Welcome to “Learn to Read with Jess”!

I’m excited to announce my new series: Learn to Read with Jess! Learn to Read is a free early literacy series designed for children who are at the very beginning stages of learning how to read, and the adults supporting them along the way! This series will contain research-based instruction rooted in phonics and the science of reading.

Each week, I’ll be sharing short teaching videos across my platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, & YouTube), filmed just like I’m teaching students directly. The lessons will be structured following a consistent routine. These lessons will align with my alphabet scope & sequence, making it easy to know what lesson is coming next and how skills build over time. (Check the About Me page to learn more about my background in education and early literacy.)

Right here on this blog, you’ll find these updates each week (bookmark this page):

  • Links to each video lesson for all 4 platforms
  • Lesson plans aligned to each video
  • Extra practice ideas
  • Links to more resources

What We’ll be Learning

This series focuses on the most important early literacy skills to build a solid reading foundation, including:

  • Alphabet Knowledge (Letter Names, Letter Sounds, Letter Identification, & Letter Formation)
  • Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds, Blending, & Segmenting)
  • Reading Simple Words
  • Spelling Simple Words

My goal is to introduce 1-2 letters per week until we cover all 26 letters of the alphabet. You can download a FREE Alphabet Skills Checklist to help track progress throughout the series! The PDF also includes the scope & sequence, alphabet cards, alphabet arc, alphabet song chart, sound boxes, glossary of terms, and free literacy websites.

Grab your free checklist!

What You’ll Need

The supplies are intentionally simple! I want you to use what you already have.

  • Checklist (Grab from above)
  • Device (To watch the videos.)
  • Free Letter Cards
  • Free Sound Boxes
  • Free Letter Posters & Phonemic Awareness Photos (Grab from below)
  • Paper & Pencil OR
  • Whiteboard & Marker

Additional Resources (Paid resources that are optional)

Learn to Read Letter Posters and Phonemic Awareness PhotosDownload

Why This Series is Free

Many learn-to-read programs are locked behind paywalls, but literacy is right. Every child deserves access to high-quality reading instruction, regardless of budget or location. These lessons are meant to be an introductory foundation for early literacy and phonics skills, accessible to anyone who needs them.

If this series is well-received, I’ll continue creating lessons that move into more advanced phonics skills. That’s where I need your help!

How You can help!

If you find these lessons helpful…watch, comment, like, repost, and share with families, friends, and educators. The more engagement these lessons receive, the more likely I am to continue this work and expand the series.

Thank you for being here and for supporting early readers. I can’t wait to get started!

Lesson #1: Letter s

Video Lesson: Watch the video lesson on your favorite platform.

Lesson Plan for Ss

  1. Letter Name: This is the letter Ss.
  2. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase S. This is lowercase s.
  3. Letter Sound: The letter S spells the sound /ssssssss/ like at the beginning of sun. Your turn! Say /sssssss/
  4. Mouth Shape: Say /ssssss/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? I can see my teeth. It looks like I am smiling. I feel air moving between my teeth.
  5. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I don’t feel any vibration. That means my voice is turned off for this sound. (unvoiced)
  6. Letter Formation: Here is how I write uppercase S. Touch the top line. Curve back, curve front. Here is how I write lowercase S. Touch the middle line. Curve back, curve front. Your turn! Practice writing Ss.
  7. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /ssssss/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /s/!)
    • sock
    • sad
    • sun
    • slide
  8. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter S? When you see it, say S!
  9. Review: Say S /s/ sun. Your Turn! (S /s/ sun) Make sure to look and listen for letter S today!

Teaching Tips & Tricks

  • When you are teaching letter names and letter sounds, be clear with your pronunciation. Local dialects and accents can change letter sounds, particularly the vowels. It’s okay if your pronunciation sounds different from mine. Celebrate those differences, but explain how they may impact spelling.
  • Be careful not to add a schwa or extra /uh/ to the end of letter sounds. The letter sound for Ss is /ssssss/, not /suh/.
  • Use picture cards for phonemic awareness tasks to support working memory. Young children can only hold a few items of information in their short-term memory at a time. Picture cards help them remember the word and sound they are trying to hear.
  • Repeat this lesson as many times as you need to! The brain requires repetition to learn new things! Your child might not remember Ss the first time. That’s normal!
  • Your child MUST repeat the names, sounds, and words. There is a memory advantage to items rehearsed aloud (The Production Effect).

