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Program 101-1, Week 7

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Week 7, Day 1

Introduce middle sound segmenting (Mico version): cat, cup, dog, nose, mop, van, fish, foot, pen, moon, nut, bed

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: A hand puppet--ours is called Mico.
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say its middle sound ( "mat" -> /a/ ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Select 12 picture cards for this activity. Any pictures will do, but note that (i) some teachers like to begin with sounds for which students have already learned the letter-sound correspondence (so that students are comfortable physically producing the sound); (ii) it may help not to use too many different sounds at first; (iii) use words with three phonemes so that students can easily figure out which is the middle sound.
  2. First make sure students know the names of the pictures by going through the deck, asking students to name the pictures. If they come up with a name other than the one you are looking for, correct them and put the card in a separate pile. Then go through this pile and repeat until students can name all the pictures correctly.
  3. Lay out three picture cards to start the activity. We’ll assume they are bag, cup, and dog, but they can be anything you choose.
  4. Bring out the puppet. Here’s Mico. Today he wants to play a game with you. He’s going to say a sound, and you have to find the word that has the same sound in the middle. My turn first. This is bag, cup, dog. Point to each picture card in turn. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that has /u/ in the middle. What’s that? /u/ like hut. Which word has /u/ in the middle? Cup! Cup has /u/ in the middle: cuuup. Say it slowly like I just did. Students: cuuup. Can you hear the /u/?
  5. Replace the 3 picture cards with (for example) nose, mop, and van. Okay, your turn. This is nose, mop, van. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that has /a/ in the middle. What’s that? /a/ like in cat. Which word has /a/ in the middle? Students: van. Right! Van has /a/ in the middle: vvvaaan. Say it slowly like I just did. Students: vvvaaan.
  6. Continue with other sets of 3 picture cards. Watch for students who are not responding and give them an individual turn.
  7. If the activity is too difficult for a student, reduce the number of picture cards to 2 until the student can select the correct picture on 3 consecutive tries. Then increase the set back to 3 cards.
  8. Once students have mastered the three card activity, increase the number of picture cards to 4, then 6, then all 12 pictures, so they are selecting 1 card from 12 on Mico’s direction.
  9. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.

Related activities


Introduce /g/

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials:

Goal: Given a printed letter, the student can say its sound ( a -> /a/ )
Items: g

What to do

  1. Write the letter g on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
  2. The sound for this letter is /g/. (Say the /g/ sound as in got.) When you say /g/, you open your mouth, the back of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, and your voice box is on: /g/. Touch your throat to make sure your voice box is on when you say it: /g/. What's the sound?
  3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
  4. We use the /g/ sound to begin words like good, girl, give, grow, great. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /g/?
  5. Erase g. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be g and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to g, such as k and o.
  6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not g), point to g and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to g. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities


Letter sound fluency: /a/ .. /u/

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1
Group Size: Small Group
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Index card size letters cards
Goal: Given index card size letter cards, students will be able to discriminate between each letter sound
Items: All letter sounds learned so far

What to do

  1. Assemble a stack of index cards with letters printed on them. The cards should be a mix of all letters learned so far, weighted toward the most recently learned letters.
  2. Now let's play a game. We're going to try to go through this stack of cards as fast as we can, saying the sound of the letter on each card. Let's see how fast we can go. My turn first.
  3. Model taking the top card of the stack, showing it to the students, and saying the sound of the letter after a pause. Continue through the stack.
  4. Do you think you can go faster than I did? Call on a single student in the group, starting with a student you think may be slower. Show the first card: What's the sound of this letter? If the student is incorrect, correct him, have him repeat your answer, and move to the next card. Praise correct answers.
  5. Select the next quicker student and repeat until all students in the group have worked through the stack.
  6. Okay, now let's go faster. Shuffle the stack of cards and repeat with students in the same order, but encourage them to go faster.
  7. If time and focus allow, shuffle and repeat at an even faster pace.
  8. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an Activity Log.


