Spelling Lesson 3 (th)

Spelling Lesson 3 (th)

Follow the steps below to teach the spelling ‘th’.

Step 1: Revision

Revise the basic sounds and the tricky words ‘I’, ‘the’, ‘he’ and ‘she’. This can be done by using flashcards.

Step 2: Main Point

Revise the ‘the’ spelling of the voiced and unvoiced /th/ sounds/ to help the children feel the difference between voiced and unvoiced (voiceless) sounds, tell them to touch the front of their throats. With a voiced /th/ they will feel vibrations, whereas with an unvoiced /th/ they will not. A voiceless consonant is one that produces no vibration in the vocal cords.

Fun action for ‘th’: Children can pretend to be naughty clowns and stick out their tongues a little for voiced /th/, and further for unvoiced /th/. It is more fun if the teacher can make clown masks available for the class to use.

Afterwards, with the children, make a list of regular words which use /th/. Then, simple sentences can be made with each of these words orally. The words can be written down onto a big thought bubble shape, given in worksheet 3.1, which might then be used as a word bank for display and attached to the class notice board.

Examples:
Voiced /th/ : this that then
Unvoiced /th/ : thin thick three

Step 3: Spelling Sheet 3

Using the spelling sheet 3, children write inside the outlined 'th', using the correct letter formation. Then, in each box given in worksheet 3.2, they write a ‘th’ word and draw a picture for that word. Afterwards they colour the sheet.

Step 4: Dictation

Read aloud the words and sentences and ask the children to write them down. Refer to the dictation list given below. Read neither too fast nor too slow, so as to allow for effective listening.

Step 5: Spelling List

Read the spelling words with the children. As a class, say aloud the sounds in the regular words, and say the letter names for the tricky words ‘me’ and ‘we’. The longer word ‘thinking’ has two syllables and can be remembered as ‘think’ and ‘ing’ for spelling.

Dictation (words)

• this
• then
• with
• think
• think
• thick

Dictation (sentences)

• That moth is big.
• He is thin.
• She cut the cloth.

Spelling List

• us
• sad
• flag
• this
• with
• that
• thank
• me
• we
• thinking

Spelling Sheet 3 'th' Worksheet 3.1 ‘th’ Worksheet 3.2 ‘th’