# Lesson Plan: Phonemes for Primary Students (Ages 6–8)
Course: Foundations of Phonics — Unit: Phonemes
Duration: 40–50 minutes
Level: Primary (Grades 1–2)
Materials: letter cards, picture cards, whiteboard, markers, sound clip device, magnetic letters
or letter tiles, worksheet (phoneme sorting), small counters/stickers
Learning Objectives
- Define what a phoneme is and recognize that phonemes are the smallest units of sound in
spoken words.
- Identify and isolate initial, medial (vowel), and final phonemes in simple CVC (consonant–
vowel–consonant) words.
- Blend individual phonemes to form simple words and segment simple words into phonemes.
- Apply phoneme recognition in reading and spelling simple words.
Class Expectations
- Listen when classmates are speaking; raise hands to share.
- Try all activities; it’s okay to make mistakes—we learn from them.
- Use gentle voices and hands; respect materials.
- Participate in group and pair tasks.
Lesson Outline (50 minutes)
1. Warm-up (5 minutes)
- Quick oral game: Teacher says three sounds slowly (/c/…/a/…/t/). Students guess the word
(“cat”). Repeat with 2–3 examples to activate listening.
2. Introduction & Explain (8 minutes)
- Brief teacher explanation: “A phoneme is a single sound. Words are made of phonemes.”
Demonstrate with “pat” — segment into /p/ /a/ /t/ and blend back.
- Show visual: three boxes representing sounds in CVC words.
3. Guided Practice: Listening & Segmenting (10 minutes)
- Teacher-led segmenting: Say a CVC word aloud (e.g., “dog”), students clap for each sound and
say the phonemes (/d/ /o/ /g/).
- Use letter cards to match each sound to a card. Repeat with 5–6 words, increasing variety of
vowel sounds.
4. Pair Activity: Phoneme Sorting (10 minutes)
- Give pairs a small set of picture cards and three sorting mats labeled initial, medial, final.
Students place a counter on the correct sound position after saying the phonemes aloud.
- Circulate, prompt struggling pairs: “What’s the first sound? The middle sound? The last
sound?”
5. Blending Game (8 minutes)
- Teacher or audio plays separated phonemes (e.g., /s/…/i/…/t/). Students hold up the correct
word card from options.
- Fast round: two teams race to blend and show the correct word.
6. Independent Practice & Worksheet (6 minutes)
- Short worksheet: three CVC words to segment (draw slashes between phonemes) and one
picture to write the phonemes for.
- Use magnetic letters/tiles for support if needed.
7. Review & Closing (3 minutes)
- Quick oral recap: Ask three students to segment and blend one word each.
- Assign optional home practice: Listen-read-repeat one short list of CVC words with a caregiver.
Assessment & Evaluation
- Formative assessment throughout: teacher observation during guided practice, pair activity,
and blending game—note accuracy in identifying initial/medial/final sounds.
- Worksheet completion checked for correct segmentation (3–4 target phonemes correct =
mastery for lesson).
- Participation and ability to blend and segment orally used for final informal grade.
Differentiation
- Support: Provide manipulatives (tiles), extra modeling, slower pacing, and picture cues.
- Extension: Challenge advanced students with consonant blends (e.g., “stop” /s/ /t/ /o/ /p/) or
two-syllable words to segment.
Essential Readings & Resources (short list)
- Phonics teaching guidance from primary curriculum phonics sections (age-appropriate phonics
primer).
- Short online audio clips of isolated phoneme pronunciations for teacher demonstration.
- Printable CVC word lists and picture cards for classroom use.
Assignments
- In-class worksheet (completed during lesson).
- Optional home practice sheet: 10 CVC words to practice segmenting and blending with a
family member.
Teacher Notes
- Monitor for vowel misarticulation; model pure vowel sounds.
- Keep activities fast-paced and multi-sensory (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
- Reinforce that sounds map to letters but pronunciation matters first.
End of lesson.