Related activities

About this activity


Introduce writing a letter: g

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student; Letter Formation Guide
Goal: Given a printed letter, the student writes it ( a -> |a| )
Items: The letter whose sound students learned most recently

What to do

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

  1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
  2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
  3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
  4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
  5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
  6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
  7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

Related activities


Letter writing fluency: o

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student
Goal: Given a letter name, the student writes it ( "a" -> |a| )
Items: Any written letter learned so far

What to do

  1. Today, I want you to write a letter as many times as you can in one minute. I'm going to time the minute. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seat pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
  2. Ready? The letter I want you to write is: name a letter the students know how to write.
  3. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, ask them to do the same and continue.
  4. When the minute is up say: That's one minute, you can stop. Hold up your paper so I can see what you wrote. In an Activity log, make a note of students who have written far fewer letters than the rest of the group. You will need to give them more letter writing practice.

Related activities


Sounding out accuracy: VC, C~VC: it, sat, fat, rat, fit

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


Related activities


Week 7, Day 2

Middle sound segmenting accuracy (Mico version): lock, meat, mix, nail, fox, sun, van, rat, six, dice, zack, vine

Activity Type: Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: A hand puppet--ours is called Mico.
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say its middle sound ( "mat" -> /a/ ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Select 12 picture cards for this activity. Any pictures will do. As before, make sure the students know the expected name for each picture by going through the deck, multiple times if necessary.
  2. Lay out 3 picture cards to start the activity. We’ll assume they are bag, cup, and dog, but they can be anything you choose.
  3. Bring out the puppet. Here’s Mico. Today he wants to play a game with you. He’s going to say a sound, and you have to find the word that has the same sound in the middle. My turn first. This is bag, cup, dog. Point to each picture card in turn. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that has /u/ in the middle. What’s that? /u/ like hut. Which word has /u/ in the middle? Cup! Cup has /u/ in the middle: cuuup. Say it slowly like I just did. Students: cuuup. Can you hear the /u/?
  4. Replace the 3 picture cards with (for example) nose, mop, and van. Okay, your turn. This is nose, mop, van. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that has /a/ in the middle. What’s that? /a/ like in cat. Which word has /a/ in the middle? Students: van. Right! Pan has /a/ in the middle: vvvaaan. Say it slowly like I just did. Students: vvvaaan.
  5. Continue with other sets of 3 picture cards. Watch for students who are not responding and give them an individual turn.
  6. Once students have mastered the 3-card activity, increase the number of picture cards to 4, then 6, then all 12 pictures, so they are selecting 1 card from 12 on Mico’s direction.

Related activities


Reintroduce /g/

Activity Type: Reintroduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials:

Goal: Given a printed letter, the student can say its sound ( a -> /a/ )
Items: g

What to do

  1. Write the letter g on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
  2. Let's review the sound for this letter. Anyone: what's the sound? Good: /g/. (Say the /g/ sound as in got.) Remember, when you say /g/, you open your mouth, the back of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, and your voice box is on: /g/. Touch your throat to make sure your voice box is on when you say it: /g/. What's the sound?
  3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
  4. We use the /g/ sound to begin words like good, girl, give, grow, great. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /g/?
  5. Erase g. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be g and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to g, such as i and w.
  6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not g), point to g and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to g. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities


Letter sound accuracy: /a/ .. /g/

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials:

  • Multiple copies of letter cards (print them here)
  • One container, such as a hat or bag, for every eight students in the group
Goal: Given printed letters, the student can discriminate between them and say the sound of each ( a -> /a/ )
Items: All letter sounds learned so far

What to do

  1. Put a mix of letter cards in a hat or bag that students will pass around the classroom; draw a card from it, and say the sound. The cards should be a mix of all letters learned so far, weighted towards the most recently learned letters. You will need at least one bag for every eight or so students in the group, else students will quickly become distracted.
  2. (You can also do this activity with half the cards showing the single most recently learned letter, say m, and the other half showing letters the students have not yet learned, such as x. In that version of the activity, you ask students to say /m/ or not /m/, depending on what letter they draw.)
  3. Now let’s play a game. We’re going to take turns to pull a card from this bag and say the sound of the letter. My turn first.
  4. Draw a card; pause; show the letter to the students and say its sound.
  5. Then, I put the card back in the bag and pass it to my neighbor. Pass the bag to a student who is likely to get the answer correctly. Make sure they show the card to the other students. Remind them to put the card back and shake the bag; then, pass it to the next student.
  6. As soon as it's clear that students get the idea, you can introduce the other bags to speed things up. Each time, draw the first card yourself. Circulate around the group making sure everyone is performing the activity correctly.
  7. If a student doesn’t know a card, say it for him and ask him to say it. Then, have him draw another card and try again. If he continues to have trouble, make a note in an Activity Log and move on. Try to make sure the last letter he draws before passing the bag on is one he names correctly and praise him strongly.
  8. Keep going until everyone has had at least one turn.

