Approved phonics book activity

Why the phase structure matters

*Letters and Sounds* (UK Department for Education) is a six-phase phonics programme that moves children from hearing and playing with sounds towards the alphabet working for reading and spelling. An activity companion follows the same logic: oral work before symbols, secure one phase before the next.

Activity one: sound hunt and blend

Call a sound, for example /s/, and the room hunts for three things that start with it. Then blend orally: say three sounds of a familiar word slowly and let children snap them together. No letters yet. Five minutes, full-body, and it trains the listening layer everything later depends on.

Activity two: grapheme match race

Two trays: grapheme cards on one side, picture cards on the other. Call a sound; two children race to pair the letter card with the matching picture. Speed arrives only after accuracy, so run it untimed for a week first. Mispairs become your next mini-lesson.

Keep the session short

Ten minutes maximum for four to six year olds: two minutes of warm-up, six of game, two of recap. Stop while it is still fun. Repetition across days beats length in one sitting, and children volunteer for tomorrow when today ends early.

Exercise: run both activities

Prepare six grapheme cards and six pictures, time each game, and note which children need the untimed round again.

Worked example

Plan a fifteen-minute phonics routine: three minutes for the sound of the day, four for blending, four for segmenting, and four for reading and writing words. Use objects from the classroom. Keep the routine identical for a week so children anticipate each step and focus on the sound.

Common pitfalls

• Introducing too many sounds at once.
• Rushing blending before children are ready.
• Neglecting writing alongside reading.
• Making sessions too long for young learners.

Practice

Run the routine for five days with the same sound family. Track which children blend independently and which need support. Adjust grouping based on observation.

Checklist

• One sound focus per week.
• Blending and segmenting both included.
• Reading and writing practiced.
• Sessions kept short.
• Progress noted.

Mini-exercise

Choose one sound. Prepare five words and three objects, then teach a fifteen-minute lesson and note two children's responses.

Related lessons

Continue at beginning phonics lessons for children and the five-minute phonics routine for parents.

Source

Original LinguaPro activities informed by *Letters and Sounds: Principles and Practice of High Quality Phonics*, UK Department for Education (2007), available via GOV.UK. All games and wording are original.