More Resources & Activities:

  • Sing the Alphabet Song: Use the Alphabet Song Chart or Alphabet Arc to sing the NEW Alphabet Song before or after each lesson. Point to the letters as you sing. Your child can point, too!
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Ss slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Sing the Phonics Song: Go Hairy Phonics has a great letter sound song. Sing this before or after each lesson. Your child will learn the sounds fast!
  • Create Letter Ss: Build letter Ss out of playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and any other hands-on material.
  • Trace or Write Ss: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Ss on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard.

Lesson #2: Letter A

Video Lesson: Watch the video lesson on your favorite platform.

Lesson Plan for Aa

  1. Do you remember this letter? (Show Ss) Yes! This is letter Ss. Repeat the chant: S /s/ sun. Now we will learn a new letter!
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Aa. It’s a vowel!
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase A. This is lowercase a.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter A spells the sound /aaaaaa/ like at the beginning of apple. Your turn! Say /aaaaaa/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /aaaaa/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? I can see that my mouth is open. It looks like I am yelling.
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I feel a vibration. That means my voice is turned on for this sound. (voiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write uppercase A. Touch the top, pull down. Touch the top, pull down. Cross the middle. Here is how I write lowercase a. Touch the middle line, circle backwards, up and down. Your turn! Practice writing Aa.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /aaaaa/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /a/!)
    • astronaut
    • alligator
    • apple
    • ax
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter A? When you see it, say A!
  10. Review: Say A /a/ apple. Your Turn! (A /a/ apple) Make sure to look and listen for letter A today!

Teaching Tips & Tricks

  • Review the tips above with letter Ss. Most apply to every letter.
  • When you introduce vowels, teach the short vowel sound first. The letter name is the long vowel sound, so that comes in handy when you get to long vowels.
  • Even though we call them short vowels, it no longer means short duration (although that was true in the past). All vowels can be held continuously, so you can stretch them!
  • Every word needs a vowel, so you will need to explain that once your child starts reading and spelling simple words. We will start reading simple words once we get to the next lesson.

More Resources & Activities:

  • Sing the Vowel Hand Song: This song is great for reviewing all 5 vowels. Even though you’ve only taught one, it’s okay to sing this song. Sing with ME HERE!
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Aa slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Create Letter Aa: Build letter Ss out of playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and any other hands-on material.
  • Trace or Write Aa: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Aa on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard. Grab the free pages above from the Letter Ss lesson.
  • Practice the short vowels with these FREE posters: Vowel Posters

Lesson #3: Letter T

Video Lesson:

Lesson Plan for Tt

  1. Do you remember these letters? (Ss, Aa) Review the chants: S /s/ sun, A /a/ apple
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Tt.
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase T. This is lowercase t.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter T spells the sound /t/ like at the beginning of turtle. Your turn! Say /t/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /t/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? I can see that my teeth are together, and I feel my tongue behind. I feel a little burst of air!
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I don’t feel a vibration. That means my voice is turned off for this sound. (unvoiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write uppercase T. Touch the top, pull straight down, back up, and cross the top. Here is how I write lowercase t. Touch the top, pull straight down, and cross the middle. Your turn! Practice writing Tt.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /t/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /t/!)
    • tiger
    • tomato
    • turtle
    • toothbrush
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter Tt? When you see it, say T!
  10. Build a Word: Grab your letter cards (tiles or magnets work, too). Mix up the letters (s, a, t). Let’s build the word sat. I sat in my chair. Break apart the sounds. /s/ (pull down s) /a/ (pull down a) /t/ (pull down t). I built the word sat. Your turn!
  11. Read a Word: Point to each letter to read the word you built. Stretch the sound together slowly and then say it fast! ssssssssssaaaaaaat, sat (repeat as needed). Good job! You just read the word sat!
  12. Review: Say T /t/ turtle. Your Turn! (T /t/ turtle) Make sure to look and listen for letter T today!

