GROUP 2: LESSON ‹d›

Teacher guidance:

Use flashcards to briefly revise the letter sounds already taught. Revise the formation of one or two letters.

What to do:

• Show flashcards of taught letter sounds. Pupils say each sound once and do the action.
• Choose 2 or 3 letters to write on the board. While this is being done the children form the letters in the air.

Teacher guidance:

Tell Dan’s cupboard story—he finds a drum and plays “d, d, d, d!” Children mime drumming hands up and down while saying /d/. Display the ‹d› piece of the wall frieze.

What to do:

• Demonstrate the action: pretend to be playing a drum and saying /d-d-d/.
• Invite a few solo drummers.
• Ask the children if they can think of any /d/ words: dog, dig, den, duck, dad, dice, doll.

Teacher guidance:

Emphasise that ‹d› begins with a caterpillar ‘c’ (“around…”) then goes up tall before coming down.

What to do:

• “Write /d/ on the board or in the air. Say the phrase with me:: “Around, up-up, down-down and flick.”

Teacher guidance:

Include a final consonant blend (nd).

What to do:

• Auditory blend: /d-i-p/ → dip; /r-e-d/ → red; /d-a-d/ → dad; /h-a-n-d/ → hand.
• Write words on the board and blend: dip, red, dad, hand, den.
• Word bank: add, and, dad, den, did, din, dip, end, had, hid, mad, pad, red, sad, deck, dent, desk, drip, hand, sand, send, skid, spend, a red dress, a rat in a hat.

Teacher guidance:

Ask which words begin with a /d/ sound?

What to do:

• “Which word begins with a /d/?” dog or cat; mouse or dice; duck or tree; den or sun.
• “Does this word end with a /d/?” eg ham, sad, hand, miss.
• “How many sounds in these words?” Say the word then sound it out with the children, holding up a finger for each sound, eg den, end, deck, spend.

Teacher guidance:

Use the ‹d› page from Pupil Book 1 or free resources.

What to do:

• Write over the dotted ‹d› letters and the other letters on the lines.
• Say four words: dog, dice, mole, dress. Pupils listen and write the letter for the first sound in each word.
• Blend with dots: dip, red, dad, hand. Blend and then read aloud together. Read a second time, encouraging the children to blend the words in their heads and just say the words aloud.

Teacher guidance:

Call out some taught letter sounds and two simple regular words.

What to do:

• Dictate the sounds: /d/, /m/, /r/, /h/ (children write ‹d›, ‹m›, ‹r›, ‹h›).
• Dictate the words: sad, dip. Check by sounding out together.

What to do:

/d/ song with drumming action.

Ideas:

• Dominoes
• Play with dinosaurs
• Make a “/d/ basket” containing objects that start with a /d/ sound.

Teacher guidance:

Add ‹d›; encourage daily re-reading and tracing over the letters.