1

Quick Start Guide

Intermediate
Book 1 Read the book WITH your child. You
read the “regular” text, and he/she reads

o n an
the big, red words, sort of like reading

o n s the different parts in a play.

t h c-a-t

ts
sh ch
C
Help your child sound out cat
the words as needed.

Read the book several times. This

helps develop the eye muscles and
left-to-right reading patterns that are
necessary for reading.

ABC
Don’t rush it. Body builders ABC
don’t train in a day – neither
does a child.

If your child is having difficulty, he/she

Written and illustrated by
cat
might need more practice with simple
short vowel words. Read or re-read the
rat Progressive Phonics Beginner Books a
few times, and then try this book again.

A Progressive Phonics book T.M.

And most important of

Copyright (c) 2004–2012 by Miz Katz N. Ratz, patent pending
all, HAVE FUN!
2 (Pages like this are read TO the child) 3

Words taught in this book: ! sh

Let’s learn about the shhh sound.
ship shop shut Can you say , “shhh”?

We have lots of words that make

this sound:
bath math than that
the them then thin sheep in
this with shorts
shiny
shoe
chat chin chip chop

shark in
the shower
4 sh sh 5

We don’t have a letter in the

alphabet for the “sh” sound , so we
have different ways of writing it.

The spelling we use most often is

sh sh be quiet ,
You can’t actually hear an “s” shut the door ,
or an “h , ” but that is how we
write it. sh don’t say a peep.
Say after me....
show me
sh be quiet ,
a ship at
the shop
shut your eyes –
(If you need more words, try: shadow, shake, share,
it’s time to go to sleep. b
shave, she, shell, shin, shop, shoulder, shuffle and shy.)
6 sh sh 7

Here we are at the ice cream I went to the shop to buy

shop . The shop is open , a ship , so that I could learn
the shop is nice , but we
to sail. But the shop
can’t go in because we are b
was shut , and they had
mice. They say the shop
no ship , so I ordered one
is just for people , but in the b
by mail. b
shop are lots of “sheeple.”
8 Practice............... Practice............... 9
(On “practice pages,” kids read a variety
of words he/she should know by now.)

I have a big , red ship ,

If I shut my eyes , and I am the captain. I have
how can I see you? a big , red ship , and
If I shut my nose , nothing bad can happen.
how can I smell you? Oh , no! My big , red ship
And if I shut my is in a lot of trouble.
mouth , how can I I cannot find my ship –
tell you that you smell? b it is lost in a bubble.
 th
th
10 11

! We don’t have a letter in the

alphabet for the “th” sound,
Now let’s learn about the “th” so we write it with a “t” and
sound. Can you say , “th”? an “h.”

We have lots of words that

make this sound – th
You can’t actually hear a “t”
or an “h,” but that is how we
think a write the “th” sound.
thought
Say after me...

thanks
I think he
has three
thumb
teeth
12 th 13
voice

Voice is a sound that you make

in your throat. Put your hand
on your throat and say, “cat sat
on mat.” Can you feel the voice
in your throat?
My cat is made of tin .
That’s why he is so thin . cat sat
on mat
My thin , tin cat
will never be fat. b
He will always be as b
thin as a pin.
Tin is a kind of metal.
14 th th
15

But not all sounds use your voice.

Put your hand on your throat
and say “sssss” like a snake. There are two ways that
See? You don’t use your voice we pronounce the “th” sound.
to make that sound – you make
the sound by pushing air over
With our voice
your tongue. turned ON: this,
that, those, the
and them.
sssss

With our voice

turned OFF:
think, thin, thirty,
Thursday, tooth
and thumb.
16 th th 17
The word “the” sounds
We are now going to practice like “thuh”
the two ways to pronounce “th.”

Turn ON your voice for the “th”

in the big, pink words, and
turn OFF your voice for the
“th” in the big, blue words.

this, that, The sun is shining

then, than, in the sky – the
them, the moon is shining too. b
The sun is very yellow ,
and the moon is a
thin, bath,
math, with little bit blue. b
18 th th 19

The cat thought

that he was too thin ,
That hat is silly; so he ate his dinner and b
that hat makes me the bowl that it was
laugh. You always wear b in. Then he ate a cake ,
that silly hat when and then he ate a steak.
you’re in that silly bath . Then he went to bed
with a tummy ache.
20 th th 21

I have a hundred worms. b If I had teeth , then I

I keep them in a box.
would brush them . And
My sister doesn’t like them ,
if I had hands , then I
but me , I like them lots.
would wash them .
I feed them cabbage , and
I feed them fruit.
But I am a cup , and b
And if you aren’t nice , b as you can see , first b

I’ll put this one in you take a drink , and b

your boot. b then you wash me.

