Spell What I Hear

Overview

This is lesson 8 of 12 in Build, Read, Write. Students practise hearing each phoneme in a word and representing it with a grapheme, moving from hands-on CVC word building to spelling words in a short phrase. The lesson builds on oral blending, phoneme–grapheme knowledge, and previously taught high-frequency words.

Learning intentions

• WALT segment words into phonemes.
• WALT represent each sound with a grapheme.
• WALT use a spelling routine to write CVC words and a short phrase.
• WALT check that our spelling matches what we hear.

Success criteria

• I can say a word slowly and hear the sounds in order.
• I can use counters, sound boxes or magnetic letters to show each sound.
• I can write a grapheme for each phoneme in a CVC word.
• I can use my spelling routine to write a short phrase.

Curriculum links

• Reading — Word Recognition — Decoding: written words are made from graphemes that match phonemes.
• Reading — Word Recognition — Decoding: reading common high-frequency words in decodable texts.
• Writing — Composition — Sentence structures, grammar and punctuation.
• Writing — Transcription Skills — Spelling.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and review. Open the sound detective hook slides and say, “A word is hiding in my sounds: /m/ /a/ /p/. What word?” Students blend the sounds, then rehearse the routine: say it, stretch it, count it, build it, write it, read it.

2. 4–9 min · Teacher modelling. Use the model word slides to model the word map. Say it naturally, stretch it slowly, and place one counter in each sound box as students identify /m/, /a/, /p/. Build map with magnetic letters, then write one grapheme in each box, thinking aloud: “I hear three sounds, so I need three graphemes.” Students repeat the word, segment it, and air-write the letters.

3. 9–17 min · Guided word building. Give each student counters, a three-box sound mat and magnetic letters. Dictate two- or three-phoneme words such as at, in, sat, pin, log, sun, red. Students say the word, push a counter for each phoneme, choose magnetic letters, read the completed word, and write it on the sound-box spelling worksheet. Pause after each word to check that every learner can explain the sound represented by each grapheme.

4. 17–23 min · Teacher dictation and transfer. Return to the dictation routine slides. Dictate three CVC words, for example ship only if the digraph sh has been taught; otherwise use fish only when appropriate to the class’s current code knowledge. Prefer secure words such as mat, chop, bed, dog according to the graphemes already taught. Students complete the routine independently on the worksheet, then read each word back. Provide immediate, specific feedback: “You heard /d/ at the beginning. Which grapheme represents /d/?”

5. 23–27 min · Phrase writing. Model how to hold a phrase in memory, say it slowly, and spell one word at a time. Dictate a short decodable phrase such as a red mat or the dog sat, using only taught graphemes and high-frequency words. Students write it on the worksheet, reread it, and check spacing, word order and full stop. Invite each child to point to the words while reading.

6. 27–30 min · Review and checkpoint. Show the review and exit prompt. Individually dictate one CVC word, such as cat or sun, while the other students quietly rehearse the routine with counters. Students write the word and explain how many sounds they heard. Record whether each learner is secure with CVC encoding, developing, or needing further support.

Resources

• the sound detective and teaching slides
• the sound-box spelling worksheet
• Counters, three-phoneme sound boxes and pencils
• Magnetic letters or grapheme tiles
• Whiteboard and marker
• Teacher assessment checklist
• Word list using only graphemes already taught

Assessment

• Listen for accurate oral segmentation and observe whether students place one counter per phoneme.
• Check magnetic-letter choices, written graphemes and the ability to reread each word; note substitutions and omissions.
• Use the final dictated word to checkpoint CVC encoding. Record learners who are secure, then plan extra practice for learners who need two-phoneme words, grapheme choices or additional modelling.

Differentiation

• Support learners with two-phoneme words before moving to CVC words. Use continuous sounds first, mouth cues, elongated pronunciation and a grapheme choice bank.
• Reduce the number of words for learners who need more processing time. Accept approximate phonetic spelling as an attempt, then give immediate feedback and have the learner correct and reread the word.
• Pair students strategically for turn-taking, but require each child to say, build and write every word. Use counters and sound boxes throughout for learners who benefit from concrete support or who are learning English.
• Challenge advanced learners to spell taught CCVC or CVCC words and words containing common digraphs. They then write and read a simple sentence using one of their words, checking capital letters, spaces and a full stop.

Extension

• Dictate stop, frog, milk or other CCVC/CVCC words that use the class’s known graphemes.
• Invite students to choose a built word and write a simple sentence, then underline the graphemes representing each phoneme.
• Ask learners to explain whether a digraph represents one sound or two, using an example they have learned.