Daily Lesson Plan -- Lesson 20

Letter t

Subject: English | Class: Playgroup | Series: Skillford

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Overview

This lesson introduces the letter "t" and its sound /t/. Learners visit a forest where a happy tortoise sits under a big green tree, say the words tree, tortoise, tent and train, listen to a simple sentence, and trace the letter "t" 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 "t" and say its sound /t/
• Learn simple words that begin with the letter "t": tree, tortoise, tent, train
• Trace the letter "t" with a finger and a pencil
• Listen to and repeat the sentence "Look at the happy tortoise under the green tree."
• Hold a pencil and a crayon with growing control

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Day 1: Look and Say (30 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook page 54, a large letter "t" card, picture cards of a tree, tortoise, tent and train

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Sit the learners in a circle
• Tap the floor lightly with one finger and say "t, t, t" with each tap
• Learners copy the tapping and the sound
• Say: "Today our letter makes a tapping sound, /t/. Its name is t."

Main Activity -- Meet the Letter (10 minutes)

• Hold up the big "t" card. Say: "This is t. t says /t/."
• Learners repeat while tapping: fast taps, slow taps, tiny taps
• Open page 54. Point to the big red "t" at the top of the page
• Point to the tree. Say: "Tree. /t/ /t/ tree." Learners stand tall with arms out like branches
• Point to the tortoise. Say: "Tortoise. /t/ /t/ tortoise." Learners crawl slowly on the spot
• Point to each picture card at the bottom of the page:
  • tent -- learners say "tent" and make a pointed tent shape with their hands
  • train -- learners say "train" and move arms like wheels, saying "choo choo"
  • tree -- learners say "tree" and sway like branches in the wind

Main Activity -- The Speech Bubble (5 minutes)

• Point to the speech bubble and say slowly: "Look at the happy tortoise under the green tree."
• Say it in small parts; learners echo each part:
  • "Look at"
  • "the happy tortoise"
  • "under the green tree"
• Ask: "Where is the tortoise?" (under the tree) "What colour is the tree?" (green)
• Learners crouch "under" their own arms like a tortoise under a tree

Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

• Play "Tap and Say": teacher taps once and says a word, learners point to the picture
• Ask: "What sound does t make?" Learners answer "/t/"

Differentiation

• Support: Let learners tap along with the teacher's hand before saying the sound alone
• Extension: Ask confident learners to say "tree, tortoise, tent, train" in a row

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Day 2: Trace and Write (30 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook page 55, crayons, pencils, a large "t" drawn on the board

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Show page 54 and ask learners to name the pictures
• Tap and say "/t/" for each picture

Main Activity -- Finger Tracing (8 minutes)

• Follow the Teacher's Note: let the learners run a finger along the big pink "t" on page 55
• Model on the board while describing the strokes:
  • "Start at the top. Go straight down."
  • "At the bottom, make a little curve to the side."
  • "Lift your finger. Make a short line across, like a branch on a tree."
• Learners draw a big "t" in the air, then on the table with a finger
• Learners colour in the big "t" with crayons

Main Activity -- Pencil Tracing (12 minutes)

• Hand out pencils and check each learner's grip
• Work through the traced rows together, one line at a time:
  • Row 1: look at the solid black "t", then trace the dotted letters, starting at the red dot. Notice the arrows: first down, then across
  • Row 2: trace the dotted letters, saying "/t/" for each one
  • Rows 3 and 4: with the teacher's help, try a "t" starting at each red dot
• Praise effort: "You remembered the line across. Well done!"

Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

• Start the Little Artists art activity (see note below)
• The colouring picture on page 55 is a tree. Learners colour the tree and say "tree, /t/"

Differentiation

• Support: Trace hand-over-hand; let the learner make a "t" with two lolly sticks first
• Extension: Learners who finish can make a "t" shape with their body: arms out, feet together

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Day 3: Little Activities and Review (30 minutes)

Materials

• A tomato and a knife (teacher only), a tablet with sounds, brown and green playdough, crayons, a toy train and a toy car, Activity Book

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Show the page 54 pictures; learners say each word and tap the /t/ sound

Main Activity -- Activity Boxes (20 minutes)

Choose three or four of the activities from page 54 to fit the time:

• Little Explorers: Cut a tomato in half so the learners can see the seeds. Let every one touch the wet inside. Say "tomato, /t/".
• Little Innovators: Play three sounds on the tablet: /t/, /s/, /a/. The learners put a hand up only for /t/.
• Little Builders: Roll a thick playdough trunk, add two branches, then press green leaves along the top of the tree.
• Little Artists: The book asks learners to trace the dotted turtle on the next page, then colour its shell one segment at a time. As page 55 shows a tree, colour the tree instead, or use a simple tortoise outline if one is available.
• Little Thinkers: Put a toy train beside a toy car. Say which one is bigger and which one is smaller.

Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

• Finish with the matching pages in the Activity Book
• Circle time: each learner says one "t" word from the page
• Everyone taps "t, t, t" to finish

Differentiation

• Support: For Little Innovators, the teacher says /t/ first so learners can match the sound
• Extension: Ask learners to name the bigger toy and the smaller toy in the Little Thinkers activity

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Teaching Tips (from textbook)

• Let the learners run a finger along "t", 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
• Handle the knife yourself in the Little Explorers activity and keep it out of reach