7 lesson cards, each followed by its sheet. Print the lot, or choose pages in the print dialog.
Ps and Qs
Telling apart the letters children reverse most — p, q, b and d
Warm-up, 5 minutes
Draw a big b on the board and ask the class to make it with their bodies: one arm up for the stick, the other curved at the tummy. Then turn round: what letter is it now?
On the projector
One child comes to the board at a time and drags a letter to its patch; the class shows the letter with their bodies first. Turn "How fast they wander" down for the first go.
Open it with /play/ps-and-qs/?projector: the class plays together, you press Next after each win, and nothing is saved.
Away from the screen
Letter hunt in pairs: each pair gets a page from a picture book and circles every b in one colour and every d in another.
Questions to ask
Which way is the round part facing: towards the stick's left, or its right?
Where does the stick go on a p? Up to the sky, or down into the dirt?
Can you trace that letter in the air with your finger?
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Ps and Qs
Name: ______________________
For the grown-up: Trace b, d, p and q at the top. Then: colour every b, and circle every d. Tip: b has its tummy on the right, d on the left.
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Waterfall
Telling b, d, p and q apart: finding the one different letter in a sea of look-alikes
Warm-up, 5 minutes
Make b and d with your hands (thumbs up, fists together, like a bed), then p and q (thumbs down). Call out a letter and let the class make it.
On the projector
The class hunts for the different letter on the big screen and calls "There!" when they spot it; a helper taps it into the well. Swap helpers after every find.
Open it with /play/waterfall/?projector: the class plays together, you press Next after each win, and nothing is saved.
Away from the screen
The Waterfall sheet: rows of one letter with one different letter hidden in each. Each child rings the different one, then writes a row of their own for a partner.
Questions to ask
Which letter are you looking for this time?
How did you know that one was a b and not a d?
Which way does its tummy face?
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Waterfall
Name: ______________________
For the grown-up: Four waterfalls. In each one, every letter is the same except one. The well shows which letter to find: draw a ring round it. Then write a waterfall of your own for someone else to search.
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A Rhyme at a Time
Hearing which words end the same way
Warm-up, 5 minutes
Say a word and have the class give one that rhymes: hat, mat, bat… Keep going until the rhymes run out.
On the projector
The class says both words out loud before a helper taps the pair. Ask: "Where do they sound the same?"
Open it with /play/a-rhyme-at-a-time/?projector: the class plays together, you press Next after each win, and nothing is saved.
Away from the screen
Rhyme ping-pong in pairs: one says a word, the other answers with a rhyme, back and forth.
Questions to ask
Say them both out loud. Do they sound the same at the end?
Can you think of another word that rhymes?
Which part of the words sounds the same?
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A Rhyme at a Time
Name: ______________________
For the grown-up: Read each word out loud together. Draw a line from each word on the left to the word on the right that rhymes with it.
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Dingo's Echo
Letter sounds, by hearing a sound and finding the letter that makes it
Warm-up, 5 minutes
I spy with sounds: "I spy something beginning with /m/." Children point and say the object.
On the projector
Play the sound, have the class echo it back like the dingo, then a helper taps the letter.
Open it with /play/dingos-echo/?projector: the class plays together, you press Next after each win, and nothing is saved.
Away from the screen
Sound sort: a tray of objects for each group to sort by their first sound.
Questions to ask
Can you make that sound too?
Which letter makes that sound?
Can you think of a word that starts with that sound?
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Dingo's Echo
Name: ______________________
For the grown-up: Sound bingo, for two. The grown-up says a sound (not the letter's name), and the player covers the letter that makes it with a coin or a button. Three in a row wins.
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Blend It, Bandicoot
Blending sounds into words: hear s … u … n, and find the sun
Warm-up, 5 minutes
Robot talk: say words in robot sounds (s … u … n) and have the class blend them back into the word.
On the projector
Everyone blends the sounds out loud first, then one child taps the picture.
Open it with /play/blend-it-bandicoot/?projector: the class plays together, you press Next after each win, and nothing is saved.
Away from the screen
Robot talk in pairs: one child robot-talks a word from the sheet, the other points to its picture.
Questions to ask
Can you say the sounds faster, and push them together?
What word do those sounds make?
How many sounds did you hear?
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Blend It, Bandicoot
Name: ______________________
For the grown-up: Say the word slowly, one sound at a time: s … u … n. Tap a dot for each sound, then write the letter for each sound in its box.
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Syllable Stomp
Hearing the beats in a word: how many stomps in koala?
Warm-up, 5 minutes
Clap your names in beats around the circle: Ol-i-ver (three), Sam (one). Then stomp them.
On the projector
The whole class stomps the animal's name together, counting the stomps, before a helper taps the footprints.
Open it with /play/syllable-stomp/?projector: the class plays together, you press Next after each win, and nothing is saved.
Away from the screen
Stomp sort: each group sorts picture cards into one-, two- and three-beat piles.
Questions to ask
How many stomps in your name?
Which animal has the most stomps?
Can you clap it instead of stomping?
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Syllable Stomp
Name: ______________________
For the grown-up: Say each animal's name together, stomping once for each beat (ko-a-la is three). Colour in one footprint for each stomp. Frog has one; platypus has three.
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Echidna's Sentences
Reading a sentence: put the words in order to match the picture
Warm-up, 5 minutes
Say a short sentence and have the class clap once for each word: "Frog. Puffs. Up." How many words?
On the projector
Show the picture and ask the class what the sentence might say. Then a helper taps the words in order while the class reads each one aloud.
Open it with /play/echidnas-sentences/?projector: the class plays together, you press Next after each win, and nothing is saved.
Away from the screen
Sentence strips: groups get a cut-up sentence from a Little Roos Reader, build it, read it, then draw its picture.
Questions to ask
Which word comes first? How do you know?
Where does the full stop go?
Can you change one word to make a new sentence?
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Echidna's Sentences
Name: ______________________
For the grown-up: Read each sentence's words together, then cut them out along the dashed lines. Mix them up and build the sentence again in the box, then read it, pointing to each word. Where does the full stop go?
