Phonological Awareness: Middle and ending sounds in familiar words for Primary 1

Class: Primary 1
Term: First Term
Week: 8
Age: 6 years
Duration: 45 minutes
Subject: English Studies
Curriculum Theme: Pre-Reading Skills
Focal competence: Blending sounds to form words
Key competencies/values: Collaboration; Respect; Communication; Creativity and Innovation; ICT and Digital Competencies
Skills:

• Blending sounds to form words

Previous Lesson: Handwriting: Writing simple words and sentences legibly
Topic: Phonological Awareness
Subject Matter: Middle, ending sounds in familiar words

Specific Objectives

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

Cognitive Domain

• Identify the middle sounds in familiar words.
• Identify the ending sounds in familiar words.
• State familiar words that have specific middle sounds.
• State familiar words that have specific ending sounds.

Affective Domain

• Listen attentively to the sounds of words.
• Participate actively in sound identification activities.

Psychomotor Domain

• Produce the middle sounds of given words.
• Produce the ending sounds of given words.
• Blend sounds to form simple words.

Social Domain

• Collaborate with classmates during sound games and activities.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

• 2025 Revised 9 Years Basic Education Curriculum
• Relevant State Unified Scheme of Work
• A suitable English Studies textbook for Primary 1
• The HeadTeacher Scheme of work

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

• Approved publisher-neutral text
• Letter cards (e.g., ‘a’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘o’, ‘u’, ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘g’, ‘m’, ‘n’, ‘p’, ‘t’, ‘s’)
• Word cards (e.g., ‘cat’, ‘pen’, ‘dog’, ‘sun’, ‘cup’, ‘fish’, ‘bed’, ‘hat’)
• Picture cards corresponding to the word cards
• Exercise books and pencils
• Simple objects in the classroom (e.g., ‘fan’, ‘mat’, ‘pin’)

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson is important because it builds foundational pre-reading skills by helping pupils recognise and differentiate sounds within words. Understanding middle and ending sounds improves their ability to decode words, which is essential for developing strong reading and spelling abilities.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can identify some letters of the alphabet and recognise beginning sounds in familiar words.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Phonological Awareness: Middle and Ending Sounds in Familiar Words

Understanding Sounds in Words

Words are made up of different sounds. We can hear sounds at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of words.

Middle Sounds in Words

The middle sound is the sound you hear in the middle part of a word. These are often vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u).

1. c-a-t (The middle sound is /a/ as in ‘ah’)
2. p-e-n (The middle sound is /e/ as in ‘eh’)
3. d-o-g (The middle sound is /o/ as in ‘aw’)
4. s-u-n (The middle sound is /u/ as in ‘uh’)
5. p-i-n (The middle sound is /i/ as in ‘ih’)

Ending Sounds in Words

The ending sound is the sound you hear at the very end of a word.

1. ca-t (The ending sound is /t/)
2. pe-n (The ending sound is /n/)
3. do-g (The ending sound is /g/)
4. su-n (The ending sound is /n/)
5. pi-n (The ending sound is /n/)
6. fi-sh (The ending sound is /sh/)
7. be-d (The ending sound is /d/)
8. ha-t (The ending sound is /t/)

Listening for Sound Position

We can listen carefully to hear where a sound is in a word. For example, in the word ‘mat’:

1. The beginning sound is /m/.
2. The middle sound is /a/.
3. The ending sound is /t/.

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Discussion, Demonstration, Guided Practice, Question and Answer, Explanation, Repetition, Sound Games

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Storytelling/Recalling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and reminds them about beginning sounds they learned previously. The teacher then tells a short story using familiar words and asks pupils to listen for sounds in the words.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils greet the teacher, recall beginning sounds, and listen to the story attentively.

Learning Point: Recalling beginning sounds

Step 2: Introduction to Middle Sounds

Time: 7 minutes

Teaching Skill: Modelling/Demonstration

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher introduces the concept of middle sounds using word cards and pictures. For example, the teacher shows a picture of a ‘cat’, says the word slowly, stretching the middle sound (/c-aaa-t/), and asks pupils to listen. The teacher repeats with other words like ‘pen’ (/p-eee-n/) and ‘dog’ (/d-ooo-g/).

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen carefully as the teacher pronounces words and try to identify the stretched middle sound.