22 th th 23

I am smaller than a house This flower is red , and

and smaller than a truck. that one is blue. And
I am smaller than a car that tree over there is
and smaller than a duck. green like me and you. b
I am so very , very small b And if we do not live in outer b
you need a telescope b space , then why do we
to see my face at all. b have three eyes on our face? b
24 th th 25

The monster in the closet is The dog in the bath is

bigger than a bear. He wants very good at math . He is
to chew my toes , and then he better at math than I am.
wants to chew my hair. There are b He counts with his toes all
monsters on the ceiling , monsters the bubbles on his nose , and
on the bed. Why do people tell then he pops them , one ,
me they are all inside my head? c two , bang! b
26 th Practice............... 27

I want this milk with This is my dog , and

chocolate. And I want b that is my cat . One
that steak with cake. is thin , and one is fat .
I want sugar with my lunch The cat that is fat
and honey with my tea is wearing a hat . The
because everything I eatb dog that is thin has
must be as sweet as me. b polka dot skin. b
 ch
! ch
28 29

We don’t have a letter in the

alphabet for the “ch” sound ,
Now let’s learn about the “ch” so we write it with a “c” and
sound. Can you say , “ch”? an “h” –
b b
We have lots of words that
make this sound – ch
chase that You can’t actually hear a “c”
chicken or an “h,” but that is how we
write the “ch” sound.

cherry Say after me....

Charles
the chimpanzee
chooses to
cheated at checkers
chew a chunk
of cheese.
(If you need more words, try: child, chin, chalk,
chase, chimney, chess, champion and chuckle.)
30 ch ch 31

What do you say when you b chip .

I want a potato
chat with a cat ? I want a chip to dip .
Do you chat about kittens They go so well together , b
or chat about cows? a chip and a dip , and
Do you chat like a human , I like nothing better than b
or do you say , “Meeooww”? b chip dip on my lip.
32 Practice............... Practice............... 33

That cat has a I would rather be a

red dot on his chin . dog than a cat .
The dot is as thin But I would rather be
as a tiny little pin , a cat than a rat .
but the dot is so But being a kid
bright you can see is better than them
it at night. all – I will always be a
kid , even when I am tall.
34 Practice............... 35

The End

To chop up food for

hungry poodles, first you b Next:
chop a lot of Progressive Phonics
noodles. Then you Intermediate Books
Book 2: Consonant Blends
chop a potato chip with the Letter “S”
and serve the chip
with doggy dip . www.ProgressivePhonics.com

b
Copyright 2004–2012
by Progressive Phonics Co.
General guide to voiced and unvoiced “th” pronunciation
There are a few exceptions (e.g. ether, blithe, etc.) , but the following guide is a good starting place.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to explain these concepts to an early-reader who hasn’t yet studied grammar.
However, this guide may be useful for future reference and with students who are more advanced.

Voice turned ON Voiced turned OFF

Pronouns: Numbers:
this, that, these, those, them, three, thirty, thousand, third,
they, their. fourth, fifth, sixth , etc

Misc: Nouns, verbs and description

hen, than, though, although, words:
there, thus. thin, think, thank, thing, thick,
thirsty, throw, thief, theft,
When “th” is followed by silent “e” (also thigh, theme, thaw, thought,
when replacing the silent “e” with “ing”): through, thumb, thump, thud,
bathe/bathing, breathe/breathing, thwart, thorn, etc.
clothe/clothing, teethe/teething. etc.
When “th” is at the end of
When “th” is followed by “er”: a word:
brother, mother, father, other, bath, math, myth, with, path,
another, weather, together, truth, tooth, teeth, froth, broth,
bother, neither, either, farther, cloth, south, death, birth, earth,
feather. gather, rather, smoother, growth, oath, etc.
whether, etc.
Copyright © 20102 by Miz Katz N Ratz