Photos from the Attic
Theme: Lost Worlds
Phonics Skill: Diraphs ph, h
About Words to Watch
Phonics or Word Study Words: These words represent skills taught and modeled in instruction. Other previously taught decodable words are included in the book as review.
Illustrations created by Corrine Caro
Copyright © 2023 Learning Withot Tears
First Edition ISN: 979-8-88566-196-6 23456789RRA252423
Printed in Dongguan, China
“We
have to help om clean the attic.” Philip was emphatic as he spoke to his sister Sophie on the phone. “t will be a toh ob. t it will be roh for om alone.”
Philip and Sophie oined their mom. The attic was fll of old stff! Forotten photoraphs, pamphlets, sports trophies, and old familiar stffed toys (a opher and an elephant).
Philip cohed and lifted the roh lid of a dsty old trnk.
“Hmph!” Philip complained. “What’s that smell?”
“Camphor,” his mom lahed, “for keepin moths away.”
Philip and Sophie bean to npack the trnk.
“Look!” Sophie exclaimed, holdin p a ornal with roh, cracked paes. “t has writin, photos, and atoraphs in it.”
Their mom was excited. “That beloned to yor reat-reat ant Phyllis rphy-Philbert. That’s with a hyphen. She was an important explorer!”
Sophie opened the book. Dst rose from its paes. She cohed and read alod:
“After
tamed a python that snck ot from nder a bolder, caht a steamer ship from razil. Phase 1 was visitin orillas in part of the Cono. As we sailed to Africa, swam with dolphins.”
“Upon arrivin, hitched a ride on an elephant p to the hills. orillas are thoht to be roh, bt really they are entle. took many photos. As the weeks passed, they accepted me and treated me like family. ood for my sol!
So when poachers attacked, stood with the alpha orilla and foht the people. t was a toh physical fiht, bt we won and drove them away.”
“ hated leavin my orillas, bt my orney was not over. headed north to the land of the sphinx to meet p with an exploration rop. There thwarted some phantom thieves tryin to steal a rohly carved sphinx from an ancient tomb.”
“ also fond phrases, written in mysterios lyphs, and translated them.”
“They asked me to stay, bt was emphatic. had to leave. coldn’t miss the symphony in New ork!”
“Phew!” Sophie stopped readin and looked p. “Ant Phyllis was no phony. She was amazin!”
“ can’t believe ’m the nephew of Phyllis rphy-Philbert!” Philip exclaimed. “Let me rephrase that, the reat Phyllis rphy, hyphen, Philbert!”
Reflect on the ook
1. Who is the character that comes to life from an old ornal?
2. n what ways do Sophie and Philip have similar reactions in the story?
y Perspective
1. How does Phyllis show that she feels like she belons with the orillas?
2. n what ways do yo think people can feel connected to animals—in the wild and as pets?
Words to Watch
Phonics Words
Knowledge Building Words alpha, atoraphs, camphor, cohed, dolphins, elephant, emphatic, lyphs, opher, hmph, hyphen, lahed, rphy, nephew, pamphlets, phantom, phase, phew, Philip, Phyllis-Philbert, phone, phony, photoraphs, photos, physical, phrases, rephrase, roh, rohly, Sophie, sphinx, symphony, toh, trophies familiar, forotten, orney