Colorful Illustrations support decodable text, guiding beginning readers to identify, recognize, and use the long /u/ sound. Featuring high-frequency words, this authentic fictional narrative also gives emerging readers the opportunity to read with purpose and for meaning while reinforcing basic phonemic sounds. Readers will follow the story of June, a girl who is friends with a mule named Luke. This fiction phonics title is paired with the nonfiction phonics title Fun at the Water Flume: Practicing the Long U Sound.The instructional guide on the inside front and back covers provides: * Word List with carefully selected grade-appropriate words featuring the long /u/ sound found in the text* Teacher Talk that assists instructors in introducing the long /u/ sound* Group Activity that guides students to identify the long /u/ 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 long /u/ sound* Writing Activity that guides students to write the letters that make the long /u/ sound