Week 10, lesson 3 Tricky Word (what) - Phonics Phase 3 - Lesson plan

During the third day of week 10, young learners will tackle the challenge of mastering a new 'tricky word' in their phonics journey: "what". The objective of the lesson is clear and straightforward – to familiarise the children with this word that does not follow the usual phonetic rules they have been learning. The session begins with a quickwrite activity, where children are asked to listen to a phoneme, write the corresponding grapheme on their whiteboards, and then display their answers for the class to see, practising a few different phonemes to warm up.

Once the revisit stage is complete, the lesson moves on to teaching the tricky word "what". The teacher will sound-talk the word, helping the children to identify the letters that produce unexpected sounds. After cycling through the word several times to reinforce recognition, the class engages in a Tricky Word Race. This involves using flashcards of tricky words learned so far, including "what", and having the children sound them out before saying the word. The race adds a competitive element, dividing the class into teams to see which can read the words the quickest. To apply their knowledge, children are then asked to write a selection of tricky words on their mini whiteboards upon dictation, ensuring "what" is included. For those ready for more, extension activities such as using magnetic letters or printing can be offered to further embed learning.