Fairy Tale Exploration

Context and Curriculum Links

This 30-minute English mini-lesson is designed for a Year 1 class of 15 students, following the NSW English K-6 Syllabus for Year 1. It uses the picture book Too Big to Be a Fairy by Kiah Thomas and Bec Kitson as the central text. The lesson aligns with the NSW curriculum's descriptors for early reading comprehension, phonics, and visual literacy.

Relevant NSW Curriculum Outcomes

• EN1-2A: Communicates with peers and known adults in informal and guided activities.
• EN1-7B: Recognises and uses letter-sound relationships and blends sounds appropriately to read, and begins to read sight words.
• EN1-10C: Responds to texts by identifying aspects related to story and characters, retelling events.
• EN1-4A: Uses comprehension strategies to understand and discuss texts.
• EN1-9E: Creates short texts to explore, record and report ideas and experiences.

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Learning Intentions (WALT)

• We Are Learning To activate prior knowledge and connect to the story.
• We Are Learning To identify and blend specific phonemes in text.
• We Are Learning To retell parts of a story and recognise visual cues to understand character feelings and story events.

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Success Criteria

• Students can recall prior experiences linked to fairies or magical stories.
• Students can hear, identify, and blend the targeted phoneme /ee/ as in “be” and “see” within the book.
• Students can use visual clues to describe characters' feelings and story settings.
• Students actively participate in discussion and phonics activities.

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Lesson Outline

Before Reading (8 minutes)

Objective

Activate existing knowledge about magical creatures and introduce the phonics focus /ee/.

Activities

1. Class Discussion - Activate Prior Knowledge (4 mins):

• Ask students: "What do you know about fairies? Have you seen a fairy in stories or games?"
• Use visual prompts or props (e.g., a fairy wand, pictures) to stimulate ideas.
• Draw connections: "Today we will read about a fairy who’s not quite like the ones you might know."

2. Phonics Introduction (4 mins):

• Introduce the phoneme /ee/ using a sound chart or flashcards.
• Show words from the book that contain this sound (e.g., “be”, “see”, “tree”).
• Use a multi-sensory approach — have students say the sound aloud, use hand gestures (like stretching the sound), and show the letters.

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During Reading (Modelled/Guided) (15 minutes)

Objective

Embed phonics teaching within the shared reading; model blending phonemes and visual literacy skills.

Activities

1. Read Aloud with Phonics Focus

• Teacher reads Too Big to Be a Fairy aloud, pausing at words with /ee/ sounds.
• Model blending sounds using finger tapping or segmenting-then-blending aloud (e.g., “b-ee, be”).
• Invite students to join in reading the /ee/ words from the text.

2. Visual Literacy Integration

• While reading, point to illustrations that reveal characters’ emotions or the setting.
• Use metalanguage such as: "Look at her face – she looks worried. The dark colours help us feel the scene is serious."
• Ask students what they think is happening or how the character might be feeling, helping build inferential skills.

3. Guided Interaction

• Pause to ask predictive questions: “What do you think will happen next?”
• Encourage students to use clues from both words and illustrations to support their predictions.

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After Reading (7 minutes)

Objective

Consolidate phonics learning and comprehension through engaging comprehension and visual literacy activities.

Activities

1. Phonics Sorting Game (3 minutes):

• Provide cards with simple words and pictures (some with /ee/ sound, some without).
• Students sort the cards into “/ee/ sound” and “other sounds” groups, working in pairs for peer support.

2. Drawing and Retelling (4 minutes):

• Students draw their favourite scene or character from the book.
• Invite a few students to share their drawings and retell that part of the story using prompts like: “What happened here? How did the character feel?”

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Differentiation Strategies

• For Low Ability Students:

  • Use larger print and dyslexia-friendly fonts on phonics cards.
  • Provide auditory support with pre-recorded phoneme sounds.
  • Allow use of manipulatives (e.g., letter tiles) for blending words.
  • Use picture cues extensively during discussions to support comprehension.
  • Provide sentence starters and simple questions to encourage participation.

• For Average Ability Students:

  • Encourage sorting and blending activities with moderate guidance.
  • Support comprehension through guided questions about story events and characters.
  • Promote participation by asking students to share their ideas in pairs or small groups.

• For High Ability Students:

  • Challenge with identifying other words in the story or their own vocabulary lists containing the /ee/ phoneme.
  • Encourage writing a simple sentence with an /ee/ word.
  • Discuss more abstract themes in the story, such as being different or bravery.
  • Invite students to lead group discussions or create their own phonics games.

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Resources Required

• Too Big to Be a Fairy picture book
• Phonics flashcards for /ee/ sound
• Sorting cards with pictures/words
• Drawing materials (paper, crayons)
• Visual aids for emotions and story setting

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This lesson plan uses the Teaching and Learning Cycle reflecting NSW Education guidelines: activating prior knowledge, embedding explicit phonics teaching during reading, and consolidating learning afterwards with comprehension and phonics activities. It embraces visual literacy techniques based on Callow’s metalanguage approach by encouraging students to interpret illustrations to gain deeper understanding of characters and emotions.

By focusing on a quality picture book rich in language and illustration, it supports the development of foundational literacy skills within a supportive and engaging environment for diverse learners, while offering scaffolding and challenges to cater for different abilities. This approach aligns well with NSW syllabus mandates for Year 1 English and fosters strong phonics skills alongside comprehension and visual literacy development.