Blends and Digraphs Fun

Unit: Blends and Digraphs Mastery

Lesson 12 of 16

Duration: 30 minutes

Class Size: 20 students

Age group: Primary 3-4 (ages 7-9)

Curriculum Reference: National Curriculum for England – English

Spoken language: Pupils should be taught to develop their competence in phonics and spelling, particularly recognising and using different grapheme-phoneme correspondences (National Curriculum English Programme of Study, Key Stage 2 Year 3-4)
Word Reading: Recognise and use phonics knowledge to decode quickly and automatically, including blending and segmenting sounds (KS2)
Writing: Use spelling rules and patterns including those for blends and digraphs (KS2)

Learning Objectives (WALT)

WALT: Recognise and apply blends and digraphs confidently in reading and spelling through interactive games.
Develop fluency in blending sounds to read words aloud smoothly.
Reinforce understanding of common digraphs (e.g., sh, th, ch, wh) and blends (e.g., bl, st, gr).
Engage collaboratively in speaking and listening tasks to boost phonics awareness.

Success Criteria

I can identify blends and digraphs in spoken and written words.
I can correctly blend sounds to read new words.
I can spell words containing blends and digraphs with increasing accuracy.
I can participate actively in games that use blends and digraphs.

Resources

Sets of phonics cards with blends and digraphs (colour-coded for dyslexia-friendly access)
Whiteboards and pens
‘Blend & Digraph Bingo’ cards (custom-made for the lesson)
Timer/stopwatch
Phonics word mats featuring examples of blends and digraphs with clear, sans-serif font (dyslexia-friendly format)
Reward tokens/stickers

Lesson Outline

1. Starter (5 minutes) – Quick Recall Warm-Up

Begin with rapid oral flashcards of blends and digraphs to refresh prior knowledge (e.g., ask children to say the sound and a word example).
Use a 'Beat the Timer' approach – children work in pairs to say as many as they can within 1 minute.
Differentiation: Provide extra support cards for learners who struggle, with pictures linked to the sounds.

2. Main Activity: Phonics Games (20 minutes)

Game 1: Blend & Digraph Bingo (10 minutes)

Hand out bingo cards featuring words with blends and digraphs.
Call out sounds or words; children mark the corresponding word if they have it on their card.
Encourage children to read the word aloud each time they cover it.
First few to complete a line shout “Bingo!” and read their words back to the class for peer validation.
Differentiation: Cards with fewer/different words for learners needing scaffolding. Use picture cues for those with reading difficulties.

Game 2: Sound Sorting Challenge (10 minutes)

Divide class into small teams.
Give sets of word cards; teams race to sort them into ‘blends’ and ‘digraphs’ piles on their tables.
Once sorted, teams read the words aloud and explain which sounds made them a blend or digraph.
Encourage discussion to reinforce understanding.
Differentiation: Vocabulary adapted to varying reading levels; visual aids and oral support as needed.
Extension: Teams suggest new words not in the set, applying blends and digraph knowledge confidently.

3. Plenary (5 minutes) – Reflect and Review

Whole-class quick quiz: Show a word and ask “Is this a blend or digraph sound here?”
Ask children to share their favourite word from the games and explain why it’s a blend or digraph.
Highlight success by awarding tokens for participation, accuracy, and collaboration.
Set an independent learning task: “Try to spot blends and digraphs in your reading book tonight.”

Assessment

Continuous assessment through observation during games – note children’s ability to recognise and use blends and digraphs correctly.
Informal quiz responses in plenary to check retention.
Use whiteboard spelling attempts during games for quick formative checks.

Differentiation Strategies

Use multisensory learning: oral, visual, and kinaesthetic elements embedded in games.
Simplified word sets and additional pictorial support for learners with SEN or EAL.
Dyslexia-friendly fonts and colour coding to aid decoding.
Collaborative peer-learning to support less confident pupils.

Extension Activities for Advanced Learners

Challenge to create sentences or short stories using blends and digraphs from the games.
Encourage identifying less common blends/digraphs (e.g., ‘tw’, ‘ph’, ‘kn’) in reading or spelling.
Develop a ‘Blend & Digraph Detective’ notebook, documenting new words encountered.

This lesson plan blends active learning with targeted phonics skills in line with the National Curriculum requirements for KS2 reading and writing. The gamified approach aims to boost engagement and solidify foundational literacy skills.