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Program 101-1, Week 8

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Week 8, Day 1

Phoneme identification with sound-it-out chips: cat, cup, dog, nose, mop, van, fish, foot, pen, moon, nut, bed

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Three-plus blank chips per student
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say whether a given sound is at the beginning, middle, or end of the word ( "mat", where is /m/? -> "beginning" ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Give each student three chips. Make the chips that students use here similar to the letter card chips they will use later but without printed letters. In this way they make the chip-sound connection now and the letter-sound connection more easily later. Select a picture card for a three-phoneme word such as cat and put it where the group can see it. We’re going to use these chips to stand for each sound in this word: cat. I want you to place one chip in front of you as you say each sound in the word. My turn first: caaat. Place a chip each time you say a sound until you have three chips in a row.
  2. Now you do the same: say each sound in cat and put one chip down for each sound. Ready? Students: caaat. If a student has trouble (eg, putting chips down out of step with the sounds), model for him and have him try again. If he still has difficulty, try leaving the three chips down and having him point to each chip as he says the sound.
  3. That’s great. Okay, now listen carefully because in a moment I’m going to try to trick you. Point to your first chip and say, This first chip stands for the first sound in hat. What is the first sound in hat? Students: /h/. Right! /h/. The middle chip stands for the middle sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /a/. Right! /a/. The last chip stands for the last sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /t/. Right! /t/.
  4. So let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip in front of you that stands for the /h/ sound in hat. Is it the first sound, the middle sound, or the last sound? If students have trouble say, listen for the /h/ in hat: haaat. Point to each chip as you say the word slowly. Where is the sound /h/ in haaat? Point to the chip. Correct! It’s the first sound.
  5. Now I’ll try to trick you again. Where is the /t/ sound in hat? First, middle, or last? Again, help students who have difficulty with this. Right! /t/ is the last sound in hat: haaat.
  6. Next, select the picture card for another three-phoneme word, say, moon. Okay, let’s try another. Pick up your chips. Now we’re going to use your chips to stand for each sound in this word: moon. Put one chip down for each sound in moon and say the word slowly as you put chips down. Ready? Students: mmmooonnn. Perfect. Now let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip that stands for the /oo/ sound in moon. Provide further support and modeling as needed.
  7. Continue with other three-phoneme words. Watch for struggling students and give them an individual turn.
  8. Once students have mastered three-phoneme words, give them four and then five chips and practice with longer words such as elbow (four phonemes: e-l-b-ow) and zebra (five phonemes: z-e-b-r-a).
  9. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.

About this activity

This activity is based on a procedure pioneered by Daniel Elkonin (see reference). The activity is sometimes performed with boxes drawn on paper into which students push chips. Here, we just use chips so that students come to associate them with sounds and will find it easier to make the transition to chips with letters printed on them.

Related activities


Reintroduce /b/

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: 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. Let's review the sound for this letter. Anyone: what's the sound? Good: /b/. (Say the /b/ sound as in bat.) Remember, 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 y 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 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.

Related activities


Letter sound accuracy: /a/ .. /b/

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

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: rag, add, ram, act, us, mug

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 8, Day 2

Phoneme identification with sound-it-out chips: lock, meat, mix, nail, fox, sun, van, rat, six, dice, zack, vine

