing
at whatever he found there. Suddenly, he jerked his head
up. He had seen a green flash in the dry grass by the side of
the path. Something bright was twinkling in the sunlight.

The rooster rushed to the spot, a hopeful look on his
face. When he got there and looked closely, his look went
from hopeful to hopeless. There in the dry grass lay a
bright green gemstone. It had clearly been cut and polished
by a master’s hand.

The rooster shook his head sadly. “You are lovely and
costly,” he said to the gemstone. “The rich gent who lost
you would give a great deal of money to get you back
again. Many a man would want to find you and sell you—
not I. Many a fine lady would want to find you and keep
you to wear around her neck—not I. No, I would trade

26 The Rooster and the Gemstone

soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,

he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

all the gems on earth if I could find just one single grain
of wheat!”

With that, the rooster left the bright green gemstone
where he had found it. Then he went on with his search.

Here is the lesson of this fable: Riches mean nothing to
those who cannot use them.

The Rooster and the Gemstone 27
soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,
he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

counter woolen tightly afternoon poodle

bucket driveway snail stage rice

bumblebee seaweed meanwhile sweet drive

things miles jumped runner alone

crime sneaked grumpy spelled planted

I could have sneaked a look at the list on the desk, but
I didn’t.
“As a matter of fact,” he went on, “I feel bad about this.”
Paige went to the vet and picked up her poodle, Ginny.
Would you like some gingersnaps and a glass of milk?
Lily looked up, her eyes wide.
Be gentle with the seedling that you just planted.
Squinting at the sky, I had seen a sleek jet go past.
The miles wore on.
Some seaweed can be as tall as a tree.
“I didn’t mean to bump into you,” the man said gruffly
to Gene.

28 Decoding and Sentence Reading C

soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,

he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

A Plan for Ginger

Ginger Gosky was a sweet and gentle child, but she just
could not sit still. This made problems for her at school.
As much as she would try, it seemed as if her teacher was
always saying things like

“Ginger, please sit in your seat.”
“Ginger, I asked you to stop drumming your hands on
the desk. Please see me after school.”
“Ginger, stop humming and look at your book. Are you
on page 49 with the rest of us?”
Ginger didn’t get mad when her teacher said these
things. She understood that it was Mrs. Gentry’s job to
teach the class and that the children needed to be in their
seats or the lessons would not get done. So Ginger would
try her best to listen to what the teacher was saying and
to keep her place in her reading. But then her foot would
begin to tap, or her hands would begin to twitch. Then her

A Plan for Ginger 29
soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,
he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

mind would wander. She would find herself daydreaming
about playing outside. She loved to run and dance and
leap about. She loved to move! She would be lost in these
daydreams until a classmate gave her a poke. Ginger would
look up and see that Mrs. Gentry had asked her something.
She would blush and shake her head.

Day by day, Ginger fell more and more behind in her
lessons. Mrs. Gentry wanted Ginger to do well in school.
She understood that Ginger was a good child who had
problems with being restless. Mrs. Gentry wondered what
she could do to help Ginger with her restlessness. Then
one day she was watching the child as she played outside.
“Ginger moves well,” she said to herself. “She is really
quite strong and graceful.” Then it came to her.

Mrs. Gentry had a friend who ran a gymnastics school.
Ginger’s teacher understood that Mr. and Mrs. Gosky
could not pay the full cost of Ginger’s lessons. But Mrs.
Gentry’s friend gave children three free lessons.

30 A Plan for Ginger

soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,
he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels
S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

So Ginger took the free lessons. She listened carefully to
what the teacher said and watched what the other children
in the class were doing. When the teacher said to stretch to
the left, Ginger stretched to the left. When she said to hold
the stretch, Ginger held the stretch. She didn’t move. With
the teacher’s help, she found herself doing back bends and
headstands. She was having a great time.

Mrs. Gentry’s friend said that she would be happy to give
Ginger lessons at a smaller fee. “She has great skill,” she told
Mrs. Gentry. “And she never has to be told something twice.”

So Ginger and Mrs. Gentry reached an agreement. If
Ginger would do better in school, she could keep taking
gymnastics lessons. Mrs. Gentry made a checklist for Ginger:

3 Always look at me when I’m talking to the class.
3 Always keep your place in your reading.
3 Always be ready to be called on.
3 Take a deep breath when you need to clear your head.