Related activities


Introduce writing a letter: g

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student; Letter Formation Guide
Goal: Given a printed letter, the student writes it ( a -> |a| )
Items: The letter whose sound students learned most recently

What to do

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

  1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
  2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
  3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
  4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
  5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
  6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
  7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

Related activities


Letter writing accuracy: a m s t i f r o d u g

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student
Goal: Given a letter name, the student writes it ( "a" -> |a| )
Items: All written letters learned so far

What to do

  1. I'm going to name some letters and I want you to write them. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seats pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
  2. Ready? The first letter is: name a letter the students know how to write. Start with a relatively easy letter.
  3. When everyone has finished writing, say: Hold up your paper so I can see what's your letter. If students have trouble writing the letter, model how to write it on the board; then, repeat that letter for the whole group.
  4. Continue with other letters. Mix recently introduced letters with earlier letters, repeating recent letters more frequently. For example, if students know how to write a, m, s and you just taught them t, you might ask them to write: m, t, a, t, s, m, t.
  5. If multiple students are struggling, go back to simpler letters and build back to the ones they are struggling with. You may need to model a difficult letter or go back to the Introduce writing a letter activity for that letter.
  6. If students are able to write each letter you name confidently, try dictating multiple letters before asking them to show their work.
  7. As a variation on this activity, write all the letters that students know on the board, and invite a student to choose what letter everyone should write.


Related activities


Sounding out accuracy: VC, C~VC: mat, mud, Sid, rod, sum

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


Related activities


Week 7, Day 3

Middle sound segmenting accuracy (Mico version): bird, wave, pig, vet, vase, box, can, coat, door, gate, horse, nine

Activity Type: Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: A hand puppet--ours is called Mico.
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say its middle sound ( "mat" -> /a/ ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Select 12 picture cards for this activity. Any pictures will do. As before, make sure the students know the expected name for each picture by going through the deck, multiple times if necessary.
  2. Lay out 3 picture cards to start the activity. We’ll assume they are bag, cup, and dog, but they can be anything you choose.
  3. Bring out the puppet. Here’s Mico. Today he wants to play a game with you. He’s going to say a sound, and you have to find the word that has the same sound in the middle. My turn first. This is bag, cup, dog. Point to each picture card in turn. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that has /u/ in the middle. What’s that? /u/ like hut. Which word has /u/ in the middle? Cup! Cup has /u/ in the middle: cuuup. Say it slowly like I just did. Students: cuuup. Can you hear the /u/?
  4. Replace the 3 picture cards with (for example) nose, mop, and van. Okay, your turn. This is nose, mop, van. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that has /a/ in the middle. What’s that? /a/ like in cat. Which word has /a/ in the middle? Students: van. Right! Pan has /a/ in the middle: vvvaaan. Say it slowly like I just did. Students: vvvaaan.
  5. Continue with other sets of 3 picture cards. Watch for students who are not responding and give them an individual turn.
  6. Once students have mastered the 3-card activity, increase the number of picture cards to 4, then 6, then all 12 pictures, so they are selecting 1 card from 12 on Mico’s direction.

Related activities


Introduce /c/

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials:

Goal: Given a printed letter, the student can say its sound ( a -> /a/ )
Items: c

What to do

  1. Write the letter c on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
  2. The sound for this letter is /c/. (Say the /c/ sound as in cat.) When you say /c/, you open your mouth, the back of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, and you blow gently: /c/. What's the sound?
  3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
  4. We use the /c/ sound to begin words like car, call, carry, clean, cold. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /c/?
  5. Erase c. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be c and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to c, such as l and s.
  6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not c), point to c and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to c. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities


Letter sound fluency: /a/ .. /g/

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1
Group Size: Small Group
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Index card size letters cards
Goal: Given index card size letter cards, students will be able to discriminate between each letter sound
Items: All letter sounds learned so far

What to do

  1. Assemble a stack of index cards with letters printed on them. The cards should be a mix of all letters learned so far, weighted toward the most recently learned letters.
  2. Now let's play a game. We're going to try to go through this stack of cards as fast as we can, saying the sound of the letter on each card. Let's see how fast we can go. My turn first.
  3. Model taking the top card of the stack, showing it to the students, and saying the sound of the letter after a pause. Continue through the stack.
  4. Do you think you can go faster than I did? Call on a single student in the group, starting with a student you think may be slower. Show the first card: What's the sound of this letter? If the student is incorrect, correct him, have him repeat your answer, and move to the next card. Praise correct answers.
  5. Select the next quicker student and repeat until all students in the group have worked through the stack.
  6. Okay, now let's go faster. Shuffle the stack of cards and repeat with students in the same order, but encourage them to go faster.
  7. If time and focus allow, shuffle and repeat at an even faster pace.
  8. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an Activity Log.


