Letter O, Sound Recognition and Picture Reading for Pre-School Level 2

Class: Pre-School Level 2
Term: Second Term
Week: 6
Age: 3 years
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Literacy
Curriculum Theme: Not separately stated in the scheme.
Previous Lesson: Recognition of a previous letter of the alphabet.
Topic: LETTER O: SOUND RECOGNITION, PICTURE READING AND WRITING
Subject Matter: Listening and Speaking: Talking about news and happenings at home and in the community. Reading: Picture reading, recognising familiar objects and relating the sound of Oo to Orange, Onion, Owl. Writing: Tracing, colouring and writing Oo. Songs, Rhymes and Poems: Singing traditional rhymes, songs and poems and acting out characters.

Specific Objectives

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

Cognitive Domain

• Identify the uppercase letter ‘O’ and lowercase letter ‘o’.
• Recognise and say the short /ɒ/ sound of the letter ‘O’.
• Name familiar objects that begin with the letter ‘O’ sound, such as orange, onion, and owl.

Affective Domain

• Show interest in learning new letters and sounds.
• Participate actively in discussions about news from home and the community.
• Enjoy singing and acting out characters in rhymes.

Psychomotor Domain

• Trace the uppercase letter ‘O’ and lowercase letter ‘o’ with their fingers and crayons.
• Colour pictures of objects starting with the letter ‘O’.
• Perform simple actions related to a song or rhyme.

Social Domain

• Take turns when sharing news and speaking in class.
• Participate cooperatively in group activities.

Reference Materials

• NAPPS National Unified Teaching Scheme for Pre-School Level 2.
• Relevant Early Childhood Care and Education resources.
• Suitable early-years literacy workbooks.

Instructional Materials

• Large letter ‘O’ and ‘o’ flashcards/cutouts.
• Picture cards of an orange, onion, and owl.
• Real orange and onion.
• Chart posters showing the letter ‘O’ and ‘O’ words.
• Crayons, pencils, and paper for tracing and colouring.
• Storybook or picture book with ‘O’ words.
• Whiteboard/chalkboard and chalk.

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson is important for 3-year-olds as it introduces them to a new letter of the alphabet, ‘O’, and its sound. Recognising letters and sounds is a foundational step in early literacy development, helping children to build phonological awareness. Sharing news also encourages language development and social interaction, connecting classroom learning to their daily lives.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can already recognise some letters of the alphabet and their sounds. They can also participate in simple conversations and follow basic instructions.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

LETTER O: SOUND RECOGNITION, PICTURE READING AND WRITING

1. Listening and Speaking: Sharing News

Talking about exciting things that happened at home or in the community. This helps us share our feelings and listen to our friends.

2. Letter O Recognition and Sound

• The letter ‘O’ looks like a round circle.
• We have a big ‘O’ (Uppercase O) and a small ‘o’ (Lowercase o).
• The letter ‘O’ makes the sound /ɒ/ (like in “hot” or “dog”). Open your mouth wide and make a short sound.

3. Picture Reading and Relating Sound to Objects

• Orange: (Show real orange/picture) This is an orange. Orange starts with the /ɒ/ sound. O-o-o-orange.
• Onion: (Show real onion/picture) This is an onion. Onion starts with the /ɒ/ sound. O-o-o-onion.
• Owl: (Show picture of an owl) This is an owl. Owl starts with the /ɒ/ sound. O-o-o-owl.

4. Tracing and Colouring Letter O

• We trace the letter ‘O’ by starting at the top and going all the way around to make a circle.
• We can colour pictures of objects that start with ‘O’.

Key Words

• O – The fifteenth letter of the alphabet.
• Orange – A round, sweet, juicy fruit.
• Onion – A vegetable with a strong smell and taste.
• Owl – A bird with large eyes that hunts at night.

Sound Rhyme: Letter O Fun

Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Oh, oh, oh, the letter O,
Makes the sound, /ɒ/, you know!
Orange, onion, owl, so round,
/ɒ/, /ɒ/, /ɒ/, a happy sound!
Oh, oh, oh, the letter O,
Now we know you, off we go!