Teaching Tips & Tricks

  • Review the tips above. Most apply to every letter.
  • The sound /t/ is quick and cannot be stretched (stop sound). It’s easy to add an extra /u/ to the end. Clip the sound as short as you can: /t/ not /tuh/.
  • As your child starts to blend simple CVC words, you may notice difficulties with words beginning with stop sounds (/t/, /b/, /d/, etc.). Use words with continuous sounds at the beginning (/s/ /m/ /n/, etc.), as they are easier to blend with the vowel. This is why I chose the word “sat” to be the first word.
  • Use continuous blending (keep the sounds running together without stopping). sssssssaaaaaaaat, sat! Read this blog post to learn more about blending methods: Blending Methods For Early Readers

More Resources & Activities:

  • Sing the Alphabet Song: Use the Alphabet Song Chart or Alphabet Arc to sing the NEW Alphabet Song before or after each lesson. Point to the letters as you sing. Your child can point, too!
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Tt slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Sing the Phonics Song: Go Hairy Phonics has a great letter sound song. Sing this before or after each lesson. Your child will learn the sounds fast!
  • Create Letter Tt: Build the letter Tt from playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and other hands-on materials.
  • Trace or Write Tt: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Tt on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard.

Lesson #4: Letter P

Video Lesson

Lesson Plan for Pp

  1. Do you remember these letters? (Ss, Aa, Tt) Review the chants: S /s/ sun, A /a/ apple, T /t/ turtle
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Pp.
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase P. This is lowercase p.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter P spells the sound /p/ like at the beginning of pig. Your turn! Say /p/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /p/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? I can see that my lips are together and pop open a little. I feel a little burst of air!
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I don’t feel a vibration. That means my voice is turned off for this sound. (unvoiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write uppercase P. Touch the top, pull straight down, back up, and circle forward. Here is how I write lowercase p. Touch the middle, pull straight down, back to the middle, and circle forward. Your turn! Practice writing Pp.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /p/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /p/!)
    • pizza
    • pencil
    • pig
    • pan
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter Pp? When you see it, say P!
  10. Build a Word: Grab your letter cards (tiles or magnets work, too). Mix up the letters (s, a, t, p). Let’s build the word sap. The tree sap feels sticky. Break apart the sounds. /s/ (pull down s) /a/ (pull down a) /p/ (pull down p). I built the word sap. Your turn!
  11. Read a Word: Point to each letter to read the word you built. Stretch the sound together slowly and then say it fast! ssssssssssaaaaaaap, sap (repeat as needed). Good job! You just read the word sap! (Review “sat” from previous lesson)
  12. Review: Say P /p/ pig. Your Turn! (P /p/ pig) Make sure to look and listen for letter P today!

Teaching Tips & Tricks

  • Review the tips from previous lessons.
  • The sound /p/ is quick and cannot be stretched (stop sound). It’s easy to add an extra /u/ to the end. Clip the sound as short as you can: /p/ not /puh/.
  • Here are words your child can practice blending after completing this lesson:
    • at, sat, sap, tap, pat
    • Caution ⚠ tap & pat start with stop sounds. They will be harder to blend. You can model it first and have your child echo you. (“Listen to me blend this word: taaaaaaaap, tap! Your turn! Great blending! Let’s use the word tap in a sentence. Can you tap your knee?”)
  • Use continuous blending (keep the sounds running together without stopping). sssssssaaaaaaaap, sap! Read this blog post to learn more about blending methods: Blending Methods For Early Readers

More Resources & Activities:

  • Sing the Alphabet Song: Use the Alphabet Song Chart or Alphabet Arc to sing the NEW Alphabet Song before or after each lesson. Point to the letters as you sing. Your child can point, too!
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Pp slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Sing the Phonics Song: Go Hairy Phonics has a great letter sound song. Sing this before or after each lesson. Your child will learn the sounds fast!
  • Create Letter Pp: Build the letter Pp from playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and other hands-on materials.
  • Trace or Write Pp: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Tt on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard. Look at the previous lessons for free handwriting resources.
  • Digital Games: Does your child love games? Try these free Phonics & Reading Games from Phonics & Stuff.

