GROUP 1: LESSON ‹a›

Teacher guidance:

Briefly review the previously taught letter sound. Show the flashcard ‹s› and recall the sound and action together. Practise writing ‹s› in the air and invite a few pupils to do it independently.

What to do:

• ‘Who remembers the letter sound we learned yesterday?’
• Show the ‹s› flashcard. Ask pupils to say the sound while doing the action for /s/.
• Write a letter ‹s› as you say the sound together.

Teacher guidance:

• Tell the story of a child who goes on a picnic and feels ants crawling up their arm. They cry /a-a-a/ and brush the ants off. Show the picture from Finger Phonics Book 1 ‹a› page.
• Introduce the action: wiggle fingers up your arm to show ants crawling.
• Show the ‹a› flashcard and put the ‹a› piece of the wall frieze next to the ‹s› piece.
• Invite pupils to copy you so they link the sound, story, and action all together.

What to do:

• Demonstrate the action for /a/ by wiggling your fingers up your arm, and saying /a-a-a/.
• Hold up the flashcard ‹a›, say the sound and ask the children to join in with the sound and action. Then invite a few pupils to do it independently.
• Encourage pupils to suggest other words they know that begin with an /a/ - ambulance, anchor, acrobat, avocado.

Teacher guidance:

• Demonstrate correct formation of the letter ‹a› on the board. The children copy the formation using air writing.

What to do:

• ‘Let’s write an /a/ in the air together.’ Say: “Around, up, down and flick.”
• Encourage them to say /a/ as they write.
• Compare with ‹s› – ‘Can you remember how to write /s/?’

Teacher guidance:

Say the sounds in a word slowly, eg /a-n-t/, and then blend the sounds together to make the word, ‘ant’. Say the sounds for other words and ask the children to listen for the words.

What to do:

• Ask: “What word do you hear in /c-a-t/?”
• Say the sounds and blend them together. Encourage the children to listen for the word: /h-a-t/, /m-a-t/, /b-a-g/, /t-a-p/, /s-a-d/, /p-a-n/.

Teacher guidance:

Encourage pupils to listen for the initial /a/ sound in spoken words.

What to do:

• Listen. Which of these words begins with an /a/ sound?
• ant or dog
• mum or apple
• picnic or arrow
• Adam or Jim
• Julie or Annie

Teacher guidance:

Pupils complete the ‹a› worksheet from Pupil Book 1 or the free resources. Use this time to observe how they’re doing. Support pupils as needed, or gather a small group who need extra help to work with you directly.

What to do:

• Write over the dotted ‹a› and ‹s› letters. Begin on the starting dot.
• Look at the four pictures at the bottom of the page (ant, arrow, sock, apple). Say each word out loud. Pupils listen for the one that does not start with the sound /a/ and cross out its picture (sock).
• Encourage pupils to point to the dot under each letter in their books while saying the letter sound.

Teacher guidance:

Dictation strengthens the sound–letter link. Say a sound (e.g. /a/ or /s/) and pupils write the corresponding letter in the air, on a whiteboard or on paper. If short on time, pupils can do air writing, but it’s best to provide opportunities to practice writing on paper.

What to do:

• “Listen – /a/. Write an /a/.”
• “Now /s/ – write a /s/.”

What to do:

Sing the Jolly Phonics song for /a/, acting out ants crawling up your arm.

Teacher guidance:

Send home the Home Sound Book with the new letter ‹a› in for pupils to share with parents.

Value of this routine:

• Reinforces letter-sound knowledge.
• Creates positive home engagement with phonics.
• Establishes early reading habits and a daily practice routine.
• Supports long-term retention through regular revision.