Image of duck looking at a dollar bill in a mud pile
Danny E. Rivera (mud splashes and socks); claudia_wuethrich/500px/Getty Images (Duck Flapping Wings); Danny E. Rivera (mud splashes and socks); Shutterstock.com (All other Images)
Silly Decodable,

Bad Luck Duck

Have fun with decodable text.

By Janice Behrens | Design by Marybeth Butler Rivera
From the December 2024/January 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will decode words with final consonant digraph -ck and understand the sequence of events in a story.

Lexiles: 180L
Featured Skill: Fluency, Vocabulary,
Common Core Standards
  • RF.1.a Distinguishing features of a sentence RF.1.3 Decoding RF.1.4 Fluency SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative discussions with peers and adults
TEKS Standards
  • English Language Arts
    (2) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking—beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell. The student is expected to: (B) demonstrate and apply phonetic knowledge by: (i) decoding words in isolation and in context by applying common letter sound correspondences; (ii) decoding words with initial and final consonant blends, digraphs, and trigraphs.

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Story Navigation

Bad Luck Duck

I am Bad Luck Duck.

I had a buck. It was in my pack.

But my buck fell in the muck.

I will pick it up.

Then I can get a snack from the truck.

Quack! I fell in the muck.

Bad luck.

Yay! It is the truck!

Hi, Zack.

Hi, Duck. Why are you in the muck?

I have bad luck.

Oh. Get out of the muck.

Now my sock is stuck in the muck. I am sick of bad luck.

I will get it.

I did not see that rock.

Yuck. Now you have my bad luck.

That is OK. I have a good pal. And you have a buck for the truck.

I have a good pal too.

Play Make Words With Nosey Game

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Answer Key (1)
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Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)

More About the Article

English Language Arts Focus

Phonics and Phonological Awareness Fluency

Phonics Focus

Final Consonant Digraph -ck

Word List

luck, duck, buck, pack, muck, pick, snack, truck, quack, Zack, sock, sick, rock, yuck, lick

High-Frequency Words

it, the, have, you, in

Challenge Words

now, oops, good, too

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Whole group
  • Small group
  • Technology time

Pairings and Text Connections

  • From the Storyworks 1 archive: “Wish for a Fish” (October/November 2023)
  • Suggested books: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst; Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang

Before-Reading Resources

  • Word sounds slideshow (3 minutes) Warm up reading muscles by practicing final consonant digraph -ck words.

Suggested Reading Focus

Phonics and comprehension (20 minutes)

  • Discuss what a digraph is (two letters that make one sound). Review the /k/ sound for the digraph -ck.
  • Practice the final consonant digraph -ck pattern by creating a word ladder. Use a dry erase easel to write the following words in sequential order by erasing the changing letter: 

duck --> dock --> lock --> lack --> back

  • Review high-frequency words from the story. Students can practice words with a partner, as a class, and individually.
  • As children read, check comprehension: What happened to Duck’s buck? Why does duck need her buck? Why was duck in the muck? Who helps Duck? How does Zack help Duck? Where does Duck get her ice cream from? How is Zack a good pal? At the end of the story, does Duck still think she has bad luck? Why?
  • Have students review the story and highlight words with the final digraph -ck. They can practice by reading words aloud.

After-Reading Skills Practice

  • Skills: Phonics; phonological awareness (15 minutes)

Online Game

Make Words With Nosey game (10 minutes) 

  • This new interactive phonics game provides fun practice with spelling words with final consonant digraph -ck.

Text-to-Speech