Lesson #5: Letter I

Video Lesson

Lesson Plan for Ii

  1. Do you remember these letters? (Ss, Aa, Tt, Pp) Review the chants: S /s/ sun, A /a/ apple, T /t/ turtle, P /p/ pig
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Ii. Letter I is a vowel.
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase I. This is lowercase i.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter I spells the sound /i/ like at the beginning of itch. Your turn! Say /i/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /i/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? I can see my teeth, and I’m smiling. I also scrunch up my nose when I make this sound. (You don’t have to scrunch your nose, but I find it helpful to differentiate this sound from short e.)
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I don’t feel a vibration. That means my voice is turned on for this sound. (voiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write uppercase I. Touch the top, pull straight down, cross the top, and cross the bottom. Here is how I write lowercase i. Touch the middle, pull straight down, jump up, and dot it. Your turn! Practice writing Ii.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /i/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /i/!)
    • inch
    • insect
    • itch
    • iguana
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter Ii? When you see it, say I!
  10. Build a Word: Grab your letter cards (tiles or magnets work, too). Mix up the letters (s, a, t, p, i). Let’s build the word sit. The students will sit on the rug. Break apart the sounds. /s/ (pull down s) /i/ (pull down i) /t/ (pull down t). I built the word sit. Your turn!
  11. Read a Word: Point to each letter to read the word you built. Stretch the sound together slowly and then say it fast! ssssssssssiiiiiiiiiit, sit (repeat as needed). Good job! You just read the word sit! (Review “sap” & “sat” from previous lessons)
  12. Review: Say I /i/ itch. Your Turn! (I /i/ itch) Make sure to look and listen for letter I today!

Teaching Tips & Tricks

  • When you introduce vowels, teach the short vowel sound first. The letter name is the long vowel sound, so that comes in handy when you get to long vowels.
  • Even though we call them short vowels, it no longer means short duration (although that was true in the past). All vowels can be held continuously, so you can stretch them!
  • Short i can be easily confused with short e. The difference between the two sounds occurs with just a small adjustment to the position of your chin. Depending on where you live, they might be pronounced almost the same! Think about how you say pin vs. pen.
  • The short vowels will need to be reviewed frequently!
  • Here are words your child can practice blending after completing this lesson:
    • it, at, sit, sip, pat, sat, past, tip, tap, pit

More Resources & Activities:

  • Sing the Vowel Hand Song: This song is great for reviewing all 5 vowels. Even though you’ve only taught one, it’s okay to sing this song. Sing with ME HERE!
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Ii slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Create Letter Ii: Build letter Ii out of playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and any other hands-on material.
  • Trace or Write Ii: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Ii on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard. Grab the free pages above from the Letter Ss lesson.
  • Practice the short vowels with these FREE posters: Vowel Posters

Lesson #6: Letter N

Video Lesson

Lesson Plan for Nn

  1. Do you remember these letters? (Ss, Aa, Tt, Pp, Ii) Review the previous chants.
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Nn.
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase N. This is lowercase n.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter N spells the sound /n/ like at the beginning of nose. Your turn! Say /n/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /n/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? My tongue is touching the roof of my mouth. My lips are open enough to see my teeth.
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I feel a vibration. That means my voice is turned on for this sound. I can stretch this sound. This sound is a nasal sound, meaning the air flows through my nose. (voiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write uppercase N. Touch the top, pull straight down, back up, pull diagonal, and pull back up. Here is how I write lowercase n. Touch the middle, pull straight down, back up, and curve over. Your turn! Practice writing Nn.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /n/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /n/!)
    • nest
    • nail
    • nose
    • net
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter Nn? When you see it, say N!
  10. Build a Word: Grab your letter cards (tiles or magnets work, too). Mix up the letters (s, a, t, p, i, n). Let’s build the word pin. I put a paper on the board with a sharp pin. Break apart the sounds. /p/ (pull down p) /i/ (pull down i) /n/ (pull down n). I built the word pin. Your turn!
  11. Read a Word: Point to each letter to read the word you built. Stretch the sound together slowly and then say it fast! piiiiiiiiiiin, pin (repeat as needed). Good job! You just read the word pin! (Review words from the previous lessons.)
  12. Review: Say N /n/ nose. Your Turn! (N /n/ nose) Make sure to look and listen for letter N today!

