Beginning Sounds a and b, Reading, Writing and Forming Simple Words for Pre-School Level 4

Class: Pre-School Level 4
Term: Second Term
Week: 1
Age: 5 years
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Literacy
Curriculum Theme: Letter Work
Previous Lesson: Basic letter recognition and pre-writing patterns.
Topic: Beginning Sounds a and b: Reading, Writing and Forming Simple Words
Subject Matter: STRUCTURE SPEECH. Weekly focus: Beginning Sounds a and b: Reading, Writing and Forming Simple Words.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• Identify the uppercase and lowercase letters ‘A’ and ‘B’.
• Recognise and pronounce the sounds /a/ and /b/ correctly.
• Name words that begin with the sounds /a/ and /b/.

Affective Domain

• Show enthusiasm for learning new sounds and words.
• Listen attentively to the teacher and the audio player.
• Participate actively in class activities and discussions.

Psychomotor Domain

• Trace the letters ‘A’ and ‘B’ in the air and on paper.
• Copy simple words beginning with ‘a’ and ‘b’.
• Attempt to form simple words using the sounds /a/ and /b/.

Social Domain

• Share learning materials with classmates.
• Take turns when speaking or demonstrating.

Reference Materials

• NAPPS National Unified Teaching Scheme for Pre-School Level 4
• Early Childhood Care and Education curriculum guides
• Relevant early-years literacy workbooks

Instructional Materials

• Charts showing uppercase and lowercase ‘A’ and ‘B’ with pictures (e.g., ant, apple, bag, ball)
• Flashcards with letters ‘A’, ‘B’ and example words
• MP3 or MP4 player with audio/video of letter sounds and words
• Television (if using MP4 player)
• Writing books/exercise books
• Pencils and crayons
• Whiteboard/Blackboard and markers/chalk

Rationale for the Lesson

Learning beginning sounds ‘a’ and ‘b’ is fundamental for developing early literacy skills in 5-year-olds. This lesson helps pupils connect letters to sounds, which is crucial for reading and writing simple words, building their phonological awareness and preparing them for more complex language tasks.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can recognise some letters of the alphabet and have basic listening skills. They may have been introduced to simple pre-writing patterns.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Beginning Sounds a and b: Reading, Writing and Forming Simple Words

The Sound /a/

The sound /a/ is the short ‘a’ sound, like in “apple” or “ant”.

• Letter: A a
• Sound: /a/ (as in the beginning of ‘apple’)
• Example Words:
  • Ant
  • Apple

The Sound /b/

The sound /b/ is the ‘buh’ sound, like in “ball” or “bag”.

• Letter: B b
• Sound: /b/ (as in the beginning of ‘ball’)
• Example Words:
  • Bag
  • Ball
  • Bell

Forming Simple Words

We can use these sounds to read and form simple words:

• ‘a’ (as a word, e.g., “I have a ball.”)
• b-a-g → bag
• b-a-ll → ball

What the Teacher Should Show or Draw

• Display large charts of uppercase ‘A’ and ‘a’, ‘B’ and ‘b’.
• Draw a simple ant and an apple next to ‘A a’.
• Draw a simple bag and a ball next to ‘B b’.
• Demonstrate how to write ‘A a’ and ‘B b’ on the board.
• Write example words like ‘ant’, ‘apple’, ‘bag’, ‘ball’ clearly.

Sound and Word Rhyme

Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Lyrics:

“A” says /a/, /a/, /a/ for ant,
“A” says /a/, /a/, /a/ for apple.
“B” says /b/, /b/, /b/ for ball,
“B” says /b/, /b/, /b/ for bag.
Let’s learn our sounds, every day,
“A” and “B” we love to say!

Actions:

• For /a/ sound: Pretend to bite an apple.
• For /b/ sound: Bounce an imaginary ball.
• For “Let’s learn our sounds”: Point to ears, then mouth.
• For “A and B we love to say”: Make ‘A’ and ‘B’ shapes with fingers in the air.

How to use the rhyme: Sing the rhyme slowly, encouraging pupils to join in with the sounds and actions. Repeat several times throughout the lesson to reinforce learning.

Watch and Listen to Sounds A and B

The teacher will play a short educational video to reinforce the sounds and example words for ‘A’ and ‘B’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX-87W0sQ0U

Key Words

• Sound – what we hear when we say a letter.
• Letter – a written symbol for a sound.
• Word – a group of letters that has a meaning.
• Form – to make or create something.

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Play-based Learning, Demonstration, Guided Practice, Songs and Rhymes, Picture Talk, Question and Answer, Repetition, Manipulation of Objects (flashcards), Audio-Visual Learning.

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Engagement/Motivation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils, leads a short warm-up song, and introduces the idea of learning new sounds and words. “Good morning, children! Today we are going to learn about two special sounds and how to make words with them!”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to greetings, sing along, and listen attentively.

Learning Point: Pupils are engaged and ready to learn.

