Daily Lesson Plan -- Lesson 26

Letter Zz

Subject: English | Class: Nursery | Series: Skillford

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Overview

This lesson introduces the letter "Zz", the last letter of the alphabet. Learners look at the big capital "Z" and small "z", say the sound /z/, and look at a picture of a zebra walking along a colourful zigzag path next to a giant zip. They name the labelled pictures, zero and zoo, and the zebra, zigzag and zip in the scene. On the second day they trace and write "Zz", capital first, then small, tick the pictures that begin with /z/, and colour the zebra. All talk is oral and playful.

Learning Outcomes (from textbook)

• Point to 'Zz' and say the sound /z/.
• Name three things that begin with the sound /z/.
• Trace and write 'Zz', capital first, then small.

Key Vocabulary

• zero
• zoo
• zebra
• zigzag
• zip

Speech-Bubble Sentence

• "The zebra is walking in a zigzag near the zip."

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Day 1: Look and Say (30 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook page 69
• Pictures of zoo animals (for example a polar bear, a camel, a lion, a penguin, an elephant)
• Picture cards (or the book pictures) of zero, zoo, zebra, zigzag, zip
• A coat or bag with a zip
• Building blocks and a small ball
• A tablet or screen for a short clip of a zebra walking

Circle Time Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Sit the learners in a circle and sing a hello song together
• Draw a big "Z" in the air with your finger: across, slant, across. Learners copy you
• Say the sound /z/: buzz like a bee, /z/ /z/ /z/
• Zip a coat up and down while learners buzz /z/

Meet the Letter (4 minutes)

• Open page 69 and point to the big "Zz"
• Say: "This is big Z. This is small z." Learners point and repeat
• Tell learners that Z is the very last letter of the alphabet

Look and Say (8 minutes)

• Point to the red number and say "zero". Learners repeat. Make a zero with your fingers
• Point to the zoo picture and say "zoo". Learners repeat
• Point to the big picture. Ask: "Who is this?" Say "zebra". Learners repeat
• Trace the coloured path with a finger and say "zigzag". Learners repeat
• Point to the giant zip and say "zip". Learners repeat
• Read the sentence in the red box: "The zebra is walking in a zigzag near the zip." Learners echo it
• Play "Point to it": say a /z/ word, learners point to it in the book

Little Explorers (5 minutes)

• Spread out the pictures of zoo animals
• Each learner picks one and says whether it is hot or cold where it lives
• Say together: "zoo, /z/ /z/ zoo"

Little Innovators (4 minutes)

• Play a short clip of a zebra walking
• Ask: "Do its stripes run up and down or side to side?" Let learners look closely: the stripes on its body go up and down, and the stripes on its legs go across
• Say together: "zebra, /z/ /z/ zebra"

Little Builders (3 minutes)

• Give out building blocks and lay a zigzag track together
• Roll a ball down it and watch it change direction
• Say "zigzag" each time the ball turns

Wrap-Up (1 minute)

• Ask: "What sound does zebra start with?" Learners say /z/
• Walk in a zigzag back to your seats

Differentiation

• Support: Let shy learners point to pictures instead of saying words; say the word with them
• Extension: Ask confident learners to find all five /z/ things on the page without help

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Day 2: Trace and Write (30 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook pages 69-70
• Pencils
• Black crayons

Warm-Up (4 minutes)

• Show page 69 again. Point and say: zero, zoo, zebra, zigzag, zip
• Say the sentence together: "The zebra is walking in a zigzag near the zip."
• Buzz /z/ three times

Little Thinkers (5 minutes)

• Look at the zoo picture on page 69
• Count the animals together: a monkey, an elephant and a giraffe. That is three
• Now count just the ones with four legs: the elephant and the giraffe. That is two. A monkey has two legs and two arms

Finger Tracing (4 minutes)

• Open page 70 and point to the big outline "Zz"
• Show the stroke for capital "Z": start at the top on the left and go across. Slant down to the bottom on the left. Then go across the bottom
• Small "z" is made the same way, but it is short
• Learners run a finger over the big "Z", then the small "z"

Trace and Write (8 minutes)

• Hand out pencils and check the grip
• Row 1: point to the black "Zz" at the start. Trace the dotted pairs, capital "Z" first, then small "z"
• Row 2: trace the dotted pairs on your own, saying "across, slant, across"
• Bottom row: confident learners write "Zz" on their own, capital first
• Praise every try: "What a zippy Z!"

Tick the /z/ Pictures (4 minutes)

• Point to the pictures at the bottom of page 70 one by one and name them: zip, crocodile, yak, zigzag
• Ask: "Does it begin with /z/?" Learners tick each /z/ picture
• Answers: the zip and the zigzag are ticked. The crocodile begins with /k/ and the yak begins with /y/

Little Artists (4 minutes)

• Colour the zebra's stripes at the top of page 70 in black
• As they work, ask: "What is this?" Learners say "zebra"

Wrap-Up (1 minute)

• Say /z/ one last time and draw "Z" and "z" in the air
• Sing the alphabet song together to celebrate finishing all the letters

Differentiation

• Support: Hold the learner's hand for the first two pairs; use a thick crayon
• Extension: Ask learners to think of one more /z/ thing they know

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Teaching Tips (from textbook)

• Guide learners to trace and write Zz, starting with a capital letter first, followed by a small letter.