ShortVowelWords

Garden Detectives · Case 4

The Bell at Ten

Short E · Level 1

Short E CVC words and the -en, -ed, and -ell families

Illustration for The Bell at Ten

Before reading

Open the case file

Phonics focusShort E CVC words and the -en, -ed, and -ell families
Heart wordsthe · was · again · who

Hear the focus words

Read and investigate

The Bell at Ten

Natural read-along narration · Amelia
Speed

Press Read with Amelia, or choose a sentence to begin.

Meg the hen had a red bell. At ten, the bell rang. Meg did not ring it. At ten past ten, it rang again.

Meg went to inspect the bell. She saw a web from the bell to a stem. A wet pet had bent the stem. When the stem sprang back, the web tugged the bell.

Meg set the stem up with a peg. The bell did not ring again. Meg had solved the case.

Check the evidence

Can you solve the case?

Choose the answer that is supported by the story.

1What connected the stem and bell?

2What bent the stem?

3How did Meg stop the ringing?

For adults

Use evidence, not guesses

Ask the learner to point to the sentence that proves each answer. If decoding is effortful, reread one paragraph at a time. A fluent second reading is more valuable than rushing to the next story.