Blending and Word Formation with Seventh Sound Group qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar for Pre-School Level 3

Class: Pre-School Level 3
Term: Second Term
Week: 5
Age: 4 years
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Literacy
Curriculum Theme: Language Domain
Previous Lesson: Not separately stated in the scheme.
Topic: SEVENTH SOUND GROUP QU, OU, OI, UE, ER, AR: BLENDING AND WORD FORMATION
Subject Matter: INTRODUCE THE SEVENTH GROUP OF SOUNDS qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar – Blending sounds – Word formation. Weekly focus: Seventh Sound Group qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar: Blending and Word Formation.

Specific Objectives

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

Cognitive Domain

• Identify the sounds of ‘qu’, ‘ou’, ‘oi’, ‘ue’, ‘er’, ‘ar’ when spoken.
• Recognise the written forms of ‘qu’, ‘ou’, ‘oi’, ‘ue’, ‘er’, ‘ar’ on flashcards.
• Blend the target sounds with other letters to form simple words orally.

Affective Domain

• Listen attentively to the teacher’s pronunciation of the sounds and words.
• Participate enthusiastically in blending and word formation activities.
• Show interest in learning new sound groups.

Psychomotor Domain

• Point to the correct sound group flashcard when called out.
• Trace the sound groups ‘qu’, ‘ou’, ‘oi’, ‘ue’, ‘er’, ‘ar’ in the air or on paper.
• Attempt to colour pictures that represent words with the target sounds.

Social Domain

• Take turns when speaking or participating in group activities.
• Work cooperatively with peers during guided practice.

Reference Materials

• NAPPS National Unified Teaching Scheme for Pre-School Level 3
• Relevant Early Childhood Care and Education resources

Instructional Materials

• Flashcards for ‘qu’, ‘ou’, ‘oi’, ‘ue’, ‘er’, ‘ar’
• Picture cards with words containing the target sounds (e.g., queen, loud, coin, blue, flower, car)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Crayons and paper
• Rhyme book
• Phonics handbook (for teacher reference)
• CD Sound recorder (optional, for recording pupil sounds)

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson introduces pupils to more complex letter combinations that form single sounds, which is a crucial step in developing early reading and writing skills. By learning to blend these sounds, pupils can decode and form a wider range of words, building confidence and laying a strong foundation for future literacy development.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can recognise and say the sounds of individual letters (a-z) and some simpler two-letter blends. They can also identify some common objects and pictures.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

SEVENTH SOUND GROUP QU, OU, OI, UE, ER, AR: BLENDING AND WORD FORMATION

Today we are learning about special sound groups that help us read and write many words. These are:

• qu (like in “queen”) – sounds like “kw”
• ou (like in “loud”) – sounds like “ow”
• oi (like in “coin”) – sounds like “oy”
• ue (like in “blue”) – sounds like “oo”
• er (like in “flower”) – sounds like “ur”
• ar (like in “car”) – sounds like “ah”

Examples of Blending and Word Formation:

Let’s put sounds together!

• qu + een = queen
• l + ou + d = loud
• c + oi + n = coin
• b + l + ue = blue
• flow + er = flower
• c + ar = car

We can also make other words:

• qu + ack = quack
• h + ou + se = house
• b + oi + l = boil
• gl + ue = glue
• teach + er = teacher
• st + ar = star

Key Words

• Sound Group – Two or more letters that make one sound together.
• Blend – To put sounds together to make a word.
• Word Formation – Making new words by putting sounds or letters together.

Sound Group Rhyme

Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Lyrics:

Qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar,
Special sounds, near and far.
Quack, loud, coin, and blue,
Flower, car, for me and you.
Qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar,
Help us read, a shining star!

Actions: Point to each sound card as it’s named. Clap for each word. Point to self and friends for “me and you”.

Watch and Practise Blending

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0iB4_Qe2y8

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

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

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Greet & Engage

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils, leads a short warm-up song about sounds, and reminds them of previous sounds they have learned.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to greetings, sing along, and recall some familiar letter sounds.

