Smith and Smitty SM Phonics Stories Reading Comprehension Worksheet

The SM blend joins two consonants that a first grader has to hold together in one smooth breath — s and m, sliding straight into words like smile, smart, small, smell, and smoke. Blends are where decoding really begins to click, because the reader can no longer sound out one letter at a time and hope for the best. The Smith and Smitty SM Phonics Stories Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives that skill a story to live inside, so students meet the SM blend nine different times in connected text instead of on a flashcard.

This 1st grade SM blends worksheet opens with a short, fully decodable story about a boy named Smith who hikes to the top of a grassy hill and meets Smitty, a small brown bear. The passage runs 79 words in big, friendly type, so a first grader can read it independently in a minute or two. Page two brings the comprehension work: four fill-in-the-bubble questions drawn from across the whole story, followed by a word hunt that sends students back into the text to find and write two SM words of their own. Read the story aloud together first, then let students reread it on their own before they answer.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• 1 original 79-word SM blend story with a full-color illustration
• 4 multiple-choice comprehension questions and a 2-word SM word hunt

Three things make this resource work in a first grade classroom. First, it pairs phonics and comprehension in one sitting, so students practice the SM blend while still reading for meaning rather than barking at print. Second, every question is answerable straight from the passage, which builds the habit of going back to the text for evidence instead of guessing. Third, the Smith and Smitty SM Phonics Stories Reading Comprehension Worksheet ends with an open word hunt, and that small act of searching for smart, smooth, or smelled is what moves a blend from something a child recognizes to something a child notices everywhere.

Teachers and parents can stretch the skill well past the page. Try a one-minute SM word race, where partners list every SM word they can think of before the timer runs out. Hide SM word cards around the room and let students hunt them the way they hunted the story. Ask students to draw the next thing Smith and Smitty do together and label the picture with two SM words. Or turn the passage into a fluency reread — three timed readings across three days is a simple, powerful routine for first grade readers.

Related Resources

• Blends SM, SN Worksheet
• S Blends Worksheet
• Find the Phonemes Blends Worksheet
• Letter S Song (Animated Music Video)