Week 2 Overview
Weekly Learning Goal: Students will learn the sounds for letters F, G, H, I, J and practice blending CVC words using letters A-J.
This week continues our phonics journey by adding five new letter sounds. Students will review the five letters from Week 1 (A-E) and learn five new consonants and one new vowel (I). With ten letter sounds mastered, students can now blend and read simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words like "big," "dig," and "cab." Each lesson includes multi-sensory practice, blending activities, and real-word reading opportunities.
Monday: Letter Sound F (/f/ as in "fish")
Time: 15-20 minutes
Learning Objective
Student will be able to: Recognize the letter F, produce the /f/ sound, and identify words that begin with this sound.
Materials Needed
- Large card with "F" and "f"
- Picture of a fish (or toy fish)
- 3-5 objects/pictures starting with F (fish, fan, fork, feather, foot)
- Letter cards A-E from Week 1 (for review)
- Paper and writing tools
Materials Substitutions
- Fish picture → draw a simple fish or use a goldfish cracker
- Picture cards → search images online or draw simple pictures
- Objects → use a real fork, fan, or feather from around the house
Procedure
Introduction (2-3 minutes)
Quick review: Flash letter cards A-E. Ask: "What sounds do we know?" (Student says all five sounds.)
Hold up a fish picture. Say: "What is this?" (Fish!) "Listen to the first sound: /f/-/f/-fish. What sound do you hear?" (/f/!)
Show letter F: "This is the letter F. F makes the /f/ sound, like the beginning of fish."
Main Activity (8-10 minutes)
Sound Practice: Say /f/ together 5-6 times. "Your top teeth touch your bottom lip when you say /f/. Try it: /f/, /f/, /f/."
Object Identification: Show objects with F: fish, fan, fork, feather. Emphasize: "/f/-fish, /f/-fork, /f/-fan."
Mix in 1-2 items from previous letters (like "apple" or "ball") to practice discrimination.
Letter Writing: "F has a tall line down and two short lines across at the top." Practice writing F and f, saying /f/ each time.
Six-Letter Review: Show A, B, C, D, E, F randomly. Student says all six sounds.
Practice (5-7 minutes)
Sound Hunt: Find things in your home that start with /f/ (finger, floor, frame, food).
Review Game: Hold up all six letter cards (A-F) randomly. Student says each sound.
Drawing: Student draws a fish and writes F next to it.
Closure (2-3 minutes)
"We now know six letter sounds! Tomorrow we'll learn G."
Check for Understanding
- Show F: "What sound?" - Expected: /f/
- Say "fan" - "First sound?" - Expected: /f/
- Can student say sounds for A-F when shown randomly? - Expected: Gets at least 5/6 correct
Supplemental Resources (Optional)
These are optional enhancements, not required for the 15-20 minute core lesson.
YouTube Videos
Library Books
- The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss - Fun story with F words
Tuesday: Letter Sound G (/g/ as in "goat")
Time: 15-20 minutes
Learning Objective
Student will be able to: Recognize the letter G, produce the /g/ sound (hard G), and identify words that begin with this sound.
Materials Needed
- Large card with "G" and "g"
- Picture of a goat (or toy goat)
- 3-5 objects/pictures starting with hard G (goat, gate, game, gift, girl)
- Previous letter cards A-F
- Paper and writing tools
Materials Substitutions
- Goat picture → draw a simple goat or use a stuffed animal
- Objects → use a board game, wrapped gift, or photo of a girl
Procedure
Introduction (2-3 minutes)
Review: Show F. "What sound?" (/f/!)
Show goat: "What is this?" (Goat!) "/g/-/g/-goat. First sound?" (/g/!)
Show G: "G makes the /g/ sound." (Note: We're learning hard G first. Later they'll learn G can also say /j/.)
Main Activity (8-10 minutes)
Sound Practice: "/g/, /g/, /g/. The back of your tongue touches the top of your mouth, like with /k/."
Object Identification: Show objects with hard G: goat, gate, game, gift.
Letter Writing: "G starts like C, but then has a little line pointing in." Practice G and g.
Seven-Letter Review: Show A-G randomly. Student says all seven sounds.
