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Sound of the Month

Sound Poem for /n/ — Who Did It?

By Jill Eggleton QSO, with teaching notes by Joy Allcock

The Sound Poem for /n/ is a structured literacy resource designed to engage every student and strengthen teacher knowledge. Written by celebrated author Jill Eggleton QSO and paired with structured activities by Joy Allcock M.Ed., these large-format poem cards connect spoken sounds to written print through rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful language learning.

"Daily exposure to the richness of poetry is a simple, effective way to fill a child's mind with language."

Jill Eggleton QSO
Explore Who Did It? with Your Students:

After reading Who Did It? aloud with your class:

  • Hunt for words with the /n/ sound at the start, inside or at the end (noodle, knots, gnawed, rhino, ant, on, mane, brain).
  • Circle the different /n/ spelling patterns in the printable version.
  • Talk about how words sound, how they are spelled, and what they mean.
  • Invite students to write their own stanza or poem using new /n/ words.
  • Illustrate the poem—boosting comprehension, creativity, and ownership of learning.

These rich, age-appropriate activities develop oral language, phonological and phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and print skills — all in a simple, engaging format that works.

Why Code-Ed Sound Poems Work

Code-Ed Sound Poems are more than reading activities—they are structured literacy experiences that build a wide range of foundational skills:

  • Develop phonological awareness through rhyme and rhythm
  • Explore oral language and vocabulary in rich contexts
  • Discover phoneme-grapheme relationships:
    • n - noodles, on, rhino, not, tiny, ant
    • nn - funny
    • gn - gnawed
    • kn - knots, know
  • Identify describing words and build an understanding of adjectives
  • Encourage student voice through creative verse writing.
  • Support print awareness and independent word work.
  • Boost confidence with every "pattern discovery."
Say It Correctly: The /n/ Sound

The /n/ sound is a nasal consonant. Nasal sounds are made by closing the mouth and allowing air to escape through the nose. The /n/ is:

  • Voiced: you can feel vibration in your vocal cords when you say it.
  • Continuous: it can be held without breaking airflow (e.g., nnnnn).

Correct modelling matters. Avoid cutting it short or adding a schwa (e.g., "nuh" instead of a clean "nnn"). Encourage children to sustain the sound: nnnn.

Common confusions:

  • With /m/, another nasal sound. Both are voiced and continuous, but /m/ is made with the lips closed, while /n/ is made with the tongue behind the top teeth.
  • With /ng/ as in sing, since both sounds are nasal.

Teaching tip: Model the sound by placing your tongue behind your top teeth and sustaining nnnn. Ask students to touch their throat to feel the vibration, then gently pinch their noses—they'll notice that the sound stops because the nasal passage must remain open.

Animal mnemonic: Numbat — a playful way to anchor the /n/ sound in memory.

Listen to the /n/ sound. Practising this regularly helps students map sounds to letters with accuracy.

Visit the Pronunciation Guide to hear all the sounds of English.
When to Use Sound Poems

Set aside just 10 minutes before your writing block. Sound Poems are the perfect warm-up to:

  • Build phonological and phonemic awareness.
  • Strengthen oral language.
  • Connect sounds to print in ways that directly support writing.
What's Included
  • Digital Sound Poem Who Did It?
  • Downloadable Teacher Notes with lesson guidance
  • Blackline Masters (BLM) for student use
  • Activities to support:
    • Isolating and pronouncing phonemes
    • Segmenting syllables
    • Mapping phonemes to graphemes
    • Exploring adjectives, synonyms, and descriptive language
    • Developing fluency, expression, and vocabulary

Project it for whole-class learning or use in small groups. Either way, Sound Poems build momentum for both phonics and writing.

Place the Sound Poem image here

Extend the Learning

Sound Poems are flexible for use across Year 2 and beyond. They're ideal for:

  • Building confidence with tricky spelling patterns.
  • Reinforcing sound-to-print connections.
  • Encouraging independent reading and writing.
  • Giving teachers a joyful, structured warm-up that flows naturally into writing.
Aligned to Structured Literacy

Code-Ed Sound Poems are grounded in the Science of Reading and structured literacy principles. They build essential skills through:

  • Explicit teaching
  • Systematic instruction
  • Oral language and vocabulary growth
  • Phoneme-grapheme mapping
  • Developing phonemic awareness
  • Decoding and encoding strategies
  • Daily sound-to-print discovery

Structured. Engaging. Joyful.

Sound Poem /n/ is part of The Code Is the Key: Year 2 set, but is also available as a standalone resource.

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Educators want results—and this approach delivers

The Code-Ed approach is supported by independent research demonstrating measurable gains in reading and spelling achievement.

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Globally recognised educators and researchers support this approach as effective for all students.
Prof. James Chapman
Dr. John Hattie
Dean Pedro Noguera

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