GROUP 2: LESSON ‹h›

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 a story about a sports-day with a hopping race: children finish the race huffing “h, h, h”. Model a soft /h/ sound (If they put their hand near their mouth they should be able to feel their breath). Place the ‹h› piece of the frieze on the wall.

What to do:

• “Do the /h/ sound with me—short, quiet huffs.”
• Children repeat together.
• Ask the children if they can think of any /h/ words: hat, hen, hop, hill, hand, hamster.

Teacher guidance:

Remind the children that ‹h› is a tall letter.

What to do:

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

Teacher guidance:

Write and blend words on the board; include one with ‹ss› at the end.

What to do:

• Auditory blend: /h-i-p/ → hip; /h-a-t/ → hat; /h-e-n/ → hen; /h-i-ss/ → hiss.
• Write words on the board and blend: hip, hat, hen, hiss.
• Word bank: hat, hen, hip, hit, hiss, hint, hectic; a hen in a pen.

Teacher guidance:

Ask which words begin with a /h/ sound.

What to do:

• “Which begins with /h/?” hat or cap; sun or hill; bus or hand; ham or tree.
• “How many sounds in these words?” Say the word then sound it out with the children, holding up a finger for each sound, eg hip, hiss, hint.

Teacher guidance:

Use the ‹h› page from Pupil Book 1 or free resources. Encourage tall, straight downstrokes.

What to do:

• Write over the dotted ‹h› letters and the other letters, on the lines.
• Say four words: hedgehog, hill, hand, tennis. Pupils listen and write the letter for the first sound in each word.
• Blend words: hip, hat, hen, hiss. Tap, swipe and read.

Teacher guidance:

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

What to do:

• Dictate the sounds: /h/, /e/, /p/ (children write ‹h›, ‹e›, ‹p›).
• Dictate the words: hen, hat. Pupils write the words. Class checks by sounding out the words together and then blending them.

What to do:

Sing the Jolly Phonics song for /h/ with actions.

Ideas:

• Hopping race
• Hand-print hedgehogs
• /h/ picture hunt.

Teacher guidance:

Send home a small sound book with the new letter ‹s› for pupils to share with parents. This encourages daily review, builds a strong school–home link and gives children a chance to ‘teach back’ what they’ve learned. The book should contain all the letter sounds taught so far and travel between home and school every day.

Value of this routine:

• Reinforces sound–action–letter connections outside the classroom.
• Creates positive home engagement with phonics.
• Establishes early reading habits and a daily practice routine.
• Supports long-term retention through regular review.