Ten daily English lessons: Days 1–10Year 1 English · T1 W1–2 · Lesson sequence

Every day: retrieve/listen 3 minutes; explicit sound–print model 5; guided blend/read or text talk 7; learner reading/encoding/composition 7; exit and record 3 = 25 minutes. Use aids, assessment and school-approved letter cards. Say a word normally before segmenting it; do not add a schwa to consonants. Teacher-read rich text and controlled learner-read text have separate roles. Access may be speech, sign, AAC, letter selection, tactile letters, pointing or adult-scribed composition; record what was prompted. Codes and limits in README.

Day 1 — Hear sounds; check short-vowel entry

Goal: observe oral segmentation and single-letter CVC reading/encoding. Materials: CVC word bank, 3-box strip, P1.

1. Retrieve, 3: Say sat naturally; children tap three sounds /s/ /a/ /t/. Ask whether sit changes the first, middle or last sound. Key: middle.
2. Model, 5: Point to s-a-t while blending continuously then say sat. Segment tap into three boxes, place t/a/p, blend and check meaning with a tap action.
3. Guide, 7: Segment and build sit, can, map; compare sat/sit. Ask a learner to show the vowel change; avoid treating dialect vowel differences as a deficit without careful checking.
4. Try, 7: Learners read P1 if ready, tracking each word. Then write/build tin from dictation and draw/act one sentence. If CVC is not secure, teacher runs a smaller explicit CVC group rather than assigning later digraph text.
5. Check, 3: Dictate tap; learner segments/builds and reads it. Key: t-a-p, 3 phonemes. Record sound awareness separately from letter knowledge; next move is one correspondence at a time if missing.

Day 2 — Rehearse CVC and sentence meaning

Goal: connect word reading with a simple sentence, capital and full stop. Materials: P1, sentence frame, tiles. Codes: AC9E1LY04, LY05, LY06, LA06 (partial).

1. Retrieve, 3: Flash sat, sit, tap slowly enough for blending; children indicate which changes one vowel. Key: sat/sit.
2. Model, 5: Read Sam sat. by sounding and blending, then reread naturally. “Sam is the name; it starts with a capital. The dot tells my voice to stop.”
3. Guide, 7: Shared P1 read. Ask “Who can tap?” Key: Sam. Have children point to exact words as evidence. Model a mismatch: reading sit as sat; correct by checking vowel and sentence.
4. Try, 7: Children build/write “Tim can sit.” then reread and check capital/full stop. Give separate word tiles and adult scribe for motor access; child's choices should still determine words.
5. Check, 3: Show Sam can tap. Ask learner to read and identify who taps. Key: Sam. If word reading is sound-by-sound but accurate, practise a second smooth reread without speed pressure.

Day 3 — sh is one sound

Goal: hear /sh/, map it to sh, blend and spell regular words. Materials: sh word bank, 3-box strip, P2.

1. Retrieve, 3: Segment shop orally. “How many sounds?” Key: 3: /sh/ /o/ /p/.
2. Model, 5: Write sh in one box and say “Two letters, one sound /sh/.” Add o, p; blend shop. Contrast ship by changing only vowel.
3. Guide, 7: Build/read ship, shop, shut, fish, dish. In fish, /sh/ is at end. Children slide a token once per phoneme; do not split sh into two sounds.
4. Try, 7: Read P2, then encode dish without copying. Ask “Who can fish?” Key: Tim. Learner can select sh tile and other letters rather than write.
5. Check, 3: Say hush; child shows sounds and letters. Key: h-u-sh, 3 phonemes. If four boxes are used, place the sh tile over the final two letters and repeat with fish.

Day 4 — ch is one sound

Goal: hear/map /ch/ and keep it distinct from /sh/. Materials: ch/sh cards, P3.

1. Retrieve, 3: Read ship and shop; point to common grapheme. Key: sh.
2. Model, 5: Say chip; segment /ch/ /i/ /p/. Place ch in one box. Contrast ship and chip: first sound/grapheme changes; vowel/end remain.
3. Guide, 7: Build/read chat, chop, chin, rich; sort sh/ch cards by sound while teacher models normal pronunciation. Introduce capitalised name Chad with same /ch/ spelling.
4. Try, 7: Children read P3, answer “What can Chad do?” Key: chat and chop. Dictate chat for writing/tiles; children reread own word.
5. Check, 3: Say chip; child builds/reads it, then chooses sh or ch for initial sound. Key: ch-i-p; ch. If confused, compare mouth/sound and print in ship/chip, then fresh chop.

Day 5 — Cumulative sh/ch transfer

Goal: choose grapheme by heard sound and read a short connected text for meaning. Materials: P4, mixed cards, sentence frame.

1. Retrieve, 3: Present shop, chop, fish, rich; children group by sh/ch and say the sound.
2. Model, 5: Read P4 once with deliberate blending at a hard word, then natural phrasing. “I check the letters and the whole sentence. I do not guess from the first letter.”
3. Guide, 7: Shared reading P4; cover a word then reveal it to verify. Ask “Who can shop? Who can chat?” Key: Sam; Chad. Act/point/AAC response accepted.
4. Try, 7: Learners write/build a different true sentence from known words, e.g. Tim can fish. or Chad can chat. Use frame to check capital/full stop; teacher records whether sentence was independent or copied.
5. Check, 3: Dictate the fresh word mesh and ask for final grapheme/whole word. Explain its meaning as open net fabric if needed. Key: m-e-sh. If child reads sound accurately but cannot write, keep encoding support separate from reading decision.

Day 6 — Initial blend st: two sounds

Goal: distinguish a two-phoneme blend from one-phoneme digraph. Materials: 4-box strip, P5, st words.