A Plan for Ginger 31
soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant
syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,
he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Ginger kept this checklist on her desk. Mrs. Gentry did
other things to help Ginger. She would let Ginger go get a
drink from time to time so that she could “get her wiggles
out,” as Mrs. Gentry called it. Mrs. Gentry also chose
Ginger to take things to the school office that needed to
go there. This gave Ginger a chance to move about so that
when she came back, she could sit still for quite a long time.

Ginger’s grades got better. She spent all her free time
at the gymnastics center. She soon came to be the best
gymnast in the class. Her mother and father were proud
of her. Her teachers were proud of her. And most of all,
Ginger was proud of herself!

32 A Plan for Ginger

soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou, nontwin consonant

syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay, exceptions, so,

he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

er, ur, ir, ear, wor
er (her)

her stern lantern serve altered
verb term energy
jerk perch shepherd swerve hermit
perk person enter
clerk perfect pattern verse insert
fern perhaps perm
western every perfume

were monster

nerve alter

er (cherry) ferry American
Perry terrible
cherry Terry very
berry America periwinkle
merry
Sherry
peril

er, ur, ir, ear, wor 33

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

ur (hurt)

hurt purr turn surrender sturdy surplus
church
spurt surf hurry furnish nocturnal turnip
nurse
burst curl purse further disturbed furnish
curve
burnt curly nursery urge disturb curb

hamburger turtle urn furry disturbance

fur purple during murmur splurge

blur burn occurs blurry urgent

ir (bird) first thirty sir
firm swirl stir
bird birth twirl stirrup
dirt third whirl squirrel
skirt thirst girl undershirt
shirt thirsty girdle birdbath
squirt
flirt

34 er, ur, ir, ear, wor

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

ear (earth) search
learner
earth earnings
learn research
earn researcher
heard
pearl worst
yearn password
early worthy
homework
wor (word) worker
earthworm
word
world
worth
work
worm
worse

er, ur, ir, ear, wor 35

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

New Sight Words

heart

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, any,
many, once

36 er, ur, ir, ear, wor

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

perhaps birdhouse worker learned snapped
badly camping often middle simply
bright romped stronger shook deeply
bursting rushing around roaring huge
prince different thousand winter squirrel

Buck sat dreaming by the fire.
Geena turned around and found her dog digging in the earth.
I would simply add spring water to the flour and bake it in
a tin pan.
These are the flattest pancakes in the world!
I tossed up a piece of toast, and the bird swooped out of
the sky to catch it.
Ling fell asleep, and when she awoke, she was hungry.
I swiftly tied a string to my hook, put the grub on, and
walked up the stream to find a good fishing place.
I have never seen so many squirrels.
I spun around to see a young man about my age, walking
out of the woods.

Decoding and Sentence Reading A 37

er, ur, ir, ear, wor, soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou,

nontwin consonant syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay,

exceptions, so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

A Big Goof

Ester Mendez’s mother was a hairdresser. Mrs. Mendez
had a shop in the back of their house.

On weekend days, Ester loved to watch her mother work
on people’s hair. She would trim it, cut it, and shape it into
fancy hairdos. Mrs. Mendez often asked Ester to hand her
bottles from the shelf against the back wall. Sometimes,
Mrs. Mendez would let Ester spray her hair with hair spray.

At the end of a school day, Ester would rush home
to help her mother clean and sweep the shop. One day
a week, Mrs. Mendez took off from work—just to do
something fun for herself. She would always be back by the
time Ester got home from school.

One day, Mrs. Mendez planned to spend the day helping
Mr. Abrell, an old man who had hurt his leg. She asked
Nancy, a girl who lived up the street, to look after Ester.
Nancy was thirteen and a trustworthy girl. Mrs. Mendez

3388 A Big Goof

er, ur, ir, ear, wor, soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou,

nontwin consonant syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay,

exceptions, so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

felt she was ready to look after children. Nancy was happy
to watch Ester. She felt it was a good first job, since the
little girl wasn’t too young. She wouldn’t have to be
watched all the time. Nancy felt she could watch Ester and
still have time to do her homework. She wasn’t worried.
She trusted Ester to be a good girl.