Teaching Tips & Tricks

  • Review the tips from previous lessons.
  • The sound /n/ can be stretched (continuous sound). It’s a great letter sound to put at the beginning of words to practice blending.
  • Here are words your child can practice blending after completing this lesson:
    • Two Sounds: it, at, in, an (⚠: When short a comes before a nasal sound like /n/, the vowel becomes a bit whiny. It doesn’t sound exactly like the short a sound in apple. Call it the whiny a and really exaggerate that nasal sound found at the beginning of an.)
    • Three Sounds: sit, sip, pat, sat, tip, tap, pit, pin, sin, pan, nap, nip, tin, tan, sap, pip, tat,
    • Four Sounds: past, snip, snap, spit, span, tint, ants, naps
  • Use continuous blending (keep the sounds running together without stopping). Blending Methods For Early Readers
  • If your child is doing well with these lessons, you might want to start introducing a few high-frequency words. Here is an article you can read that explains how to teach these words and provides 10 early words that are very frequent. Once your child knows a few of these words, you can start to create short phrases and sentences to read: A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words (the, a, I, to, and, was, for, you, is, of)

More Resources & Activities:

  • Sing the Alphabet Song: Use the Alphabet Song Chart or Alphabet Arc to sing the NEW Alphabet Song before or after each lesson. Point to the letters as you sing. Your child can point, too!
  • Sing the Phonics Song: Go Hairy Phonics has a great letter sound song. Sing this before or after each lesson. Your child will learn the sounds fast!
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Nn slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Create Letter Nn: Build letter Nn out of playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and any other hands-on material.
  • Trace or Write Nn: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Nn on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard.

Lesson 7: Letter M

Video Lesson

Lesson Plan for Mm

  1. Do you remember these letters? (Ss, Aa, Tt, Pp, Ii, Nn) Review previous chants.
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Mm.
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase M. This is lowercase m.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter m spells the sound /m/ like at the beginning of moon. Your turn! Say /m/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /m/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? My lips are together, and it feels like I am humming.
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I feel a vibration. That means my voice is turned on for this sound. I can stretch this sound. This sound is a nasal sound, meaning the air flows through my nose. (voiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write the uppercase M. Touch the top, pull straight down, back up, pull down diagonally, back up diagonally, and pull down. Here is how I write lowercase m. Touch the middle, pull straight down, back up, curve over, and curve over again. Your turn! Practice writing Mm.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /m/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /m/!)
    • mop
    • mouse
    • moon
    • muffin
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter Mm? When you see it, say M!
  10. Build a Word: Grab your letter cards (tiles or magnets work, too). Mix up the letters (s, a, t, p, i, n, m). Let’s build the word mat. You should wipe your feet on the mat. Break apart the sounds. /m/ (pull down m) /a/ (pull down a) /t/ (pull down t). I built the word mat. Your turn!
  11. Read a Word: Point to each letter to read the word you built. Stretch the sound together slowly and then say it fast! mmmmmmmaaaaaaaat, mat (repeat as needed). Good job! You just read the word mat! (Review words from the previous lessons.)
  12. Review: Say M /m/moon. Your Turn! (M /m/ moon) Make sure to look and listen for letter M today!

Teaching Tips & Tricks

  • Review the tips from previous lessons.
  • The sound /m/ can be stretched (continuous sound). It’s a great letter sound to put at the beginning of words to practice blending.
  • Here are words your child can practice blending after completing this lesson:
    • Two Sounds: it, at, in, an, am (⚠: When short a comes before a nasal sound like /n/ & /m/, the vowel becomes a bit whiny. It doesn’t sound exactly like the short a sound in apple. Call it the whiny a and really exaggerate that nasal sound found at the beginning of an & am.)
    • Three Sounds: sit, sip, pat, sat, tip, tap, pit, pin, sin, pan, nap, nip, tin, tan, sap, pip, tat, Nat, Pam, Sam, Tam, map, Tim, mat, it’s, its, man
    • Four Sounds: past, snip, snap, spit, span, tint, ants, naps, mist, mast, mint, spam, maps
    • Sentences: The man sat. I am Nat. I sit. Sam sat. Nat sat in the pit. Tap the map. Tim sits. The ant taps the mat.
  • Use continuous blending (keep the sounds running together without stopping). Blending Methods For Early Readers
  • If your child is doing well with these lessons, you might want to start introducing a few high-frequency words. Here is an article you can read that explains how to teach these words and provides 10 early words that are very frequent. Once your child knows a few of these words, you can start to create short phrases and sentences to read: A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words (the, a, I, to, and, was, for, you, is, of)

