GROUP 1: LESSON ‹i›

Teacher guidance:

Quickly revise ‹s›, ‹a›, and ‹t› with flashcards. Pupils say the sound and do the action at the same time.

What to do:

• Hold up the flashcards and ask pupils to say the sounds and do the actions.
• Air-write each letter together.
• Invite a few pupils to demonstrate individually.

Teacher guidance:

Tell the story of Inky Mouse. Show the ‹i› flashcard and place the ‹i› piece of wall frieze on the wall.

Introduce the action: wiggle their fingers like whiskers and pretend to be Inky Mouse, squeaking “/i/, /i/, /i/.”

What to do:

• Show the flashcard, then do the action and make the /i/ sound together.

Teacher guidance:

Demonstrate how to form the letter ‹i› on the board. Begin with air writing and then with pencil and paper.

What to do:

• “Write /i/ on the board or in the air. Say the phrase with me: “Down, and flick. Dot”

Teacher guidance:

Begin with auditory blending. Say the sounds in short words and blend them together. Use your arm to model – tap from shoulder to wrist, one tap for each sound – then run your hand down your arm to blend the word. Encourage the children to listen for the word. Then move to blending with print. Write a word such as it on the board with sound dots beneath each letter. Point to each letter and say the sound together, then swipe to blend the word. Pupils can tap their hands as they say the sounds with you, then blend the sounds to read.

What to do:

• Blend /i-t/ … “it” and /s-i-t/ … “sit.”
• Auditory blend /p-i-n/, /t-i-p/, /l-i-d/, /f-i-sh/.
• Children practise with it and sit in their books, or on the board, pointing to each sound dot.

Teacher guidance:

Encourage pupils to listen for the /i/ sound at the beginning of words. Use choices where only one option contains the /i/ sound.

Spot the ‹i› Sound:

• Listen for the word with the ‹i› Sound at the beginning: ink or dog; cat or insect; igloo or sun; fish or insect

Teacher guidance:

Have pupils complete the ‹i› 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 letters to practise letter formation.
• Say four words (insects, ink, octopus igloo). Pupils decide which starts with /i/ and cross out the one that doesn’t. (octopus)
• Encourage them to use the sound dots under each word: tap each dot as they say the individual sounds, then swipe across to blend and read the full word.

Teacher guidance:

Dictate the sounds /i/, /t/, /a/, /s/ and ask the children to write the letter for each one on a piece of paper. Be sure to mix up the order each day.

What to do:

Sing the Jolly Phonics song for /i/, wiggling their fingers like whiskers and pretending to be Inky mouse.

Ideas

• Igloos – find out about igloos.
• Insect hunt – look for pictures in books or have toy insects in the classroom.
• Sound Hunt – look for /i/ letters in books.

Teacher guidance:

Send home the Home Sound Book with the new letter ‹i› added. Pupils read it with parents and practise saying the sounds, doing the actions, and sometimes tracing the letters.

Value of this routine:

• Builds a strong home–school connection.
• Provides daily review and reinforcement.
• Helps parents see and support their child’s progress.
• Develops confidence and fluency through repeated practice.