1. Retrieve, 3: Revisit sh: one sound. Say stop; ask for first two sounds. Key: /s/ /t/.
2. Model, 5: Put s in box 1, t in box 2, then o, p: stop. “My mouth moves from /s/ straight into /t/; both sounds stay.” Do not insert an extra vowel.
3. Guide, 7: Build/read step, stem, stun; compare step/stop. Introduce the regular name Stan and capital. Children point to first two letters and say two sounds.
4. Try, 7: Read P5, answer “What can Stan do?” Key: stop and step. Encode stem with tiles or pencil; reread.
5. Check, 3: Say stun; child maps 4 phonemes to s-t-u-n. If treated as one st sound, contrast two finger taps /s/ /t/ with one tap /sh/ in shut.

Day 7 — Final blend nd: two sounds

Goal: hear both /n/ and /d/ at a word end. Materials: 4-/5-box strips, P6.

1. Retrieve, 3: Segment stop (4 sounds); ask whether st is one or two sounds. Key: two.
2. Model, 5: Say hand normally, then /h/ /a/ /n/ /d/. Put each letter in a box. Point out both final sounds without adding a vowel. For stand, show five boxes: s-t-a-n-d.
3. Guide, 7: Build/read sand, bend, hand, stand; contrast sand/sad so the /n/ is audible. Children sweep and blend all sounds.
4. Try, 7: Read P6; “Who can stand?” Key: Stan. Write/build bend, then reread to catch an omitted n or d.
5. Check, 3: Dictate mend; key: m-e-n-d, four phonemes. If med, hold up the two final sound tokens, then compare men and mend orally.

Day 8 — Cumulative reading and two known high-frequency words

Goal: reread taught patterns smoothly and explicitly learn a/is in sentence context. Materials: P7/P8, a/is cards.

1. Retrieve, 3: Flash ship, chop, stop, hand; child points to grapheme matching teacher-said target sound.
2. Model, 5: Teach a pronounced /ə/ and is pronounced /ɪz/ as meaningful high-frequency words. Say them, show print, use in an oral sentence, recall without guessing. State that P8 needs these words.
3. Guide, 7: Read P7 together for cumulative practice; then teacher supports P8, pointing to a/is and blending fish, dish, in. Ask “Where is the fish?” Key: in a dish.
4. Try, 7: Learners choose P7 if not yet secure or P8 if ready and read twice, once for accuracy and again for phrasing. They build/write fish or dish from dictation, then explain sentence meaning by a chosen mode.
5. Check, 3: Show a and is out of sentence, ask to read and use each in a spoken/signed/AAC sentence. Key: /ə/ and /ɪz/, meaningful use. If not secure, preview before next text; do not label child unable to decode the regular words.

Day 9 — A story read by the teacher, then child composition

Goal: identify character, setting, sequence and a reasoned question from a richer teacher-read story; compose one sentence. Materials: The ramp test, sentence frame. Codes: AC9E1LE03, LY05, LY06 (partial).

1. Retrieve, 3: Show toy bus picture/object or say “bus”; ask learners to predict what a ramp might do. Note prediction, not right/wrong.
2. Model, 5: Read the original story aloud expressively. Think aloud: “Mara and Arun are characters. The ramp and mat tell me where this happens.” Point to evidence.
3. Guide, 7: Reread story. Ask “What happened first? What changed next? Why mark a line?” Keys: bus stopped at mat edge; second attempt travelled farther; line helps start another try comparably. Accept supported alternatives grounded in text; do not claim the story proves a cause.
4. Try, 7: Children create one sentence about the story or a safe toy they know; may draw, dictate, sign, use AAC or write. For a writer, prompt one who/what + did what, then reread and edit capital/full stop. Keep spelling check separate.
5. Check, 3: “Who wondered if it would happen again?” Key: Mara. Ask child to locate/recall evidence. If recall is fragile, reread a short portion and distinguish a listening support from comprehension after support.

Day 10 — New-word and connected-text transfer

Goal: sample independent phoneme mapping, reading for meaning and a short original sentence; choose next teaching. Materials: P9, fresh word cards shed, chug, stub, send, assessment.

1. Retrieve, 3: Children sort sh/ch/st/nd cards by “one sound made with two letters” versus “two sounds together.” Key: sh/ch one; st/nd two.
2. Model, 5: Work an analogous unfamiliar word shin (regular sh-i-n, the front of the lower leg); say, segment, choose graphemes, blend and confirm word meaning. Do not model scored transfer words first.
3. Guide, 7: Read P9 in pairs or teacher small group, verify each word from print, then ask “Who can stand?” Key: Chad. Revisit any guessed word by looking at all graphemes.
4. Try, 7: Child reads two fresh cards from chug, stub, send and encodes the third; then creates one sentence with a taught word, by an accessible mode. Teacher notes exact prompts and response format. Keep shed unseen for the exit.
5. Check, 3: Individually present fresh shed and ask first sound's grapheme, read whole word, and use/choose its meaning (small building). Key: sh; shed. Use the assessment pattern before selecting next phonics lesson; a single word is not a reading-level verdict.

If an entry check disagrees with the planned day

Keep the meaningful oral language, story and composition parts available while teaching the missing code explicitly in a short group. Learners already secure with the word set should get fresh regular words and richer sentences, not repeated drill alone; confirm the new words use only taught patterns. If school sequence differs, replace the grapheme lesson and regenerate its controlled text and key with a qualified educator. Never silently relabel an untaught text “decodable.”

Original content © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, CC BY 4.0. Curriculum source and ACARA terms in README. Educator/EAL/D review pending.