Introduce phoneme segmenting

Activity Type: Introduce

Activity Form: Standard

Grade: K, 1

Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class

Length: 10 minutes

Materials: -

Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can segment it into separate phonemes ( "mat" -> /m/ + /a/ + /t/ ).

Items: sit, mad, Sam

What to do

Today, we’re going to say words like an alien from planet Paz. On Paz, people speak in a strange way; like we speak, but much more slowly. So instead of saying the word Sam, they say, Sssaaammm, and they touch their arm like this when they talk. Touch your shoulder as you make the first sound; your elbow as you make the second; and your hand as you make the third. Repeat, Sssaaammm. Hold each letter sound for about a second and don't pause between sounds.
The first word is sit. I’ll say it like they do on Paz. Listen: sssiiit. Touch your shoulder, elbow, and hand as you say each sound.
Now I’ll say the word and you say it like they do on Paz. Ready? Sit. (Students) Sssiiit. Remind students to touch their arm once for each sound.
Praise the students who segment correctly. For students who get a sound wrong, or who pause between sounds, don’t touch their arm once for each sound, or don’t do anything at all; model the correct answer and ask them to try on their own. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.
Next word: mad. (Students) Mmmaaad. Next word: Sam. (Students) Sssaaammm.