Grade 2 · Lesson 2 — Tall, small, and tail — all 26 letters sorted

Unit 0 · handwriting · blocked · 30 min · 17 slides · Launch → I do → We do → Read → You do → Closure

Anchor to leave them with: Tall to the top, small to the middle, tails below.

Objective Sort every letter of the alphabet into tall, small or tail, and size each correctly.

Smallest piece Every letter belongs to one of three heights, and the height is what makes writing readable at speed.

Spot test “Which zone does this letter live in?”

Why that test works By Grade 2 letters are FORMED correctly and SIZED wrongly — a small letter drawn tall, a tail that never crosses the line. Naming three zones gives a child something to check that is visible on the page, where 'write neatly' gives them nothing.

Why — in your own words Everything in creation was made in a measure. Letters have their measure too.

Practice mode blocked

If it breaks Remedial 23 — the alphabet sorted into three columns

Vocabulary — pre-pointed T3 ZONE = how tall a letter should be

Materials Mini-whiteboard + pen per student · Printed student sheet (one each) · Deck — 17 slides · Teaching page — printed at the top of the sheet (file no. 41) · Remedial 23 — the alphabet sorted into three columns

The lesson, slide by slide

Slide — what is on it	What you SAY	What happens, and why
Slide 1 LAUNCH Writing — Day 2	(nothing yet — this is up as they come in and settle)	Have Writing — Day 2 up before they enter. Say nothing about it. Same slide every lesson, number only changes. It marks the transition into writing before you speak, which saves you having to. Students: See it on the way in. Know writing is next.
Slide 2 LAUNCH Tall, small, and tail — all 26 letters sorted	“This is how we set our hand and our page up to write.”	CONTEXT — say where this lesson sits: what it follows, and what it is part of. One sentence. The children should know what kind of work is starting. Context, not a hook. A child who knows what KIND of lesson this is spends no attention working it out. Students: Listen. Orient.
Slide 3 LAUNCH Today ›› Launch I Do We Do Read You Do Closure	“Here is what we will do today.”	Point to Launch once. Do not explain the others. · Retrieval on MWB · 3-5 min Mini-whiteboards: Retrieval on MWB Students: Look.
Slide 4 LAUNCH Sort every letter of the alphabet into tall, small or tail, and size each correctly.	“Sort every letter of the alphabet into tall, small or tail, and size each correctly.”	PURPOSE — say it slowly, in these words. The teacher objective in the header is for you; this is the version the class hears. Never read a teacher objective to children. The version in the brief header is written for you and is too long and too abstract to say to a class; this one is what they hear. Students: Listen.
No slide LAUNCH WHY — SAY IT ten seconds, off screen, in your own words	“Everything in creation was made in a measure. Letters have their measure too.”	Why this matters. Say it, do not read it. Ten seconds, then move on. Your words, not these. This is the one beat of the lesson that should sound like you mean it rather than like it is written down. Students: Listen.
Slide 5 LAUNCH Words we will use T3 ZONE = how tall a letter should be	“Two words we need before we start.”	Read each, point to it, move on. Do not drill them here. Pre-pointed vocabulary. Naming them now stops the lesson stalling later on a word that was never the point. Students: Listen.
Slide 6 LAUNCH What we will do Every letter belongs to one of three heights, and the height is what makes writing readable at speed.	“Every letter belongs to one of three heights, and the height is what makes writing readable at speed.”	Click once per line. Do not elaborate. Students: Listen.
Slide 7 I DO Today Launch ›› I Do We Do Read You Do Closure	“Now we i do.”	Point to I Do once. Do not explain the others. · 3-4 min Mini-whiteboards: NOT here — they watch, they do not write. Writing during I DO is how the model gets missed. Students: Look.
No slide I DO (board — build the VIP, then leave it up)	(you are narrating each stage as you build it)	Build on the BOARD, not the slide. Teacher draws the three zones and places b, a and g into them, naming which zone each occupies and why. Then the whole alphabet goes up and the class sorts it. Then leave it up for the whole lesson. One click per step. The footsteps are never erased — the same strip is printed at the top of their sheet, so come back to it if anyone stalls. Students: Watch it being built. It stays there to look at.
Slide 8 I DO The test “Which zone does this letter live in?”	“Here is the question we ask ourselves: “Which zone does this letter live in?””	Say it, then apply it aloud to the example already on the board. WHY IT WORKS — you will be asked: By Grade 2 letters are FORMED correctly and SIZED wrongly — a small letter drawn tall, a tail that never crosses the line. Naming three zones gives a child something to check that is visible on the page, where 'write neatly' gives them nothing. Students: Listen, then say the test back.
Slide 9 WE DO Today Launch I Do ›› We Do Read You Do Closure	“Now we we do.”	Point to We Do once. Do not explain the others. · PRIMARY MWB use · 5-6 min Mini-whiteboards: PRIMARY MWB use Students: Look.
Slide 10 WE DO Together	“Now with me.”	Class sorts all 26 by calling the zone as the teacher points: tall (b d f h k l t), small (a c e i m n o r s u v w x z), tail (g j p q y). Teacher writes each into its zone as it is called. Take answers from boards, not from hands — that is how you see all thirty. Students: Answer on boards.
Slide 11 READ Today Launch I Do We Do ›› Read You Do Closure	“Now we read.”	Point to Read once. Do not explain the others. Mini-whiteboards: NOT here — they watch, they do not write. Writing during I DO is how the model gets missed. Students: Look.
Slide 12 READ The teaching page — printed at the top of today's sheet	“Look at the top of your sheet. Read it with me.”	Read it with them — FASE or teacher read-aloud, never round robin. Stop at the worked example and let them look at it. NO BOOK. This grade works from printed sheets, and the teaching page is the top of the sheet already in front of them. The page number is for YOUR filing — it is how these pages accumulate into a Grade 2 volume later — and it is not said aloud. Students: Follow along. Read when asked.
Slide 13 YOU DO Today Launch I Do We Do Read ›› You Do Closure	“Now we you do.”	Point to You Do once. Do not explain the others. · Written on the sheet · 4-5 min Mini-whiteboards: Written on the sheet Students: Look.
Slide 14 YOU DO Copy the alphabet a to z, sizing each letter to its zone. Every tail must cross below the line.	“Copy the alphabet a to z, sizing each letter to its zone. Every tail must cross below the line.”	Set them off. Walk the rows. Correct the grip and the setup, not the content, in the first minute. Students: Work in the notebook.
Slide 15 CLOSURE Today Launch I Do We Do Read You Do ›› Closure	“Now we closure.”	Point to Closure once. Do not explain the others. · Display answers on MWB · 2-3 min Mini-whiteboards: Display answers on MWB Students: Look.
Slide 16 CLOSURE Point to a tail letter that crosses the line.	“Point to a tail letter that crosses the line.”	Exit Direction. Take it from every child before anyone stands. It belongs to today's content — it is how you know who has it. Students: Answer, then pack away.
Slide 17 CLOSURE Tall to the top, small to the middle, tails below.	“Tall to the top, small to the middle, tails below.”	Say it once. Leave it on screen as they pack away. The anchor — the one line you want them to still have tomorrow. Students: Hear it. Repeat it if asked.

As-Suffah Academy · Writing · run sheet