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The Importance of Phonics Lesson Plans
Phonics is a key area of learning for younger students as it is the basis of their writing, reading, spelling and pronunciation abilities. Planning out these lessons can be difficult, due to the importance of this learning. We’re here to make this easier on you and this blog provides a general structure that you can follow for future phonics lesson plans!
Structuring Phonics
Lesson Plans
1. Learning objective and lesson goals
It is important that you have an objective for the lesson, as this is what your students learning will be based around for that time period. Telling your students, the objective for the lesson gives them a clear overview of what they will be doing and why. It can also be really useful to set some goals for the lesson that pupils should aim to reach. This gives them something to work towards in the lesson and lets them know what they should be aiming for.
2. Starter activity that covers the previous topic
Once you have discussed the objective and goals for the lesson, it’s always a good idea to have your pupils complete a starter activity and get their brains working! This can be an introduction to a topic or a revision of a previous topic. Starter activities that cover a previously taught topic are great for refreshing students’ memory and ensuring that they aren’t forgetting key knowledge.
3. Demonstrate, work together, then independently
Once your pupils’ brains are warmed up, you can move on to the main part of the lesson! One of the most effective ways that you can teach your students phonics is by first demonstrating what they should do, then do it all together and then independently. You begin by going through an example and showing your pupils what they should do. Then you can work through another example as a class this time and involve your students. Perhaps doing a few examples as a class if they are struggling to understand. Finally, you ask your pupils to work through some questions on their own! This is a great way to encourage understanding.
4. Extension task – involve sentences
An extension task is a great way to challenge students a little further, especially in phonics. For example, if your pupils have been learning about graphemes, challenge them to read graphemes in the context of short sentences. This is really key to the progression of their learning in phonics as it is all contributing to their reading and writing skills.
6. Overview of what has been learnt
At the end of the lesson, it’s a really good idea to go over what has been covered and whether or not the objective has been met. You can ask each of your students which goals they feel they have/haven’t met during the lesson and why. This gives you an idea of where your pupils stand and you can decide from there what requires more lesson time! A good way of doing this is by getting students to raise their hands if they feel they have met goal 1, goal 2 etc,.
Phonics Games And Activities
Phonics lesson plans are important for ensuring that your students are learning the necessary content. Fun games are activities are great for engaging your students in phonics content.
Students are much more likely to engage with games and fun activities as it is enjoyable for them! Make phonics a little more exciting with some super fun games.
Here are some fantastic games and activities that your students will love!
Phonics Videos
Videos are a great medium to assist you in the teaching of phonics!
Students tend to interact well with videos, especially if they are fun! Songs are specifically engaging for students learning phonics as younger students respond well to songs!
A great example is the video on the right, which covers the all the alphabet sounds. This could be a great way to review previous content in order to keep it fresh in pupils’ minds.
Rock n Learn have some great phonics songs on their Youtube Channel that would be great to add into your phonics lesson plans!
Incorporate Emile In Phonics Lesson Plans
Emile is a brilliant game-based online learning resource for primary schools! Emile has a huge range of phonics games that are made to engage your pupils – they will want to learn!
Emile encourages students to read based on the 5 phonics phases of Letters and Sounds. Emile is a fantastic resource to add into your phonics lesson plans!
Why not try Emile out today?
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