Week 24, lesson 1 Phonemes "er,ir,ur" - Phonics Phase 5, unit 3 - Lesson plan

In Week 24's first phonics lesson, part of Phase 5, Unit 3, the objective is to explore the various spellings of the /er/ phoneme. The lesson begins with a "Quickdash" activity, where children rapidly identify phonemes from a series of grapheme flashcards, including digraphs and trigraphs. This revisit and review technique helps to reinforce their existing knowledge and improve their recall speed. The teaching segment then introduces the Earth pictophone as a visual aid to represent the /er/ phoneme, leading to a discussion on the different graphemes that can be used to spell this sound: , , . The class practices writing words like "letter," "burn," and "first," with a focus on underlining the grapheme that represents the /ir/ phoneme.

During the lesson, the children are encouraged to identify patterns in the usage of the , , and graphemes. They learn that is typically found at the end of words where the /er/ phoneme is present. The practice phase involves a "Spot the Fake" game, where children discern between real words and nonsense words (e.g., "girt," "sudder," "curl," "shirl," "dinner," "burp," "third," "turn") depicted on coins, sorting them into a treasure chest or a bin accordingly. To apply their learning, the children engage in a mini whiteboard exercise, where they write dictated phrases such as "She can turn into a bird," "Stir your coffee," and "Summer is the best," allowing them to demonstrate their understanding of the /er/ phoneme in the context of phrases.