Practice (5-7 minutes)
Sound Hunt: Find G objects (gate, guitar, glasses, gum).
Draw a goat and write G.
Closure (2-3 minutes)
"Seven letters now! Tomorrow: H."
Check for Understanding
- Show G: "What sound?" - Expected: /g/
- Say "game" - "First sound?" - Expected: /g/
- Can student say sounds for A-G randomly? - Expected: 6/7 or 7/7 correct
Supplemental Resources (Optional)
These are optional enhancements, not required for the 15-20 minute core lesson.
YouTube Videos
Library Books
- Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss - Classic with G words
Wednesday: Letter Sound H (/h/ as in "hat")
Time: 15-20 minutes
Learning Objective
Student will be able to: Recognize the letter H, produce the /h/ sound, and identify words that begin with this sound.
Materials Needed
- Large card with "H" and "h"
- A hat (or picture of a hat)
- 3-5 objects/pictures starting with H (hat, hand, house, heart, horse)
- Previous letter cards A-G
- Paper and writing tools
Materials Substitutions
- Hat → any hat from your closet, or draw one
- Objects → point to your hand, draw a house or heart
Procedure
Introduction (2-3 minutes)
Review: Show F and G. Student says sounds.
Show hat: "/h/-/h/-hat. First sound?" (/h/!)
Show H: "H makes the /h/ sound."
Main Activity (8-10 minutes)
Sound Practice: "/h/, /h/, /h/. You breathe out as you say it—feel the air!"
Object Identification: hat, hand, house, heart, horse.
Letter Writing: "H has two tall lines with a line across the middle." Practice H and h.
Eight-Letter Review: Show A-H randomly. Student says all eight sounds.
Practice (5-7 minutes)
Sound Hunt: Find H objects (hair, hook, hanger, home).
Draw a hat and write H.
Closure (2-3 minutes)
"Eight letters! Tomorrow we learn our second vowel: I."
Check for Understanding
- Show H: "What sound?" - Expected: /h/
- Say "house" - "First sound?" - Expected: /h/
- Can student say sounds for A-H? - Expected: 7/8 or 8/8 correct
Supplemental Resources (Optional)
These are optional enhancements, not required for the 15-20 minute core lesson.
YouTube Videos
Library Books
- A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle - Story with H words
Thursday: Letter Sound I (/ĭ/ as in "igloo")
Time: 15-20 minutes
Learning Objective
Student will be able to: Recognize the letter I, produce the short /ĭ/ sound, and identify words that begin with this sound.
Materials Needed
- Large card with "I" and "i"
- Picture of an igloo (or insect)
- 3-5 objects/pictures starting with short I (igloo, inch, insect, itch)
- Previous letter cards A-H
- Paper and writing tools
Materials Substitutions
- Igloo picture → draw a simple igloo or use an insect picture
- Inch → show a ruler and point to an inch mark
Procedure
Introduction (2-3 minutes)
Review: Show G and H. Student says sounds.
Show igloo: "/ĭ/-/ĭ/-igloo. This is our second vowel!"
Show I: "I makes the /ĭ/ sound." (Like the middle sound in "big" and "dig.")
Main Activity (8-10 minutes)
Sound Practice: "/ĭ/, /ĭ/, /ĭ/. Your mouth is slightly open and relaxed, like short E but higher."
Object Identification: igloo, inch, insect, itch.
Letter Writing: "I is simple: a tall line with a dot on top (lowercase i) or just a tall line (uppercase I)." Practice I and i.
Nine-Letter Review: Show A-I randomly. Student says all nine sounds.
Blending Introduction: Now we can make words! Show: B-I-G. Say each sound: /b/ /ĭ/ /g/. Blend: "big!" Try D-I-G: "/d/ /ĭ/ /g/ = dig!"
Practice (5-7 minutes)
Sound Hunt: Find I objects (if challenging, focus on words with I in the middle: big, dig, pig).
Blending Practice: Make letter cards B-I-G, D-I-G, F-I-G. Student sounds out and blends each word.
Closure (2-3 minutes)
"Nine letters! Tomorrow we'll learn J and read even more words."
