English Resource Description
In the second day of Week 8's phonics lesson, part of Phase 5 Unit 2, the focus is on the versatile digraph and its associated phonemes /ch/, /sh/, and /k/. The objective of the lesson is for children to learn the different sounds that the digraph can represent. To begin, the teacher revisits previous learning with a 'Quickwrite' activity where children write down graphemes on their whiteboards in response to spoken phonemes and then display their answers for the class to see.
The teaching segment involves writing the digraph on the board and encouraging the children to suggest which phonemes it might represent. Visual aids in the form of pictophones—Chick, Sheep, and Kangaroos—are placed around the digraph to represent the sounds /ch/ as in 'chop', /sh/ as in 'chef', and /k/ as in 'chemist'. During the practice phase, the class participates in a 'Word Sort' exercise, decoding words and sorting them into columns under the correct pictophone. The words used include 'chick', 'pinch', 'ache', 'school', 'chorus', 'chef', and 'parachute'. To apply their learning, children use YES/NO flashcards to decode phrases and then select the correct response, with volunteers reading each phrase aloud. Lastly, the lesson includes 'Mini Whiteboard Work', where children write dictated words or sentences that are intentionally challenging, with the teacher providing assistance as needed.