More Resources & Activities

  • Sing the Alphabet Song: Use the Alphabet Song Chart or Alphabet Arc to sing the NEW Alphabet Song before or after each lesson. Point to the letters as you sing. Your child can point, too!
  • Sing the Phonics Song: Go Hairy Phonics has a great letter sound song. Sing this before or after each lesson. Your child will learn the sounds fast!
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Mm slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Create Letter Mm: Build letter Mm out of playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and any other hands-on material.
  • Trace or Write Mm: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Mm on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard.
  • Your child might be ready to start reading short decodable books. Here are a few free options:

Lesson 8: Letter F

Video Lesson

Lesson Plan

  1. Do you remember these letters? (Ss, Aa, Tt, Pp, Ii, Nn, Mm) Review previous chants.
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Ff.
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase F. This is lowercase f.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter f spells the sound /f/ like at the beginning of fan. Your turn! Say /f/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /f/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? My front teeth are on my bottom lip. I feel air trying to squeeze through.
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I don’t feel any vibration. That means my voice is turned off for this sound. I can stretch this sound. (unvoiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write the uppercase F. Touch the top, pull down, back up, pull out, to the middle, and pull out. Here is how I write lowercase f. Touch the top, curve back and down, jump to the middle, and cross. Your turn! Practice writing Ff.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /f/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /f/!)
    • fan
    • fish
    • fire
    • fork
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter Ff? When you see it, say F!
  10. Build a Word: Grab your letter cards (tiles or magnets work, too). Mix up the letters (s, a, t, p, i, n, m, f). Let’s build the word fin. We saw the shark’s fin in the ocean. Break apart the sounds. /f/ (pull down f) /i/ (pull down i) /n/ (pull down n). I built the word fin. Your turn!
  11. Read a Word: Point to each letter to read the word you built. Stretch the sound together slowly and then say it fast! fffffffiiiiiiiin, fin (repeat as needed). Good job! You just read the word fin! (Review words from the previous lessons.)
  12. Review: Say F /f/ fan. Your Turn! (F /f/ fan) Make sure to look and listen for letter F today!

Lesson Tips & Tricks

  • Review the tips from previous lessons.
  • The sound /f/ can be stretched (continuous sound). It’s a great letter sound to put at the beginning of words to practice blending.
  • Here are words your child can practice blending after completing this lesson (see previous list for all the words. These will just be additional):
    • Two Sounds: if
    • Three Sounds: fat, fan, fin, fit,
    • Four Sounds: fast, fist, fits, fans, sift
    • Sentences: Pam fit in a pit. Tap the fan.

More Resources & Activities

  • Sing the Letter Names & Letter Sounds with Jack Hartmann.
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Ff slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Create Letter Ff: Build letter Ff out of playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and any other hands-on material.
  • Trace or Write Ff: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Ff on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard.
  • Your child might be ready to start reading short decodable books. Here are a few free options:

Lesson 9: Letter o

Lesson Plan

  1. Do you remember these letters? (Ss, Aa, Tt, Pp, Ii, Nn, Mm, Ff) Review previous chants.
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Oo. It’s a vowel.
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase O. This is lowercase o.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter o spells the sound /oooo/ like at the beginning of octopus. Your turn! Say /oooo/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /o/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? My chin drops down when my mouth opens to say this sound.
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I feel a vibration. That means my voice is turned on for this sound. I can stretch this vowel sound. (voiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write the uppercase O. Touch the top, circle back to the bottom, and circle up to the top. Here is how I write lowercase o. Touch the middle, circle back to the bottom, circle up to the middle. Your turn! Practice writing Oo.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /o/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /o/!)
    • octagon
    • otter
    • octopus
    • olive
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter Oo? When you see it, say O!
  10. Build a Word: Grab your letter cards (tiles or magnets work, too). Mix up the letters (s, a, t, p, i, n, m, f, o). Let’s build the word mop. The mop will help me clean up the spill. Break apart the sounds. /m/ (pull down m) /o/ (pull down o) /p/ (pull down p). I built the word mop. Your turn!
  11. Read a Word: Point to each letter to read the word you built. Stretch the sound together slowly and then say it fast! mmmmmmoooooooop, mop (repeat as needed). Good job! You just read the word mop! (Review words from the previous lessons.)
  12. Review: Say O /o/ octopus. Your Turn! (O /o/ Octopus) Make sure to look and listen for letter O today!

