Letters M and N | Beginner phonics lesson

This is Lesson 9 of 16 in Phonics Level 1: The Alphabet. Students meet the letters M and N, trace them, sort uppercase from lowercase, and hear each letter’s sound before learning four picture words per letter. Songs, chants, picture hunts and a fast matching game keep the practice moving, and the lesson closes with a mixed M and N review.

Teacher note

Runs 30 to 50 minutes with a teacher, or around 20 minutes self-paced. It works the same on KoalaGo, Zoom, a classroom smartboard or a home laptop. Tic-Tac-Toe and a whiteboard notepad sit one click away on every slide, so you can reset a wandering student without leaving the lesson.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, students can:

• Recognize and trace uppercase and lowercase M and N

• Say the /m/ and /n/ sounds and hear them at the start of a word

• Name and write eight M and N words: mouse, money, milk, monkey, nose, nest, net, nut

This lesson covers

• Letter introduction and uppercase/lowercase sort for M and N

• Letter tracing

• Sound slides for /m/ and /n/, with a song for each letter

• Four new picture words per letter, a picture match and a write-the-words task

• A listen-and-sing chant for each letter

• Picture hunts: tap the M words, find the N words

• Mixed M and N practice and a scored spot-the-match game

Also included: student feedback form for parents, Tic-Tac-Toe brain break, whiteboard notepad, and a printable homework workbook.

Suitable for: online ESL teachers, classroom teachers, homeschool families and self-paced young learners (Pre-A1, ages 4 to 7).

FAQ 

What words does this phonics lesson teach? Eight picture words: mouse, money, milk and monkey for M, and nose, nest, net and nut for N.

Can my child do this lesson without a teacher? Yes. The lesson is fully interactive, so students can work through it on their own in around 20 minutes as homework or independent practice.

Do students need their own account? No. The teacher or parent opens the lesson and shares the screen, or passes the device to the child.

What comes before and after this lesson? Lesson 8 reviews J, K and L. Lesson 10 reviews M, N and O and adds the sight words your, no and yes.