Some pupils need more support to segment and blend unfamiliar words and to connect speech sounds with letters.

A short rehearsal before the class reads can help them access the text. It does not replace a full phonics intervention where one is needed.

Select essential words

Choose two or three words from the upcoming text that pupils must recognise to follow the lesson. Select words that reveal a useful sound-letter pattern or syllable structure. For example, from a story set in a storm, thunder (th-u-n-d-er) and lightning (light-ning, marking igh).

Rehearse before the class reads

1. Say the word and explain its meaning briefly.

2. Break it into sounds or syllables.

3. Mark one useful sound-letter pattern.

4. Ask each pupil to blend and read the word independently.

5. Correct an important decoding error immediately.

6. Keep the words visible while the class reads.

This takes two or three minutes, for example while the class settles or completes a starter, or with a teaching assistant where there is one.

Use the same terminology as the school's phonics teaching. Do not encourage guessing from pictures or context in place of decoding.

Check classroom use

Notice whether the pupil recognises the word in the text and can return to it without another full explanation. Revisit it briefly after a delay, then remove the prompt once secure.

Know when more is needed

This preparation addresses a small number of current words. It is not a systematic phonics programme. Persistent difficulty with unfamiliar-word reading, blending, segmenting or spelling should prompt a closer phonics check and structured support.

Further guidance

The DfE list of validated phonics programmes and EEF: Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2 provide wider context for systematic teaching.