Related activities

About this activity


Introduce writing a letter: c

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student; Letter Formation Guide
Goal: Given a printed letter, the student writes it ( a -> |a| )
Items: The letter whose sound students learned most recently

What to do

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

  1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
  2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
  3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
  4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
  5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
  6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
  7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

Related activities


Letter writing fluency: d

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student
Goal: Given a letter name, the student writes it ( "a" -> |a| )
Items: Any written letter learned so far

What to do

  1. Today, I want you to write a letter as many times as you can in one minute. I'm going to time the minute. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seat pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
  2. Ready? The letter I want you to write is: name a letter the students know how to write.
  3. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, ask them to do the same and continue.
  4. When the minute is up say: That's one minute, you can stop. Hold up your paper so I can see what you wrote. In an Activity log, make a note of students who have written far fewer letters than the rest of the group. You will need to give them more letter writing practice.

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Sounding out accuracy: VC, C~VC: us, at, if, fit, mud

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


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Week 7, Day 4

Last sound segmenting accuracy (Mico version): lock, mix, nest, nut, rat, saw, socks, six, bird, can, koala, snail

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Accuracy
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: A hand puppet--ours is called Mico.
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say its last sound ( "mat" -> /t/ ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Select 12 picture cards for this activity. Any pictures will do. As before, make sure the students know the expected name for each picture by going through the deck, multiple times if necessary.
  2. Lay out 3 picture cards to start the activity. We’ll assume they are coat, egg, and jellyfish, but they can be anything you choose.
  3. Bring out the puppet. Here’s Mico. Today he wants to play a game with you. He’s going to say a sound, and you have to find the word that ends with the same sound. My turn first. This is coat, egg, jellyfish. Point to each picture card in turn. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that ends with /t/. What’s that? /t/ like ten. Which word ends with /t/? Coat! Coat ends with /t/: coooat. Say is slowly like I just did. Students: coooat. Can you hear the /t/?
  4. Replace the 3 picture cards with (for example) nose, lock, and igloo. Okay, your turn. This is nose, lock, igloo. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that ends with /oo/. What’s that? /oo/ like in mooon. Which word ends with /oo/? Students: igloo. Right! Igloo ends with /oo/: iglooo. Say it slowly like I just did. Students: iglooo.
  5. Continue with other sets of 3 picture cards. Watch for students who are not responding and give them an individual turn.
  6. Once students have mastered the 3-card activity, increase the number of picture cards to 4, then 6, then all 12 pictures, so they are selecting 1 card from 12 on Mico’s direction.

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Reintroduce /c/

Activity Type: Reintroduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials:

Goal: Given a printed letter, the student can say its sound ( a -> /a/ )
Items: c

What to do

  1. Write the letter c on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
  2. Let's review the sound for this letter. Anyone: what's the sound? Good: /c/. (Say the /c/ sound as in cat.) Remember, when you say /c/, you open your mouth, the back of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, and you blow gently: /c/. What's the sound?
  3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
  4. We use the /c/ sound to begin words like car, call, carry, clean, cold. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /c/?
  5. Erase c. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be c and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to c, such as x and i.
  6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not c), point to c and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to c. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

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Letter sound accuracy: /a/ .. /c/

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials:

  • Multiple copies of letter cards (print them here)
  • One container, such as a hat or bag, for every eight students in the group
Goal: Given printed letters, the student can discriminate between them and say the sound of each ( a -> /a/ )
Items: All letter sounds learned so far