Learning Point: Pupils are engaged and ready to learn new sounds.

Step 2: Introduce Seventh Sound Group

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Introduction/Pronunciation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher introduces the first sound group ‘qu’ using a flashcard and a picture of a queen. The teacher says the sound “kw” and asks pupils to repeat. This is repeated for ‘ou’, ‘oi’, ‘ue’, ‘er’, ‘ar’ with their respective examples.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils look at the flashcards and pictures, listen to the teacher, and repeat the sounds for ‘qu’, ‘ou’, ‘oi’, ‘ue’, ‘er’, ‘ar’.

Learning Point: Pupils recognise and pronounce the new sound groups.

Step 3: Blending Sounds (Teacher-led)

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Modelling/Demonstration

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher demonstrates blending by putting a consonant sound with one of the new sound groups (e.g., ‘l’ + ‘ou’ = loud, ‘c’ + ‘ar’ = car). The teacher writes the sounds and then the blended word on the board, sounding out each part clearly.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils watch and listen as the teacher demonstrates blending, attempting to repeat the blended words orally.

Learning Point: Pupils understand how individual sounds combine to form words.

Step 4: Word Formation (Guided Practice)

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Practice/Questioning

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils to form simple C-V-C or V-C-V words using the new sound groups. For example, “What happens if we put ‘c’ before ‘oi’ and ‘n’ after it? c-oi-n = coin.” The teacher provides clues and encourages pupils to blend.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils actively participate by suggesting letters or blending sounds to form words with the teacher’s help.

Learning Point: Pupils practice blending sounds to form new words.

Step 5: Rhyme and Video Reinforcement

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Reinforcement/Engagement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher leads the pupils in singing the “Sound Group Rhyme” with actions. Afterwards, the teacher plays the short educational video on blending sounds, encouraging pupils to watch and repeat words from the video.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils sing the rhyme with actions and watch the video, repeating sounds and words as prompted.

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce their understanding of sound groups and blending through song and visual aids.

Step 6: Practical Application/Activity

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Application/Observation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher distributes paper with simple outlines of words containing the target sounds (e.g., a picture of a car with ‘c_r’ to fill in ‘ar’, or a picture of a coin with ‘c_n’ to fill in ‘oi’). Pupils are asked to colour the pictures and, if able, trace or fill in the missing sound group.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils colour the pictures and attempt to trace or fill in the missing sound groups on their papers.

Learning Point: Pupils apply their knowledge of sound groups in a practical activity.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 4–5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

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

1. “Point to the ‘ou’ sound card.”
2. “What sound does ‘oi’ make?”
3. “Say a word that has the ‘ar’ sound.”
4. “Blend these sounds: ‘b’ + ‘l’ + ‘ue’.”

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: Summarising/Closing

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher praises the pupils for their participation and reminds them that practicing these sounds helps them become good readers. The teacher dismisses the class.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the teacher and prepare for dismissal.

Learning Point: Pupils feel encouraged and understand the importance of the lesson.

Lesson Keywords

• Qu – A sound group like ‘kw’ in “queen”.
• Ou – A sound group like ‘ow’ in “loud”.
• Oi – A sound group like ‘oy’ in “coin”.
• Ue – A sound group like ‘oo’ in “blue”.
• Er – A sound group like ‘ur’ in “flower”.
• Ar – A sound group like ‘ah’ in “car”.
• Blend – To put sounds together to make a word.

Differentiation

• Support: For pupils struggling to identify the sounds, provide larger flashcards and more one-on-one repetition. Use hand-over-hand guidance for tracing the sound groups. Focus on only 2-3 of the sound groups first before introducing all six.
• Extension: For pupils who quickly grasp the concept, challenge them to identify other words around the classroom or in picture books that contain the target sound groups. Ask them to think of a simple sentence using one of the new words.