Proposed codes: AC9EFLA08, AC9EFLE04, AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY13.
Goal: Hear /θ/, link th to one sound in thin/thud/moth, and distinguish it from two starting sounds in q-u.
Prepare: oral rhyme B, th tile, three sound boxes, thin, thud, moth cards.
- Retrieve · 3 min. Read Quin, quiz, ten. Ask how many beginning sounds q-u cues; expect /k/ then /w/. Mark an exact error for later practice.
- Oral rhyme · 4 min. Read Moth and Thud twice. Ask which spoken words rhyme with moth and thud. Do not display cloth as child print.
- Sound-team model · 5 min. Say thin /θ/ /ɪ/ /n/ with print hidden. Model a natural voiceless /θ/ without requiring children to put a finger on their mouth. Reveal th i n: “Here t and h together write one sound /θ/.” Put th in one sound box. Say that the/this/that use another th sound and stay adult-read.
- Guide and try · 7 min. Model thin, guide thud /θ/ /ʌ/ /d/, and ask for moth /m/ /ɒ/ /θ/. Keep th together at the start or end. Explain thud as a dull sound and moth as an insect after the blend; no live insect handling is needed.
- Encode and compare · 4 min. Dictate thin with print hidden. Learners say three sounds, choose th i n, and reread. Ask “Why does this word have four letters but three sound boxes?” Two letters write one /θ/ sound.
- Exit check · 2 min. Show moth out of order. Ask for a blend and the two letters that write its last sound. Record independently.
Access routes: large/tactile th tile kept together, raised three boxes, clear mouth model or visual sound-choice board, quiet response, AAC/pointing/typing, and adult-read rhyme with transcript. Do not treat inability to produce /θ/ orally as failure to recognise its spelling.