Lesson Tips & Tricks

  • When you introduce vowels, teach the short vowel sound first. The letter name is the long vowel sound, so that comes in handy when you get to long vowels.
  • Even though we call them short vowels, it no longer means short duration (although that was true in the past). All vowels can be held continuously, so you can stretch them!
  • Short O tends to be one of the easier short vowels for students to learn.
  • The short vowels will need to be reviewed frequently!
  • Here are words your child can practice blending after completing this lesson (see previous list for all the words. These will just be additional):
    • Two Sounds: on
    • Three Sounds: not, mom, top, pop, pot, Tom, tot
    • Four Sounds: stop, spot, soft, tops, font, mops
    • Sentences: Tom is a man. Mom sat on the spot. I stop at the top.

More Resources & Activities

  • Sing the Vowel Hand Song: This song is great for reviewing all 5 vowels. Even though you’ve only taught one, it’s okay to sing this song. Sing with ME HERE!
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Oo slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Create Letter Oo: Build letter Oo out of playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and any other hands-on material.
  • Trace or Write Oo: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Oo on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard. Grab the free pages above from the Letter Ss lesson.
  • Practice the short vowels with these FREE posters: Vowel Posters
  • Play games on the Phonics & Stuff website.

Lesson 10: Letter C

Video Lesson

Lesson Plan

  1. Do you remember these letters? (Ss, Aa, Tt, Pp, Ii, Nn, Mm, Ff, Oo) Review previous chants.
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Cc.
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase C. This is lowercase c.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter c spells the sound /k/ like at the beginning of cat. Your turn! Say /k/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /k/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? My mouth is open, and I can see my teeth. The sound is quick! It comes from the back of my mouth.
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I don’t feel any vibration. That means my voice is turned off for this sound. I can’t stretch this sound. (unvoiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write the uppercase C. Touch the top, circle back to the bottom. Here is how I write lowercase c. Touch the middle, circle back to the bottom. Your turn! Practice writing Cc.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /k/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /k/!)
    • carrot
    • cake
    • cat
    • camera
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter Cc? When you see it, say C!
  10. Build a Word: Grab your letter cards (tiles or magnets work, too). Mix up the letters (s, a, t, p, i, n, m, f, o, c). Let’s build the word cat. The cat sat on my lap. Break apart the sounds. /k/ (pull down c) /a/ (pull down a) /t/ (pull down t). I built the word cat. Your turn!
  11. Read a Word: Point to each letter to read the word you built. Stretch the sound together slowly and then say it fast! caaaaaat, cat (repeat as needed). Good job! You just read the word cat! (Review words from the previous lessons.)
  12. Review: Say C /k/ cat. Your Turn! (C /k/ cat). Make sure to look and listen for letter C today!

Lesson Tips & Tricks

  • The sound /k/ is quick and cannot be stretched (stop sound). It’s easy to add an extra /u/ to the end. Clip the sound as short as you can: /k/ not /kuh/.
  • Teach the hard sound of C first (/k/ as in cat). The soft sound at the beginning of circle /s/ is a more advanced phonics skill.
  • Here are words your child can practice blending after completing this lesson (see previous list for all the words. These will just be additional):
    • Three Sounds: cat, can, cap, cot, cop,
    • Four Sounds: cast, cost, camp, can’t, fact
    • Challenge Word: fantastic (fan-tas-tic)
    • Sentences: Can a man sip pop? The cop can stop it.

More Resources & Activities

  • Sing the Letter Names & Letter Sounds with Jack Hartmann.
  • Rainbow Phonics Slideshows: Find the letter Cc slideshow and review the letter using the free slides from Rainbow Phonics!
  • Create Letter Cc: Build letter Cc out of playdough, cubes, ripped paper, Legos, and any other hands-on material.
  • Trace or Write Cc: Writing by hand improves letter recognition. Practice writing and tracing letter Cc on paper, on the sidewalk, or on a whiteboard.
  • Your child might be ready to start reading short decodable books. Here are a few free options:

Lesson 11: Letter D

Video Lesson

Coming soon!