What to do

  1. Put a mix of letter cards in a hat or bag that students will pass around the classroom; draw a card from it, and say the sound. The cards should be a mix of all letters learned so far, weighted towards the most recently learned letters. You will need at least one bag for every eight or so students in the group, else students will quickly become distracted.
  2. (You can also do this activity with half the cards showing the single most recently learned letter, say m, and the other half showing letters the students have not yet learned, such as x. In that version of the activity, you ask students to say /m/ or not /m/, depending on what letter they draw.)
  3. Now let’s play a game. We’re going to take turns to pull a card from this bag and say the sound of the letter. My turn first.
  4. Draw a card; pause; show the letter to the students and say its sound.
  5. Then, I put the card back in the bag and pass it to my neighbor. Pass the bag to a student who is likely to get the answer correctly. Make sure they show the card to the other students. Remind them to put the card back and shake the bag; then, pass it to the next student.
  6. As soon as it's clear that students get the idea, you can introduce the other bags to speed things up. Each time, draw the first card yourself. Circulate around the group making sure everyone is performing the activity correctly.
  7. If a student doesn’t know a card, say it for him and ask him to say it. Then, have him draw another card and try again. If he continues to have trouble, make a note in an Activity Log and move on. Try to make sure the last letter he draws before passing the bag on is one he names correctly and praise him strongly.
  8. Keep going until everyone has had at least one turn.

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Introduce writing a letter: c

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student; Letter Formation Guide
Goal: Given a printed letter, the student writes it ( a -> |a| )
Items: The letter whose sound students learned most recently

What to do

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

  1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
  2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
  3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
  4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
  5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
  6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
  7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

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Letter writing accuracy: a m s t i f r o d u g c

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student
Goal: Given a letter name, the student writes it ( "a" -> |a| )
Items: All written letters learned so far

What to do

  1. I'm going to name some letters and I want you to write them. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seats pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
  2. Ready? The first letter is: name a letter the students know how to write. Start with a relatively easy letter.
  3. When everyone has finished writing, say: Hold up your paper so I can see what's your letter. If students have trouble writing the letter, model how to write it on the board; then, repeat that letter for the whole group.
  4. Continue with other letters. Mix recently introduced letters with earlier letters, repeating recent letters more frequently. For example, if students know how to write a, m, s and you just taught them t, you might ask them to write: m, t, a, t, s, m, t.
  5. If multiple students are struggling, go back to simpler letters and build back to the ones they are struggling with. You may need to model a difficult letter or go back to the Introduce writing a letter activity for that letter.
  6. If students are able to write each letter you name confidently, try dictating multiple letters before asking them to show their work.
  7. As a variation on this activity, write all the letters that students know on the board, and invite a student to choose what letter everyone should write.


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Sounding out accuracy: VC, C~VC: rat, mad, rug, am, rag

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


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Week 7, Day 5

Middle sound segmenting accuracy (Mico version): fish, foot, pen, moon, nut, bed, lock, meat, mix, nail, fox, van

Activity Type: Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: A hand puppet--ours is called Mico.
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say its middle sound ( "mat" -> /a/ ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Select 12 picture cards for this activity. Any pictures will do. As before, make sure the students know the expected name for each picture by going through the deck, multiple times if necessary.
  2. Lay out 3 picture cards to start the activity. We’ll assume they are bag, cup, and dog, but they can be anything you choose.
  3. Bring out the puppet. Here’s Mico. Today he wants to play a game with you. He’s going to say a sound, and you have to find the word that has the same sound in the middle. My turn first. This is bag, cup, dog. Point to each picture card in turn. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that has /u/ in the middle. What’s that? /u/ like hut. Which word has /u/ in the middle? Cup! Cup has /u/ in the middle: cuuup. Say it slowly like I just did. Students: cuuup. Can you hear the /u/?
  4. Replace the 3 picture cards with (for example) nose, mop, and van. Okay, your turn. This is nose, mop, van. What’s the sound, Mico? Find the word that has /a/ in the middle. What’s that? /a/ like in cat. Which word has /a/ in the middle? Students: van. Right! Pan has /a/ in the middle: vvvaaan. Say it slowly like I just did. Students: vvvaaan.
  5. Continue with other sets of 3 picture cards. Watch for students who are not responding and give them an individual turn.
  6. Once students have mastered the 3-card activity, increase the number of picture cards to 4, then 6, then all 12 pictures, so they are selecting 1 card from 12 on Mico’s direction.