Learning Point: Identifying middle sounds

Step 3: Guided Practice for Middle Sounds

Time: 7 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Repetition

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows more word cards (e.g., ‘sun’, ‘cup’, ‘pin’) and asks pupils to repeat the words after her, focusing on the middle sound. The teacher guides them to say the words slowly, emphasizing the middle sound, and asks them to identify the vowel sound they hear.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils repeat the words, stretch the middle sounds, and try to say the vowel sound they hear.

Learning Point: Pronouncing middle sounds

Step 4: Introduction to Ending Sounds

Time: 7 minutes

Teaching Skill: Modelling/Demonstration

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher introduces ending sounds using word cards and pictures. For example, the teacher shows a picture of a ‘hat’, says the word slowly, stretching the ending sound (/ha-ttt/), and asks pupils to listen. The teacher repeats with other words like ‘bed’ (/be-ddd/) and ‘fish’ (/fi-shhh/).

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen carefully as the teacher pronounces words and try to identify the stretched ending sound.

Learning Point: Identifying ending sounds

Step 5: Guided Practice for Ending Sounds

Time: 7 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Repetition

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows more word cards (e.g., ‘fan’, ‘mat’, ‘bug’) and asks pupils to repeat the words after her, focusing on the ending sound. The teacher guides them to say the words slowly, emphasizing the ending sound, and asks them to identify the consonant sound they hear.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils repeat the words, stretch the ending sounds, and try to say the consonant sound they hear.

Learning Point: Pronouncing ending sounds

Step 6: Blending Sounds

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Sound Blending

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher says individual sounds of a word (e.g., /c/ /a/ /t/) and guides pupils to blend them to form the word ‘cat’. The teacher repeats with ‘pen’ and ‘dog’.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the individual sounds and blend them to say the complete word.

Learning Point: Blending sounds to words

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

1. What is the middle sound in ‘fan’?
2. What is the ending sound in ‘cup’?
3. Say a word that has /e/ as its middle sound.
4. Say a word that ends with the /d/ sound.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Identifying middle and ending sounds

Step 8: Note-Taking

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Writing

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils to copy the essential Board Summary notes on middle and ending sounds into their notebooks.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils copy the notes carefully into their notebooks.

Learning Point: Recording lesson notes

Step 9: Conclusion

Time: 2 minutes

Teaching Skill: Reinforcement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher praises the pupils for their participation and reminds them that listening carefully to sounds helps them read and write better. The teacher encourages them to practise identifying sounds in words they hear every day.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen and acknowledge the importance of sound awareness.

Learning Point: Importance of phonological awareness

Continuous Assessment/Further Study

Type: Homework / Practice Exercise

Instruction: Listen to the following words and identify the requested sound. Write your answers in your notebook.

1. What is the middle sound in ‘bed’?
2. What is the ending sound in ‘mat’?
3. Draw a picture of something that has /o/ as its middle sound.
4. Write a word that ends with the /p/ sound.
5. Say the sounds /j/ /a/ /m/ and then say the whole word.

Lesson Keywords

• Middle sound – The sound heard in the middle of a word.
• Ending sound – The sound heard at the end of a word.
• Blend – To put sounds together to make a word.
• Familiar words – Words that pupils already know or hear often.

Differentiation

For weaker learners: Provide more one-on-one modelling and use simpler, two-letter words (e.g., ‘at’, ‘in’, ‘on’) to identify sounds. Use physical actions to represent sounds.
For faster learners: Challenge them to identify middle and ending sounds in longer or less common words, or to generate their own words with specific middle/ending sounds.

Suggested Lesson Videos

For further understanding, search on YouTube for: “Primary 1 middle and ending sounds phonics” or “identifying sounds in words for kids”.

Teacher Guide for Using This Lesson Plan

Before the lesson, prepare your word and picture cards, ensuring they are clear and large enough for all pupils to see. Begin by reviewing beginning sounds briefly to connect with prior knowledge. When modelling middle and ending sounds, exaggerate the target sound clearly and slowly. Encourage pupils to repeat after you and to actively listen. Use a variety of words, including those with different vowel and consonant sounds. For the blending activity, start with simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. During note-taking, ensure pupils copy the examples correctly. Provide individual support where needed and use the continuous assessment to reinforce learning at home.