Well, Ester could be trusted a little, but not a lot, as
Nancy would learn.

After they played a while, Nancy set Ester up with a
good book. Nancy began her math homework but soon
got stuck on a word problem. She called a friend for help.
She and her friend tried to talk through the problem.
While this was happening, Ester shut her book. She
didn’t like what she was reading. She looked around for
something to do. Suddenly she had an urge to go into her
mother’s shop. Maybe she would surprise her mother and
do some cleaning.

A Big Goof 39

er, ur, ir, ear, wor, soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou,

nontwin consonant syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay,

exceptions, so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Ester entered her mother’s shop and turned on the
light. She searched for a broom and found one beside a box
filled with bright purple bottles. Some bottles said Hair
Tonic and some said Perm. “Perfect,” said Ester to herself.
“Mom won’t care if I try these. It will be fun. I can play
hairdresser. I’ll do my hair up really fancy. But first I need
to wash it so it’s nice and clean.”

Ester searched for the shampoo. She squirted some
shampoo on her head and washed her hair until it was
squeaky-clean. “This is great,” said Ester. “Let’s see. I think
I’ll mix the stuff in these purple bottles.” She dumped some
Hair Tonic into a cup. Then she added some goo from the
Perm bottle. She stirred them until they swirled. “Wait!”
she said to herself. “I think Mom uses the little pink curlers
with this kind of stuff.” She found the curlers and sat in the
chair. Carefully, she took a strand of hair and rolled it onto
a curler. Before long, her head was covered with little pink

4400 A Big Goof

er, ur, ir, ear, wor, soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou,

nontwin consonant syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay,

exceptions, so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

curlers. She was about to dump the cup of Hair Tonic and
Perm on the curlers when Nancy found her.

“What are you doing?” shrieked Nancy. “I’ve searched
the whole house for you! Eek! What’s in that cup? Give it
to me!”

Surprised, Ester handed the cup to Nancy, who dumped
it in the sink. “Did you put this stuff in your hair?” Nancy
asked tensely.

“Not yet,” Ester said. “I was just playing hairdresser,
Nancy. Can’t I at least sit and dry my hair? Please?”

“I suppose it won’t hurt,” Nancy said. She helped Ester
get under the dryer and waited with her until her hair
was dry.

They took out the curlers. Nancy tried not to giggle as
she fluffed out Ester’s hair. When Ester got a look, she let
out a scream like a burst balloon. Her hair was a mess of
tight, odd-looking little curls. “This is the worst hairdo in
the world. I look terrible! I can’t let Mom see me like this!”

A Big Goof 41

er, ur, ir, ear, wor, soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou,

nontwin consonant syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay,

exceptions, so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

Nancy helped Ester wash out the curls. Then they
cleaned up the shop and went back into the house. Nancy
felt that Ester had learned her lesson. She wouldn’t
be playing hairdresser again, unless she had a real
hairdresser—her mother—telling her what to do.

4422 A Big Goof

er, ur, ir, ear, wor, soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou,

nontwin consonant syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay,

exceptions, so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy

drinking grouchy died matching thirteen
field
birthday church jumped perfectly monster
gentle
squeaked heard earth every finished

germ stage pencil kitchen

slamming skirt nursery urgent

I think my younger brother gets better treatment than me.
He could feel his heart thumping in his chest.
That wouldn’t be a wise thing to do.
My mother will go on our next class field trip.
“I can spell all the words perfectly on the spelling test,”
said Perry.
Did you witness the crime?
After it lays eggs, a snail covers them with dirt or leaves
and goes away.
You may find some rocks near the edge of the sea covered
with little snails.
It’s very funny to watch a hamster clean itself.
Ernie made a goofy monster costume and wore it in the
class play.

Decoding and Sentence Reading B 43

er, ur, ir, ear, wor, soft g, soft c, ie, igh, oo, ee, ai, oa, consonant-le syllable, ea, ou,

nontwin consonant syllable division, twin-consonant syllable division, suffixes, -ed, ay,

exceptions, so, he, fly, V-e, tch, ck, qu, wa, al, ff, ll, ss, sh, ch, th, wh, ng, nk, short vowels

S. P. I.R.E.® Level 5 © SSI • Do Not Copy