1st Grade · Reading · RF.1.2.B, RF.1.3.A, RF.1.3

Consonants Lesson Plan for 1st Grade

A ready-to-teach consonants lesson for 1st Grade, built around beginning and ending consonant sounds, l, r and s blends, ending blends like nd and mp, and the digraphs sh, ch, th, wh and ck. Print the plan, print the practice pages, and you are set.

Approximately 47 minutes

Learning objective

Identify the beginning consonant sound and letter in words
Match pictures to their correct beginning consonant letters
Build letter-sound knowledge for consonants at the word start

Materials

Consonant Blends - Set 1
Ending Consonants - Set 1
Bl and Cl Words, Circle and Write
Read, Circle and Write Ch Words
Digraph sounds - The 'ch' sound
Consonant Blends - Set 2
Pencils, and whiteboard space for the modeled examples

Lesson steps

1. Build the background (5 min)
Say it before you show it. Give three spoken examples of consonants and have students repeat, then one that does not belong.
2. Read aloud and think aloud (I do) (10 min)
Write two examples of consonants while sounding them out slowly. Point to each part as you say it so the sound and the letters stay connected.
3. Guided practice (we do) (12 min)
Read a second passage together. This time students find the evidence and you record it. Push every answer back to the text with "what words told you that?"
4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)
Hand out "Consonant Blends - Set 1". Students read and answer on their own. Circulate and ask individuals to point to the line in the text that supports their answer.
5. Share and close (5 min)
Two or three students share an answer and the evidence behind it. Restate consonants one final time in the students' own words, not yours.

Check for understanding

Ask each student to point to the evidence in the text for one of their answers. A student who has the right answer but cannot find the line has not yet learned consonants.

Differentiation

Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild consonants with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.

Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own consonants problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand consonants.

Skills covered in this lesson

Beginning consonants · Ending consonants · Consonant blends · Consonant digraphs

Questions teachers ask about teaching consonants

What consonant skills do 1st graders learn?

They match consonant letters to sounds at the start and end of words, read blends where both sounds are heard, like st in stop (RF.1.2.B), and learn digraphs where two letters make one sound, like sh in ship (RF.1.3.A).

In what order should my child work through consonants?

Begin with single beginning and ending consonants, then l, r and s blends at the start of words, then ending blends like nd and mp. Digraphs such as sh and ch come next, with th, wh and ck after them.

How can I tell if my child hears an ending blend?

Ask your child to say the word slowly and stretch the end, as in nest. If only one sound comes out at the end, say the word together and tap a finger for each sound. The Circle the Ending Blend pages practice this with pictures like lamp and skunk.