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Introduce /b/

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials:

Goal: Given a printed letter, the student can say its sound ( a -> /a/ )
Items: b

What to do

  1. Write the letter b on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
  2. The sound for this letter is /b/. (Say the /b/ sound as in bat.) When you say /b/, you close your lips and gently blow them open with your voice box on: /b/. Touch your throat to make sure your voice box is on when you say it: /b/. What's the sound? Avoid saying /buh/ else later you will have students sounding out /buh-at/ and /buh-ed/. The sound you want is the sound at the end of /mob/. What's the sound?
  3. Look for students who are not saying the sound. Ask them: What's the sound? Look for students who are making the wrong sound and model the sound for them until they have it right. Well done everyone.
  4. We use the /b/ sound to begin words like boy, big, book, back, brown. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /b/?
  5. Erase b. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be b and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to b, such as w and e.
  6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say its sound. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sound or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not b), point to b and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to b. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.
  9. Optional for students who confuse b and d: It is quite common for students to confuse letters b and d. One mnemonic you can introduce your students to is to write "b d" in large letters and turn them into a bed. Draw "b d". This is how to tell /b/ from /d/. This is /b/; this is /d/. I can make them into a bed, watch. /b/ /e/ /d/, bed. That helps me remember that this is /b/ and this is /d/. If I mix them up, (draw "d b") I can't make a bed because the mattress falls down in the middle.
Image: Bed deb.JPG

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Letter sound fluency: /a/ .. /c/

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1
Group Size: Small Group
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Index card size letters cards
Goal: Given index card size letter cards, students will be able to discriminate between each letter sound
Items: All letter sounds learned so far

What to do

  1. Assemble a stack of index cards with letters printed on them. The cards should be a mix of all letters learned so far, weighted toward the most recently learned letters.
  2. Now let's play a game. We're going to try to go through this stack of cards as fast as we can, saying the sound of the letter on each card. Let's see how fast we can go. My turn first.
  3. Model taking the top card of the stack, showing it to the students, and saying the sound of the letter after a pause. Continue through the stack.
  4. Do you think you can go faster than I did? Call on a single student in the group, starting with a student you think may be slower. Show the first card: What's the sound of this letter? If the student is incorrect, correct him, have him repeat your answer, and move to the next card. Praise correct answers.
  5. Select the next quicker student and repeat until all students in the group have worked through the stack.
  6. Okay, now let's go faster. Shuffle the stack of cards and repeat with students in the same order, but encourage them to go faster.
  7. If time and focus allow, shuffle and repeat at an even faster pace.
  8. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an Activity Log.


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About this activity


Introduce writing a letter: b

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student; Letter Formation Guide
Goal: Given a printed letter, the student writes it ( a -> |a| )
Items: The letter whose sound students learned most recently

What to do

(Note that this activity describes the steps for the letter a, but can be used to teach any letter.)

  1. Draw guide lines on the board; then, write the letter, preferably in a different color from the lines. Make the letter at least a foot tall.
  2. What's the name of this letter? Students say the name. And, what's the sound? Students say the sound.
  3. Good. Today, I'm going to show you how to write this letter.
  4. First, you need to get into your writing position: pull in your seat, put both feet on the floor, and put your hands on the desk. Wait until all students are in position. Okay, next, hold your pencil by pinching it between your thumb and pointing finger. (Note that, if students already know this, you can replace this step with: First, go ahead and get into your writing position.)
  5. Watch me as I write the letter a. I'm going to ask you to write a row of a's in a moment, so pay really close attention. Write the letter as shown in the Letter Formation Guide. As you do so, tell students what you are doing: I start on the top line, and draw a circle that touches the bottom line, etc. Then, write the letter again.
  6. Now you write the letter a on your paper. Start on the left and write a whole row of a's. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, and ask them to do the same.
  7. Praise everyone when they have completed the row of letters.

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Letter writing fluency: u

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student
Goal: Given a letter name, the student writes it ( "a" -> |a| )
Items: Any written letter learned so far

What to do

  1. Today, I want you to write a letter as many times as you can in one minute. I'm going to time the minute. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seat pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
  2. Ready? The letter I want you to write is: name a letter the students know how to write.
  3. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, ask them to do the same and continue.
  4. When the minute is up say: That's one minute, you can stop. Hold up your paper so I can see what you wrote. In an Activity log, make a note of students who have written far fewer letters than the rest of the group. You will need to give them more letter writing practice.

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Sounding out accuracy: VC, C~VC: fog, mug, mud, sad, am, us

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


Related activities

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