Bright, colorful photos support decodable text, guiding beginning readers to identify, recognize, and use the /ai/ sound. Featuring high-frequency words, this authentic nonfiction text also gives emerging readers the opportunity to read for information while reinforcing basic phonemic sounds. This book introduces readers to a narrator who is just learning how to paint. This nonfiction phonics title is paired with the fiction phonics title Elaine Takes a Train: Practicing the AI Sound. The instructional guide on the inside front and back covers provides: * Word List with carefully selected grade-appropriate words featuring the /ai/ sound found in the text * Teacher Talk that assists instructors in introducing the /ai/ sound * Group Activity that guides students to identify the /ai/ sound, decode the words that contain it, and use the words * Extended Activity that provides students with additional opportunities to think about, list, and use words containing the /ai/ sound * Writing Activity that guides students to write the letters that make the /ai/ sound

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