Daily Lesson Plan -- Lesson 18

Letter r

Subject: English | Class: Playgroup | Series: Skillford

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Overview

This lesson introduces the letter "r" and its sound /r/. Learners meet a happy bunny in a rose garden, say the words rabbit, rose, rhino and rocket, listen to a simple sentence, and trace the letter "r" with a finger and then a pencil. All work is oral, playful and hands-on. Learners are not expected to read or write words.

Learning Objectives

• Recognise the letter "r" and say its sound /r/
• Learn simple words that begin with the letter "r": rabbit, rose, rhino, rocket
• Trace the letter "r" with a finger and a pencil
• Listen to and repeat the sentence "A happy bunny is smiling at a beautiful red rose."
• Hold a pencil and a crayon with growing control

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Day 1: Look and Say (30 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook page 50, a large letter "r" card, a real rose (for Little Explorers), picture cards of a rabbit, rose, rhino and rocket

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Sit the learners in a circle and greet them with a smile
• Make a gentle growling sound like a car engine: "rrrrr"
• Ask the learners to join in: "Can you go rrrrr like me?"
• Say: "Today our letter makes the sound rrrrr. Its name is r."

Main Activity -- Meet the Letter (10 minutes)

• Hold up the big "r" card. Say: "This is r. r says /r/."
• Learners repeat three times: loud voice, quiet voice, whisper voice
• Open page 50. Point to the big red "r" at the top of the page
• Point to the rabbit. Say: "Rabbit. /r/ /r/ rabbit." Learners repeat
• Point to the rose. Say: "Rose. /r/ /r/ rose." Learners repeat
• Point to each picture card at the bottom of the page one by one:
  • rhino -- learners say "rhino" and stamp their feet like a heavy rhino
  • rocket -- learners say "rocket" and shoot their arms up to the sky
  • rose -- learners say "rose" and pretend to smell a flower

Main Activity -- The Speech Bubble (5 minutes)

• Point to the speech bubble and read it slowly: "A happy bunny is smiling at a beautiful red rose."
• Say it again in small parts; learners echo each part:
  • "A happy bunny"
  • "is smiling"
  • "at a beautiful red rose"
• Ask: "Is the bunny happy or sad?" (happy) "What colour is the rose?" (red)
• Everyone gives a big bunny smile

Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

• Play "Point and Say": say a word from the page, learners point to the picture
• Ask: "What sound does r make?" Learners answer "/r/"

Differentiation

• Support: Let shy learners say the word together with a friend or hold the picture card while others say it
• Extension: Ask confident learners to say "rabbit, rose, rhino, rocket" in a row without help

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Day 2: Trace and Write (30 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook page 51, crayons, pencils, a large "r" drawn on the board

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Quick sound check: hold up page 50 and ask learners to name the pictures
• Sing the sound: "r, r, /r/ /r/ /r/" while clapping

Main Activity -- Finger Tracing (8 minutes)

• Follow the Teacher's Note: let the learners run a finger along the big pink "r" on page 51
• Model on the board while describing the stroke:
  • "Start at the top. Go straight down."
  • "Go back up the same line."
  • "Make a little bump over to the side, like a small branch."
• Learners draw a big "r" in the air, then on the carpet, then on a friend's back
• Learners colour in the big "r" with crayons

Main Activity -- Pencil Tracing (12 minutes)

• Hand out pencils and check each learner's grip (thumb and pointing finger pinch, pencil rests on the middle finger)
• Work through the traced rows together, one line at a time:
  • Row 1: look at the solid black "r", then trace the dotted letters, starting at the red dot
  • Row 2: trace the dotted letters, saying "/r/" for each one
  • Rows 3 and 4: with the teacher's help, try an "r" starting at each red dot
• Praise effort, not neatness: "You started at the dot. Well done!"

Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

• Start the Little Artists art activity (see note below)
• The colouring picture on page 51 is a rocket. Learners colour the rocket and say "rocket, /r/"

Differentiation

• Support: Hold the learner's hand gently and trace together; use a thick crayon instead of a pencil
• Extension: Learners who finish can trace extra "r" letters in the air with their eyes closed

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Day 3: Little Activities and Review (30 minutes)

Materials

• A real rose, a tablet with a drawing app, playdough, crayons, a few red and blue classroom objects, Activity Book

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Show the rose, rocket, rhino and rabbit pictures; learners say each word with the /r/ sound

Main Activity -- Activity Boxes (20 minutes)

Choose three or four of the activities from page 50 to fit the time:

• Little Explorers: Bring a rose into the room. Let every learner smell it and count its petals with one finger. Count aloud together.
• Little Innovators: Open a drawing app and let every learner colour in one stripe of the rainbow on the screen. Say "red" and "/r/" when the red stripe is coloured.
• Little Builders: Roll a playdough rope and press the two ends together into a ring that fits a finger. Learners say "ring, /r/" as they wear it.
• Little Artists: The book asks learners to colour the rabbit on the next page and leave its fluffy tail white. As page 51 shows a rocket, colour the rocket instead, or use a simple rabbit outline if one is available.
• Little Thinkers: Count the red things in the room together. Say whether there are more red things or blue ones.

Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

• Finish with the matching pages in the Activity Book
• Circle time: each learner says one "r" word from the page
• Everyone makes the /r/ sound one last time like a rocket taking off

Differentiation

• Support: Pair learners for the Little Thinkers count; let them point while a friend counts
• Extension: Ask learners to find something red in the room and say its colour word "red" with a strong /r/

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Teaching Tips (from textbook)

• Let the learners run a finger along "r", then colour it in
• Hand out pencils and work through the traced rows together, one line at a time
• When the writing is done, start the Little Artists art activity
• Finish with the matching pages in the Activity Book
• Keep every step short, lively and full of praise; playgroup learners learn best through movement, sound and touch