Week 15, lesson 1 Grapheme "u" and Phonemes "u", short "oo", "yoo" - Phonics Phase 5, unit 2 - Lesson plan

In the first lesson of Week 15 during Phonics Phase 5, Unit 2, children are introduced to the various phonemes associated with the grapheme . The objective of the day is clear: to learn all the phonemes that the grapheme typically represents. This includes the /u/ sound as in 'plug', the short-/oo/ sound as in 'put', and the /yoo/ sound as in 'music'. To kick off the lesson, a 'Quickdash' activity is conducted, where children rapidly identify phonemes from previously learned grapheme flashcards, including digraphs and trigraphs, as they are shown at increasing speeds.

The teaching segment involves writing a large on the board and encouraging children to suggest phonemes that this grapheme might represent. Visual aids such as the Umbrella Man, Ook, and Unicorn are displayed to reinforce the phonemes. The practice part of the lesson involves a 'Word Sort' activity, where words are decoded and sorted into columns on the board according to their corresponding phoneme. Words such as 'unit', 'unicorn', 'music', 'but', 'just', 'under', 'pull', 'push', and 'full' are used. To apply their learning, children engage in a 'Scavenger Hunt' with image flashcards related to the words they've learned, and they also practice writing dictated words and sentences on mini whiteboards, further embedding the phonemes through sentences like "Try pulling and pushing the window" and "She wears a uniform to school", along with words such as 'munch', 'full', and 'unit'.