Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Tommy who loved animals. He was very eager to visit the zoo, where he could see all kinds of fascinating creatures. Tommy's mom knew that he was also learning about phonics at school, so she decided to tell him a special bedtime story about his upcoming zoo visit. "Tommy," said his mom with a smile, "I have a wonderful story to help you practice your phonics and get ready for our zoo trip. Are you ready?"
Tommy nodded excitedly, his eyes wide with anticipation. "Well," his mom began, "let me tell you about Timmy the Tiger. Timmy was a curious tiger cub who lived in the zoo. He had black stripes on his orange fur and loved to roar, but he wasn't very good at it yet."
"Roooaar!" Tommy imitated, attempting to sound like a tiger. His mom laughed and continued, "One day, Timmy met a wise owl named Oliver. Oliver had big round eyes and was known for his vast knowledge of words and sounds. He offered to help Timmy learn how to roar properly."
"Roooaar!" Tommy tried again, imitating Oliver's instructions. "Good try, Tommy!" his mom exclaimed, giving him a high five. "Now, let's meet another animal friend, Emily the Elephant. Emily had a long trunk and could make all sorts of sounds with it. She showed Timmy how to make the 'E' sound, just like her name."
Tommy tilted his head and asked, "How do you make the 'E' sound with your trunk?" His mom smiled, "Well, Emily showed Timmy that if he put his trunk up in the air and let out a little 'e' sound, it would mimic her trumpet-like call."
"Errr!" Tommy pretended, mimicking the 'E' sound while holding his imaginary trunk up high. As the story continued, Tommy's mom introduced him to more animal friends, each with their unique sounds and phonics lessons. The clever parrot, Polly, taught Timmy the 'P' sound, the fluffy rabbit, Rosie, taught him the 'R' sound, and so on.
Tommy giggled and had lots of fun imitating the animals' sounds while learning about different phonics. His mom praised him for doing such a great job with his phonics lessons, and he felt proud. After the story ended, Tommy snuggled up in his blanket, feeling excited about the zoo visit the next day. As he closed his eyes, he dreamed of exploring the zoo, meeting all his animal friends, and confidently imitating their sounds using his newly acquired phonics skills.
And so, with a smile on his face, Tommy drifted off to sleep, ready to have an exciting adventure at the zoo while continuing his phonics journey.
Reflection Questions