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Superheroes

Objectives

To build reading stamina by reading for longer.

To spell verb forms ending in ‘-ing’.

Resources

Laptop, PC or tablet | Mini whiteboard and pen | Pencils | Pens

Vocabulary

Words in bold can be found in the 📄 Year 1 English Glossary

Today's Lesson

Introduction

Watch this step's introductory video with your student.

What to Get Ready

Make sure you have access to your student's library of familiar books and are logged in to Big Cat Books.

Select six words from the 📄 Word Bank and write these onto 📄 blank flashcards.

Print the 📄 Word Group Flashcards, trim the flashcards and have those needed for today’s lesson ready to use (see New Learning).

Print out the 📄 Word Group Sentences Step 36.

Print out 📄 Superhero pictures.

Phonics - Quick Fire!

Quick reading of words from **📄 Word Bank**written on flashcards.

Quick reading of a selection of the Word Groupwords learnt so far.

Phonics - New Learning

Write the letters ‘si’ on the mini whiteboard. Tell your student that in a few words the letters ‘si’ make the sound ‘sh’ (as in ‘tension’).

Say, ‘You have a group of four words to learn. Keep the sound ‘sh’ in your head as you read them.’

Show your student the flashcards with the letters ‘si’ in them – ‘tension’, ‘mansion’, ‘pension’, ‘expansion’.

Ask your student to read the words quickly, one at a time. You can go through the words two or three times.

Phonics - Blend to Read

Show your student today’s sentences on the📄 Word Group Sentences Step 36. Show the sentences one at a time by placing a blank sheet of paper on top of the sentences below. Ask your student to read each sentence.

Phonics - Split to Spell

Ask your student to write each of today’s Word Groupwords into a sentence and then read it back to you. Use the mini whiteboard for this activity.

For example: The family lived in a mansion.

Phonics - Extra Support

Have the flashcards on the table for your student to refer to if they need to. Try to encourage them to look at the flashcard but to turn it over before they write the word so that they write the word from memory.

Phonics - Extra Challenge

Challenge your student to make up a silly sentence with lots of the Word Groupwords in.

Phonics - Apply

Ask your student to write the following words onto the mini whiteboard:

suspension | mansions

Keep the 📄 Word Group Flashcards used in today’s lesson and add them into the Quick-fire! activity in the next lesson.

Reading & Writing - Read

Read last lesson’s choice from Big Cat Books. Ask your student to read ‘like a storyteller’, making the reading sound smooth and interesting. Tell them to read at a good pace, not too fast and not too slow.

Now choose a new book from Big Cat Books to read together. Take some time to answer the questions at the back of the book.

Reading & Writing - Extra Challenge

Ask your student to choose a page from the text to read to you again.

Say, ‘Use your voice to make the reading sound interesting.’

Reading & Writing - Extra Support

Share the reading with your student but make sure they are reading at least 4-5 pages themselves in order to build reading stamina.

Reading & Writing - What to Notice

Is your student able to read at an improved pace while also listening to how their reading sounds, checking for mistakes? Praise them for noticing and attempting to correct mistakes.

Say, ‘Let’s make the next page even quicker,’ if their pace needs to improve.

Reading & Writing - Main Activity

Then show them 📄 Superhero pictures. Ask your student if there are any that they recognise and if they remember what their superpowers are.

Explain that this step your student will invent their very own brand-new superhero and decide on its superpower, name and appearance. They are going to need to remember all of the clever writing tricks they have learned over the last 2 steps to help them with their Superhero writing.

Suggest some superpowers, using the ‘-ing’ form of verbs to name the power. You may want to read 📄 Summary of Spelling Rules.

For example:

Rescuing animals in trouble, saving children in danger, trapping robbers.

Encourage your student to talk to you about their superhero, whilst you make notes about that they say.

Ask questions to extend their thinking, such as:

What will they be called?
What will their special powers be?
What might they be able to do to help people?

As you write notes about their ideas, talk to them about words ending in ‘*-*ing’.

For example, you could ask:

Does your superhero like pushing through walls?
Is your superhero good at zooming through the sea?

Finish the discussion by asking your student to write a sentence or two about their superhero.

For example:

Sonic Girl loves flying through clouds. She is great at zapping baddies.

Remind them of the spelling rules for adding ‘-ing’.

For example, double a single consonant (run/running) and drop the ‘-e’ (save/saving).

Reading & Writing - What to Notice

While they are doing this activity, remember to praise your student for the skills they are using.

For example:

‘You are thinking about amazing ideas and what special powers your superhero could have.’

‘You are using the spelling rule for ‘-ing’ correctly. Well done!’

Handwriting and Spelling

Children’s handwriting develops at different times. Have a close look at your student's recent writing. Are there letter shapes that they still need to work on? If there are, please continue to choose one or two letters a day this step to focus on.

You may find your student needs to practise letters shapes they find tricky many times before they feel confident. Remember to use the 📄 Letter Formation Ideas resource.

Please revisit any spellings from Year 1 which you feel your student may need to practise more. These could be words that you see them misspelling still in their independent writing.

During this step, please can you:

Encourage your student to read through their writing to make sure they have spelt words correctly.

Words they need to look out for are:

all, are, my, her, went, it’s, from, children, just, help

Ask them to write a sentence with one of these words in it.
Ask them to look for these words in one of their reading or bedtime books.