Lesson Plan for Dd

  1. Do you remember these letters? (Ss, Aa, Tt, Pp, Ii, Nn, Mm, Ff, Oo, Cc) Review previous chants.
  2. Letter Name: This is the letter Dd.
  3. Letter Shape Upper & Lower: This is Uppercase D. This is lowercase d.
  4. Letter Sound: The letter d spells the sound /d/ like at the beginning of dog. Your turn! Say /d/
  5. Mouth Shape: Say /d/ and look at your mouth. What do you notice? I can see my teeth, and I feel my tongue behind my top teeth.
  6. Voicing: When I touch my throat and make this sound, I feel a vibration. That means my voice is turned on for this sound. I can’t stretch this sound. (voiced)
  7. Letter Formation: Here is how I write the uppercase D. Touch the top, pull down, jump up, and curve around. Here is how I write lowercase d. Touch the middle, circle back, jump up, and pull down. Your turn! Practice writing Dd.
  8. Phonemic Awareness (Initial Sounds): Listen for /d/ at the beginning of these words. Put your thumb up when you hear it! (Really enunciate the /d/!)
    • donut
    • duck
    • dog
    • door
  9. Identify Letter: Can you find the letter Dd? When you see it, say D!
  10. Build a Word: Grab your letter cards (tiles or magnets work, too). Mix up the letters (s, a, t, p, i, n, m, f, o, c, d). Let’s build the word mad. When I feel mad, I stomp my feet. Break apart the sounds. /m/ (pull down m) /a/ (pull down a) /d/ (pull down d). I built the word mad. Your turn!
  11. Read a Word: Point to each letter to read the word you built. Stretch the sound together slowly and then say it fast! mmmmmmaaaaaad, mad (repeat as needed). Good job! You just read the word mad! (Review words from the previous lessons.)
  12. Review: Say D /d/ dog. Your Turn! (D /d/ dog). Make sure to look and listen for letter D today!

Lesson Tips & Trick

  • The sound /d/ is quick and cannot be stretched (stop sound). It’s easy to add an extra /u/ to the end. Clip the sound as short as you can: /d/ not /duh/.
  • It is normal for beginning readers to confuse lowercase d and lowercase. This is why teaching the proper letter formation is important (how to write the letter.
  • Here are words your child can practice blending after completing this lesson (see previous list for all the words. These will just be additional):
    • Three Sounds: and, did, dad, sad, Don, Dan, nod, dot, dip, pad, cod, pod
    • Four Sounds: fond, sand, damp, pond, dips
    • Five Sounds: stand, admit, admin
    • Challenge Word: didn’t
    • Sentences: Did mom sip the pop? Dad can not nap.

More Resources & Activities

You Might Be Interested In

Blending Methods For Early Readers

The Top Predictors of Future Reading Success

Alphabet Mini Books

Alphabet Kit

Alphabet Arcs & Word Building Mats

Alphabet and Number Playdough Mats

Alphabet Stamping

6 Comments

    1. Hi Holly!
      Thank you for taking a look at my Learn to Read series. I will continue to grow this series over the next few months. I’ll have 26 videos following my alphabet scope & sequence. I hope these lessons will help families bridge the literacy gap in the first few years of schooling. 🙂

      Reply

    1. Hi Beth!
      Thank you for looking over the blog for my Learn to Read series. So far, the first lesson is up and available for the letter Ss. Today, I’ll be posting the video lesson for Letter Aa. After that, I’ll be working on the lesson for letter Tt. Grab the free checklist from the blog if you haven’t already. It includes free resources to go along with the lessons. I hope to post 2 lessons per week until the entire alphabet scope & sequence is completed! 🙂

      Reply

  3. Hi! Where do we find the letter formation cards you show in your videos? I see other ones on your store but not the ones you are using in the videos. Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Hi Jamie!
      I just finished prepping all of the large letters (with & without the formation arrows) I show in the video, and I will make them available for free soon! The little books have the letter formation as well. I also have all the phonemic awareness photos prepped, too! I will compile those ASAP! I’ve got a crazy March and April, but I’m hoping to have all the lessons done in the summer. Thank you for giving these lessons a go! 😍 Email me at Farmerlovesphonics@Gmail.com if you want those letters sooner. It takes time to get a listing up, but I can very easily attach the PDF to an email. 💜

      Reply

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