Step 2: Introducing Sound /a/

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Oral Practice

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher displays the ‘A a’ chart. “Look at this letter! This is letter A. It makes the sound /a/.” (Teacher pronounces the short /a/ sound clearly). “Can you say /a/?” The teacher shows pictures of an ant and an apple. “Ant starts with /a/, apple starts with /a/.” The teacher plays the relevant part of the MP3/MP4 player for sound /a/ and example words.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils look at the chart, listen to the teacher and the audio, and repeat the /a/ sound and example words (ant, apple) several times.

Learning Point: Pupils recognise letter ‘A’ and its sound /a/ with associated words.

Step 3: Practising Writing and Reading Sound /a/ Words

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Practice/Modelling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher demonstrates how to write uppercase ‘A’ and lowercase ‘a’ on the board, guiding pupils to trace in the air. “Let’s trace ‘A’ in the air! Up, down, and across.” The teacher then guides pupils to copy the letter ‘A a’ and simple words like ‘a’ and ‘ant’ in their writing books. “Now, let’s write ‘A a’ and ‘ant’ in our books.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils trace ‘A a’ in the air, then copy the letters and words ‘a’, ‘ant’ in their writing books with teacher’s guidance.

Learning Point: Pupils practise forming letter ‘A’ and writing simple words with /a/.

Step 4: Introducing Sound /b/

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Oral Practice

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher displays the ‘B b’ chart. “Now let’s learn another sound! This is letter B. It makes the sound /b/.” (Teacher pronounces the /b/ sound clearly). “Can you say /b/?” The teacher shows pictures of a bag, ball, and bell. “Bag starts with /b/, ball starts with /b/, bell starts with /b/.” The teacher plays the relevant part of the MP3/MP4 player for sound /b/ and example words.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils look at the chart, listen to the teacher and the audio, and repeat the /b/ sound and example words (bag, ball, bell) several times.

Learning Point: Pupils recognise letter ‘B’ and its sound /b/ with associated words.

Step 5: Practising Writing and Reading Sound /b/ Words

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Practice/Modelling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher demonstrates how to write uppercase ‘B’ and lowercase ‘b’ on the board, guiding pupils to trace in the air. “Let’s trace ‘B’ in the air! Down, then round and round.” The teacher then guides pupils to copy the letter ‘B b’ and simple words like ‘bag’ and ‘ball’ in their writing books. “Now, let’s write ‘B b’ and ‘bag’, ‘ball’ in our books.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils trace ‘B b’ in the air, then copy the letters and words ‘B b’, ‘bag’, ‘ball’ in their writing books with teacher’s guidance.

Learning Point: Pupils practise forming letter ‘B’ and writing simple words with /b/.

Step 6: Forming Simple Words and Reinforcement

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Application/Reinforcement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils to form simple words using flashcards or by writing on the board. For example, “What word can we make with ‘b’, ‘a’, ‘g’?” The teacher encourages pupils to say the sounds and blend them. The teacher then leads the class in singing the “Sound and Word Rhyme” from the Board Summary.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils participate in forming words by blending sounds, and sing the rhyme with actions.

Learning Point: Pupils apply their knowledge of sounds to form and blend simple words.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher checks pupils’ understanding through short questions and practical tasks.

1. “What sound does letter A make?”
2. “Can you name a word that starts with the /a/ sound?”
3. “What sound does letter B make?”
4. “Can you name a word that starts with the /b/ sound?”
5. “Show me how you write ‘A’ in the air.”
6. “Show me how you write ‘B’ in the air.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond orally and demonstrate the required skill where appropriate.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 1 minute

Teaching Skill: Summarisation/Praise

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher praises the pupils for their participation and effort. “You all did a wonderful job today learning sounds /a/ and /b/ and forming words! Keep practising!”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen and respond to the teacher’s praise.

Learning Point: Pupils feel encouraged and motivated.

Lesson Keywords

• A – the first letter of the alphabet.
• B – the second letter of the alphabet.
• Ant – a small insect.
• Apple – a round fruit.
• Bag – a container for carrying things.
• Ball – a round object used in games.

Differentiation

• Support: For pupils struggling with sound recognition, use larger flashcards and more repetition. Provide hand-over-hand guidance for tracing letters. Focus only on identifying one example word for each sound.
• Extension: For pupils who grasp the concepts quickly, encourage them to think of other words that start with /a/ and /b/. They can also try to write more simple words independently or draw pictures for the words they learned.

Note for teachers using this lesson plan

Before the lesson, ensure all instructional materials like charts, flashcards, and the MP3/MP4 player are ready and tested. Clear and consistent pronunciation of the /a/ and /b/ sounds is crucial. Emphasise the short ‘a’ sound. Encourage multi-sensory learning by having pupils listen, see, say, and write the letters and words. Be patient and allow ample time for pupils to practise tracing and copying. Observe pupils’ pencil grip and posture during writing activities. Assess understanding by observing if pupils can correctly point to letters, say the sounds, and attempt to write the letters and words. Repeat the rhyme and sound practice frequently to aid memorisation.