Jolly Phonics

Level 6 - The sh sound lesson

1. Introducing diagraphs

Before starting doing activities to practice a diagraph, I have thought about doing a short presentation about the sh sound covering the following issues:

• Asking how many letters for how many sounds.
• Asking if they are vowels or consonants.
• Showing the action for the sh sound (place your index finger over your lips, say shshshsh).
• Putting an example of a sh word: segmenting and blending.

On the other hand, I’m going to use the following resources for the interaction produced above:

• An individual card for present the sh sound.
• A written card with the word shop.

2. Activities

          1. Let’s sing a song

For this activity we are going to use the song from jolly phonics dedicated specially for the sound sh.
We are going to perform actions at the same time we are going to sing. For example, when the lyrics say the baby is sleep, we move our arms in a similar way in which a mum swings her baby.
We will put this song in the PDI to make its searching easier and avoid possible errors with the internet.

          2. Looking for pairs

Now we are going to play a game that consists on searching pairs. For this, we are going to organise the children on the carpet sited down in a circle.

We place both the pictures and the written words down. In turns, pupils have to pick up a written word and read it aloud segmenting and blending. Then they have to pick up one of the pictures. If they are the same they keep these cards for them. If they are not the same they return to put the cards in the place they were.

With this activity we help learners to understand meanings and also improve their phonemic awareness and reading.

          3. Bingo game

Now we pass to a bingo game. It is very enjoyable for the children and we cover a listening and a reading task at the same time.

For this, we are going to hand out cards with nine words to each child. The teacher is going to say one word and they have to listen carefully to be able to look for this word in their card. If they have this word, they have to cross it out with the pencil.

In anyway, after a few of seconds she will write the word in her small board to help them.
When one child have all the words cross out he has to say bingo!

          4. Guess what I’m doing

Now we are going to play a game in which pupils have to imitate an action. These actions are verbs written in cards and they contain the sh sound. The teacher will read these words with them before starting to play.

After, she will come out one child to imitate one of the written words. The rest of children have to guess what the partner is doing. If they know it, they have to put their hand up. They will have all the written cards spread on the carpet to help them to say the specific word we want.

The teacher will choose a child to answer. She will say “What is he doing?” And the chosen child has to say the complete answer, for example “He is washing”. If this child is wrong she will pass to another child with the hand up.

However, if he is right he will pick up the written word, stick it at the small board of the teacher which has the sentence “She/he is…” and finally everybody will read the sentence together.

Besides, the teacher can write the verbs in infinitive in the board to show them the original form of the verb.

          5. Writing with my finger

Now children have to know writing the sh sound. For this, firstly the teacher will say the children how to write it at the same time children have to try writing in the air:

T: Do you remember how to write letter s? Curves that back and forwards spread.
And do you remember how to write letter h? Very simple! Down from top to bottom, then make an arch!

Later, children will do:
- Palm-writing: Children works in pairs. The first one chooses letter s or letter h. Then the second child closes his eyes. The first child draws the letter outline on the palm of the second child’s hand and the second child says the letter. Finally they check together.
- Back writing: the same procedure than before but writing in the back.

          6. Experts of the “sh” sound

To achieve the last instruction and finished the bout, children have to use the PDI to write correctly the sh sound.

First they use graph paper.

Finally they have to complete the words with the ai sound. The teacher will also ask for the capital letter, spelling, segmenting and blending.