Boss of the Hill

Overview

Across four 15-minute small-group sessions, students use the BSLA Structured Literacy routine to reread Phonics Plus: Boss of the Hill. They practise blending, reading and spelling words with -ff, -ss, -ll and -zz, while revisiting ck, th, ch, sh and ng. Oral vocabulary and text discussion support accurate, confident reading.

Learning intentions

• WALT blend phonemes together to read words.
• WALT recognise and read words ending in -ff, -ss, -ll and -zz.
• WALT use known sounds to spell and change words.
• WALT read a decodable text and talk about its meaning.

Success criteria

• I can say each sound and blend it smoothly.
• I can read words such as hill, buzz, rolls, moss, boss and huffs.
• I can use sounds I know to spell a word and change one sound or letter.
• I can answer questions about Boss of the Hill using ideas from the book.

Curriculum links

• English — Transcription Skills: identifying vowel and consonant phonemes.
• English — Transcription Skills: recognising short vowels and their usual one-letter spellings.
• English — Transcription Skills: reading and spelling words using predictable short-vowel patterns.
• English — Writing: identifying and recording phonemes in words, including short vowels, consonants and adjacent consonant sounds.

Lesson structure (4 × 15 minutes)

Session 1: Introduce the code and vocabulary

1. 0–3 min · Warm-up. Teacher briefly revises that vowels are made with an open mouth and revisits ck, th, ch, sh, ng using the Phonics Sound Cards. Students say the sounds, identify whether each is a vowel or consonant sound, and blend one familiar word.

2. 3–7 min · Teach the focus sounds. Teacher displays the sound and vocabulary slides and explicitly models that ff, ss, ll and zz can represent the final sound in words such as huff, moss, hill and buzz. Students look, say, stretch and blend each word.

3. 7–11 min · Vocabulary talk. Teacher introduces boss (to be in charge or give orders), moss (a green, soft plant) and huff (to breathe loudly or heavily when trying hard). Students act out or explain each word and use it in a short oral sentence.

4. 11–15 min · Book preview. Teacher introduces Boss of the Hill, invites students to notice the title and pictures, and asks: “Who might be the boss?” Students make a prediction and read selected focus words with continuous blending.

Session 2: Blend and spell

1. 0–3 min · Rapid review. Teacher revisits -ff, -ss, -ll, -zz and the recap sounds. Students read sound cards and blend hill, buzz, rolls, moss, boss and huffs, correcting themselves by looking through the word from left to right.

2. 3–7 min · Word building. Teacher models phoneme-to-grapheme mapping with moss: “Say it, stretch it, count the sounds, write the letters.” Students use magnetic letters or sound boxes to build and read moss, boss, huffs and hill.

3. 7–11 min · Change one part. Teacher says, “If this word spells moss, can you spell loss? Now change loss to less.” Students make each change, read the new word, and identify which sound or letter changed. Include boss → loss if time allows.

4. 11–15 min · Record and check. Teacher distributes the sound, blending and spelling worksheet. Students complete a short task: match focus words to pictures, sound out two words, and spell one dictated word. Teacher checks formation, sound sequence and blending.

Session 3: Read the decodable book

1. 0–3 min · Rehearse tricky words. Teacher previews the high-frequency words has, of, they, go, he on the word-reading slides. Students read them together, then in pairs, without guessing from pictures.

2. 3–5 min · Model blending. Teacher models “look at every letter, say the sounds, then blend” with r-o-l-l-s and h-u-f-f-s. Students echo-read, keeping the sounds connected.

3. 5–12 min · Supported reading. Teacher reads the first section of Boss of the Hill with the group, then students take turns reading a sentence or page. Pause only when needed, prompting: “What is the first sound? What comes next? Blend it.” Students reread difficult sentences for fluency and meaning.

4. 12–15 min · Meaning check. Teacher asks: “What is Meg chasing up the hill?” Students answer in a complete oral sentence and point to the picture or words that support their answer.

Session 4: Reread, discuss and assess

1. 0–3 min · Fluency reread. Teacher leads a quick reread of key pages. Students read familiar lines with smoother phrasing and identify words containing -ff, -ss, -ll or -zz.

2. 3–8 min · Text discussion. Teacher asks: “Who is the boss of the moss?” and “Why is Meg the Boss of the Hill?” Students take turns answering, explaining their ideas from the text and listening to others.

3. 8–12 min · Dictated spelling and transfer. Teacher dictates hill, moss, buzz and one high-frequency word, using the routine “say it, stretch it, write it, read it”. Students write the words, then underline the focus spelling. Teacher gives immediate feedback and asks students to correct errors.

4. 12–15 min · Exit read. Teacher shows each student two focus words and one high-frequency word. Students blend and read them individually, then say one new fact or idea about the book.

Resources

• Phonics Plus: Boss of the Hill
• the sound, vocabulary, high-frequency word and discussion deck
• the sound, blending and spelling worksheet
• the Phonics Sound Cards
• Magnetic letters or grapheme tiles
• Sound boxes or small whiteboards
• Pencils and erasers

Assessment

• Listen for accurate phoneme production and smooth blending during sound-card, word-building and book reading.
• Check whether students identify and record all phonemes in dictated words, especially the final ff, ss, ll and zz spellings.
• Record each student’s ability to read two focus words and one high-frequency word during the final exit read, noting whether prompting was needed.

Differentiation

• Support students by using continuous blending, finger tracking, sound boxes and the prompt “say the sounds, then blend”; reduce the number of words if necessary.
• Give additional oral rehearsal and picture support for boss, moss and huff, while accepting home-language discussion before English responses.
• Seat students where they can clearly see the book and graphemes; provide extra processing time and avoid requiring public reading before rehearsal.
• Extend confident readers by asking them to generate a new word using -ff, -ss, -ll or -zz, then read and spell it.