Check for Understanding
- Show I: "What sound?" - Expected: /ĭ/
- Say "insect" - "First sound?" - Expected: /ĭ/
- Can student blend B-I-G? - Expected: Attempts to say "big"
Supplemental Resources (Optional)
These are optional enhancements, not required for the 15-20 minute core lesson.
YouTube Videos
- Letter I Short Sound Phonics
- Blending CVC Words - Helps with blending practice
Library Books
- Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni - Story with short I sounds
Friday: Letter Sound J (/j/ as in "jump") and Blending Practice
Time: 15-20 minutes
Learning Objective
Student will be able to: Recognize all ten letters A-J, produce all ten sounds, and blend simple CVC words using learned letters.
Materials Needed
- Large card with "J" and "j"
- Picture of a person jumping (or demonstrate jumping)
- 3-5 objects/pictures starting with J (jump, jar, jet, jelly, juice)
- All ten letter cards A-J
- Paper and writing tools
Materials Substitutions
- Jump → demonstrate jumping yourself!
- Objects → use a real jar, jelly packet, or juice box
Procedure
Introduction (2-3 minutes)
Review: Flash H and I. Student says sounds.
Jump up and down! "What am I doing?" (Jumping!) "/j/-/j/-jump!"
Show J: "J makes the /j/ sound."
Main Activity (8-10 minutes)
Sound Practice: "/j/, /j/, /j/. Your tongue touches the roof of your mouth and vibrates."
Object Identification: jump, jar, jet, jelly, juice.
Letter Writing: "J has a line down that curves at the bottom." Practice J and j.
Ten-Letter Review: Hold up all ten letters randomly. Student says each sound quickly: A (/æ/), B (/b/), C (/k/), D (/d/), E (/ĕ/), F (/f/), G (/g/), H (/h/), I (/ĭ/), J (/j/).
Blending Practice: Make words using letter cards:
- C-A-B: /k/ /æ/ /b/ = cab
- B-A-D: /b/ /æ/ /d/ = bad
- B-I-G: /b/ /ĭ/ /g/ = big
- D-I-G: /d/ /ĭ/ /g/ = dig
- F-I-G: /f/ /ĭ/ /g/ = fig
Say: "You're reading real words now! You're a reader!"
Practice (5-7 minutes)
Word Building: Give student letter cards A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J. Ask them to make:
- A word that says "bad"
- A word that says "cab"
- A word that says "big"
Celebration Drawing: Student draws objects for each new letter from this week (fish, goat, hat, igloo, jar) and writes the letters F, G, H, I, J.
Closure (2-3 minutes)
Celebrate: "You learned TEN letter sounds in two weeks! That's incredible! You can now read simple words by blending sounds together."
Ask: "Can you say all ten sounds?" (Hold up letters A-J.)
Preview: "Next week, we'll learn five more letters (K, L, M, N, O) and read even more words!"
Check for Understanding
- Show all ten letters A-J randomly - Can student say the correct sound for each? - Expected: 8/10 or better
- Show C-A-B - Can student blend and read "cab"? - Expected: Successfully blends at least 2/3 simple CVC words
- Overall Week 2 Assessment: Can student recognize and produce sounds for F, G, H, I, J? - Expected: Yes, with 80%+ accuracy
Week 2 Complete!
This week, your student learned five more letter sounds: F (/f/), G (/g/), H (/h/), I (/ĭ/), and J (/j/). They now know TEN letter sounds total (A-J) and have begun blending sounds to read simple CVC words like "cab," "bad," "big," and "dig." This is a major milestone! Next week, we'll add five more letter sounds (K-O) including another vowel (O), which will expand their reading vocabulary even further.
Supplemental Resources (Optional)
These are optional enhancements, not required for the 15-20 minute core lesson.
YouTube Videos
- Letter J Sound Phonics
- Phonics Blending Practice - Additional blending practice
Library Books
- Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan - Fun story with J words
- Bob Books Set 1 by Bobby Lynn Maslen - Simple decodable books perfect for practicing CVC words
Can't find these at your library? Search YouTube for "[Book Title] read aloud" for narrated versions.