ShortVowelWords

Garden Detectives · Case 13

The Drum in the Mud

Short U · Level 1

Short U CVC words and the -um, -ug, and -un families

Illustration for The Drum in the Mud

Before reading

Open the case file

Phonics focusShort U CVC words and the -um, -ug, and -un families
Heart wordsthe · was · who · into

Hear the focus words

Read and investigate

The Drum in the Mud

Natural read-along narration · Amelia
Speed

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

Gus the rabbit had a red drum. He set it on a rug in the sun. Then the drum was gone. Gus saw a rut in the mud.

The rut ran from the rug to a shrub. A gust had pushed the round drum. It rolled into the mud and got stuck by the shrub. Gus gave it a tug.

The team scrubbed off the mud. Gus put the drum in a snug box.

Check the evidence

Can you solve the case?

Choose the answer that is supported by the story.

1What clue did Gus find?

2What moved the drum?

3Why did the drum roll?

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.