What do you do when you meet a word you cannot say? Be honest. Skipping it is an answer, and a common one.
When a word looks new, your brain already tries a trick. Watch which trick you use.
Word pairs will appear on the board. You have never studied them as a list. When each pair appears, point to the label that matches what your brain did first. Do not race for the right match.
Any of these counts. You already have a language trick.
That first move is your trick. Remember it for later.
Now try the same instinct with your ears. Short clips will play. Show thumbs when you have a guess; we will name the language together after the second play. Notice whether you listen for rhythm, a familiar sound, or make a quick guess from one sound you caught.
Open your copybook now and write the one thing you will try next time you meet a word you cannot say.
Make your plan specific. A line such as "I will listen for a sound I know" or "I will look for letters that match a word I already know" is much more useful than "I will try harder".
You can borrow one of today's labels if it helps: Sound it out, Spot known letters, Guess from shape, Listen for a sound I know, or Ask them to say it again slowly.
First, two or three of you may share the strategy you wrote (you can leave out your name if you prefer).
Hands up if you want to share a question you could ask, or whisper one idea to the person beside you for 30 seconds, then a few of us will feed back.
Some families use more than one language: at home, with a grandparent, a neighbour, a cousin, or someone in this school.
If you cannot think of someone, plan a question you could ask a friend in this class instead.
You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.