Actions:

• “Oh, oh, oh, the letter O”: Make a circle with fingers for ‘O’.
• “Makes the sound, /ɒ/, you know!”: Open mouth wide for /ɒ/ sound.
• “Orange, onion, owl, so round”: Point to pictures/objects as named.
• “/ɒ/, /ɒ/, /ɒ/, a happy sound!”: Open mouth wide again, clap hands.
• “Oh, oh, oh, the letter O”: Make a circle with fingers.
• “Now we know you, off we go!”: Nod head, wave goodbye to ‘O’.

Watch and Practise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kF_3w99_2Y

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

• Play-based Learning
• Demonstration
• Guided Practice
• Songs and Rhymes
• Picture Talk
• Question and Answer
• Repetition
• Practical Activity

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Greeting/Engagement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils warmly and leads a short warm-up song (e.g., “Good Morning Song”). The teacher briefly reminds pupils of the last letter they learned.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to greetings, sing along, and recall the previous letter.</

Learning Point: Pupils are settled and ready for the lesson.

Step 2: Listening and Speaking (News Sharing)

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Facilitation/Listening

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher invites pupils to share one piece of exciting news or a happening from their home or community. The teacher listens attentively and encourages others to listen. “Who has something interesting to tell us today?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils take turns to share their news with the class, listening when others speak.

Learning Point: Pupils practise speaking, listening, and sharing experiences.

Step 3: Letter O Recognition and Sound

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Pronunciation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher introduces the letter ‘O’ (uppercase and lowercase) using flashcards. “Look, this is the letter O! It looks like a round circle.” The teacher demonstrates the short /ɒ/ sound of ‘O’ and asks pupils to repeat it. “O says /ɒ/, /ɒ/, /ɒ/.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the letter ‘O’, repeat its sound, and try to make the correct mouth shape.

Learning Point: Pupils recognise the letter ‘O’ and its short /ɒ/ sound.

Step 4: Picture Reading and Association

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Visual Association/Naming

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows real objects (orange, onion) and picture cards (owl). For each item, the teacher says its name clearly, emphasising the initial /ɒ/ sound, and asks pupils to repeat. “This is an O-o-o-orange. Can you say orange?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils identify the objects, repeat their names, and associate them with the /ɒ/ sound.

Learning Point: Pupils connect the /ɒ/ sound to familiar objects.

Step 5: Rhyme and Video Reinforcement

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Singing/Visual Learning

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher leads the pupils in singing the “Letter O Fun” rhyme with actions. The teacher then introduces and plays the short video about the letter ‘O’ and its sound. “Let’s sing our O song! Now let’s watch a fun video about Letter O!”

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

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce their learning of the letter ‘O’ and its sound through song and visual media.

Step 6: Tracing and Colouring

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Practice/Fine Motor

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils to air trace the letter ‘O’ and ‘o’. Then, the teacher distributes worksheets with large ‘O’ and ‘o’ outlines and pictures of ‘O’ words (orange, onion, owl) for pupils to trace and colour. The teacher monitors and assists.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils air trace, then trace the letters ‘O’ and ‘o’ and colour the ‘O’ pictures on their worksheets.

Learning Point: Pupils develop fine motor skills and practise forming the letter ‘O’.

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. “What letter did we learn today?” (Show flashcard)
2. “What sound does the letter ‘O’ make?”
3. “Can you point to the orange/onion/owl?”
4. “Name one thing that starts with the /ɒ/ sound.”

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

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher praises the pupils for their participation and summarises the lesson. “Well done, everyone! Today we learned about the letter O and its /ɒ/ sound, like in orange, onion, and owl.”

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

Learning Point: Pupils consolidate their learning and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Lesson Keywords

• O – The round letter we learned today.
• Sound – What a letter says, like /ɒ/ for O.
• Orange – A fruit that starts with O.
• Owl – A bird that starts with O.

Differentiation

• Support: For pupils struggling with the sound, provide more one-on-one repetition, exaggerate mouth movements, and use hand-over-hand guidance for tracing. Use larger tracing outlines.
• Extension: For pupils who quickly grasp the concept, encourage them to identify other objects in the classroom or at home that start with the /ɒ/ sound. Ask them to draw another ‘O’ word.