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A game to share, a class to inspire

Choose a decoding strategy

EnglishYear 1LiteracyFree

Spot skipped sounds, check whole words and explain how you read.

What it is about

Distinguish sounding/blending from guessing by initial letter or picture.

Year 1 · 5–6 years · 30 challenges

Before you begin

  • Oral vocabulary, listening to stories and early sound awareness.

What the class will do

  1. Choose and explain · 30 challenges

    Choose a decoding strategy

    Distinguish sounding/blending from guessing by initial letter or picture.

Using it in class

Use taught single letters, short vowels, sh ch th ck ng and adjacent consonants. Teacher voices all sound examples and reads instructions; confirm these GPCs fit your programme. Use pure sounds, not device speech. This game supports strategy discussion, not a pronunciation score.

Give everyone time to think and discuss before one pupil acts at the board. The class explains and confirms together; hints and explanations stay until you move on.

Use an up-to-date browser on a computer connected to a whiteboard or shared display. Touch, mouse and keyboard; optional audio and reduced motion. No pupil accounts or personal devices.

Choose from 5 challenges up to the full activity. Discussion determines the duration: you set the pace.

A look inside the activities

Choose and explain

Read mat. A puppet says “moon” after seeing m. What should it do next?

  • Keep moon because it starts with m.
  • Read a and t, then blend all three sounds.
  • Cover the rest of the word.
Explanation and discussion

Mat has m, a and t. Checking all three stops the puppet choosing a word just because its first sound fits.

Teacher: voice m-a-t and blend the word.

Choose and explain

Read mum. A puppet says “muh-uh-muh”. What should the teacher model?

  • A louder guess
  • Pure sounds without extra uh after each m
  • The names of the letters only
Explanation and discussion

Using the m sound without an added uh helps the class blend m-u-m into mum. Letter names alone do not blend to the word.

Teacher: demonstrate and invite pupils to listen before joining in.

Choose and explain

Teacher: a pupil has checked every letter in best and blended it. What should they do now?

  • Say best smoothly and check it against the print.
  • Replace it with a word from a picture.
  • Keep only its first sound.
Explanation and discussion

A smooth reading of best keeps b-e-s-t in order. Checking the result against the print confirms that no sound was lost.

Teacher: read best once slowly and once smoothly.

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