Sounds and Stories

Overview

Today Julie will practise key early literacy skills: hearing and playing with sounds in simple single-syllable words, and using oral language to retell a short, familiar story. This builds phonological awareness (isolating first sounds and blending sounds orally) and supports Julie to connect oral language with meaning.

Learning intentions

• Students will isolate the first sound in a spoken single-syllable word.
• Students will orally blend sounds to say a whole word.
• Students will segment a short sentence into individual words (with support as needed).
• Students will retell a simple story using key events in order (or choose from picture prompts).

Success criteria

• I can tell you the first sound I hear in a word.
• I can blend sounds to say the word.
• I can say the sentence words one-by-one.
• I can retell the story using picture prompts and key details.

Curriculum links

• Phonological awareness: isolate, blend and manipulate phonemes in single-syllable words.
• Segment sentences into individual words and orally blend and segment single-syllable spoken words.
• Use developing oral language strategies to communicate meaning in story retellings.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Welcome + oral warm-up. Teacher greets Julie, establishes a calm routine, and uses a quick “sound of the day” game with two familiar objects/pictures (e.g., cat, sun) by asking Julie to listen for the first sound.
2. 4–10 min · Direct teach: isolate first sound. Teacher models a clear sound stretch (e.g., “/c/—cat”) and shows a large picture; Julie points to the picture and says the first sound, then repeats with two more words.
3. 10–16 min · Guided practice: oral blending. Teacher whispers segmented sounds (e.g., “/m/ /a/ /p/” without forcing spelling), then asks Julie to blend them to say the word; Julie tries, then repeats after the teacher for accuracy.
4. 16–20 min · Sentences: segment into words. Teacher uses a short, predictable sentence matching the story theme (e.g., “The cat runs.”), taps one “word card” at a time while speaking slowly; Julie mirrors by saying each word one-by-one as the teacher slides the cards left to right.
5. 20–27 min · Story retell with picture prompts. Teacher introduces a 3–4 picture sequence from a familiar story (teacher-chosen or class routine story). Teacher retells once; then Julie retells using the pictures, with optional sentence starters and gentle scaffolds (“First…”, “Then…”, “Finally…”).
6. 27–30 min · Quick check + close. Teacher returns to the sound game with one final word (first sound) and one final oral blend; Julie completes a short “show and say” task, then both review what sounds and story parts Julie practised.

Resources

• Picture cards for 5–8 simple single-syllable words (e.g., cat, sun, fan, pig, map)
• Word cards for one short sentence (3–4 words)
• Story picture sequence (3–4 images) on cards or laminated sheet
• Teacher pointer or tokens for “tapping” words
• Calm seating/desk area and visual routine cue card (e.g., “Listen, Say, Try”)

Assessment

• Observe whether Julie can correctly isolate the first sound after modelling (listen and record success/no success).
• Observe whether Julie can orally blend sounds to produce the intended word, noting whether she needs the teacher to provide the first sound or the whole word.
• During the story retell, check for inclusion of at least two key events and an emerging sense of order using pictures.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide immediate modelling, use only familiar pictures, and keep practice to 1–2 attempts per word to maintain engagement.
• Scaffold: Use first-sound cueing (e.g., “Start with the first sound you heard—/c/…”) and offer sentence starter frames for retell.
• EAL/SEN considerations: Keep instructions short, repeat key prompts, and rely on gesture/pointing to pictures rather than long verbal directions.
• Extension (only if Julie is ready in the time available): Ask Julie to choose between two words that begin with the same sound, then blend one to confirm.

Individual report card comment — Julie (Kindy)

Julie is a kind, thoughtful and inclusive class member who plays cooperatively with peers and shows excellent emotional regulation. She independently follows routines, attentively participates in oral language activities, and manages her belongings responsibly. In English, Julie is developing strong phonological awareness: she is able to identify the first sound in simple words and to orally blend sounds to say the word, and she can retell simple stories using picture prompts and key details. In Mathematics, Julie recognises numerals, counts sets accurately, identifies and names common shapes, and matches numbers to quantities. Julie has had an excellent first semester—well done for your effort and positive attitude. Next steps: keep practising segmenting sounds orally in simple words in English, and continue developing understanding that order can be irrelevant and that parts combine to make a whole in Mathematics (part-part-whole reasoning).