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Three-plus blank chips per student
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say whether a given sound is at the beginning, middle, or end of the word ( "mat", where is /m/? -> "beginning" ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Give each student three chips. Make the chips that students use here similar to the letter card chips they will use later but without printed letters. In this way they make the chip-sound connection now and the letter-sound connection more easily later. Select a picture card for a three-phoneme word such as cat and put it where the group can see it. We’re going to use these chips to stand for each sound in this word: cat. I want you to place one chip in front of you as you say each sound in the word. My turn first: caaat. Place a chip each time you say a sound until you have three chips in a row.
  2. Now you do the same: say each sound in cat and put one chip down for each sound. Ready? Students: caaat. If a student has trouble (eg, putting chips down out of step with the sounds), model for him and have him try again. If he still has difficulty, try leaving the three chips down and having him point to each chip as he says the sound.
  3. That’s great. Okay, now listen carefully because in a moment I’m going to try to trick you. Point to your first chip and say, This first chip stands for the first sound in hat. What is the first sound in hat? Students: /h/. Right! /h/. The middle chip stands for the middle sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /a/. Right! /a/. The last chip stands for the last sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /t/. Right! /t/.
  4. So let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip in front of you that stands for the /h/ sound in hat. Is it the first sound, the middle sound, or the last sound? If students have trouble say, listen for the /h/ in hat: haaat. Point to each chip as you say the word slowly. Where is the sound /h/ in haaat? Point to the chip. Correct! It’s the first sound.
  5. Now I’ll try to trick you again. Where is the /t/ sound in hat? First, middle, or last? Again, help students who have difficulty with this. Right! /t/ is the last sound in hat: haaat.
  6. Next, select the picture card for another three-phoneme word, say, moon. Okay, let’s try another. Pick up your chips. Now we’re going to use your chips to stand for each sound in this word: moon. Put one chip down for each sound in moon and say the word slowly as you put chips down. Ready? Students: mmmooonnn. Perfect. Now let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip that stands for the /oo/ sound in moon. Provide further support and modeling as needed.
  7. Continue with other three-phoneme words. Watch for struggling students and give them an individual turn.
  8. Once students have mastered three-phoneme words, give them four and then five chips and practice with longer words such as elbow (four phonemes: e-l-b-ow) and zebra (five phonemes: z-e-b-r-a).
  9. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.

About this activity

This activity is based on a procedure pioneered by Daniel Elkonin (see reference). The activity is sometimes performed with boxes drawn on paper into which students push chips. Here, we just use chips so that students come to associate them with sounds and will find it easier to make the transition to chips with letters printed on them.

Related activities


Introduce /n/

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: n

What to do

  1. Write the letter n 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 /nnn/. (Say the /n/ sound as in nut, holding for at least a second.) When you say /nnn/, your lips are apart, your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth, and the sound comes out of your nose: /nnn/. If you hold your nose, you can't say the sound: /nnn/. 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 /n/ sound to begin words like number, night, name, new, no. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /n/?
  5. Erase n. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be n and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to n, such as t 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 n), point to n 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 n. 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 fluency: /a/ .. /b/

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: n

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: g

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: ram, sat, mad, am, mom, it

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 8, Day 3

Phoneme identification with sound-it-out chips: kilt, lips, nest, ring, star, snail, bowl, frog, hand, igloo, jump, king

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Three-plus blank chips per student
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say whether a given sound is at the beginning, middle, or end of the word ( "mat", where is /m/? -> "beginning" ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Give each student three chips. Make the chips that students use here similar to the letter card chips they will use later but without printed letters. In this way they make the chip-sound connection now and the letter-sound connection more easily later. Select a picture card for a three-phoneme word such as cat and put it where the group can see it. We’re going to use these chips to stand for each sound in this word: cat. I want you to place one chip in front of you as you say each sound in the word. My turn first: caaat. Place a chip each time you say a sound until you have three chips in a row.
  2. Now you do the same: say each sound in cat and put one chip down for each sound. Ready? Students: caaat. If a student has trouble (eg, putting chips down out of step with the sounds), model for him and have him try again. If he still has difficulty, try leaving the three chips down and having him point to each chip as he says the sound.
  3. That’s great. Okay, now listen carefully because in a moment I’m going to try to trick you. Point to your first chip and say, This first chip stands for the first sound in hat. What is the first sound in hat? Students: /h/. Right! /h/. The middle chip stands for the middle sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /a/. Right! /a/. The last chip stands for the last sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /t/. Right! /t/.
  4. So let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip in front of you that stands for the /h/ sound in hat. Is it the first sound, the middle sound, or the last sound? If students have trouble say, listen for the /h/ in hat: haaat. Point to each chip as you say the word slowly. Where is the sound /h/ in haaat? Point to the chip. Correct! It’s the first sound.
  5. Now I’ll try to trick you again. Where is the /t/ sound in hat? First, middle, or last? Again, help students who have difficulty with this. Right! /t/ is the last sound in hat: haaat.
  6. Next, select the picture card for another three-phoneme word, say, moon. Okay, let’s try another. Pick up your chips. Now we’re going to use your chips to stand for each sound in this word: moon. Put one chip down for each sound in moon and say the word slowly as you put chips down. Ready? Students: mmmooonnn. Perfect. Now let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip that stands for the /oo/ sound in moon. Provide further support and modeling as needed.
  7. Continue with other three-phoneme words. Watch for struggling students and give them an individual turn.
  8. Once students have mastered three-phoneme words, give them four and then five chips and practice with longer words such as elbow (four phonemes: e-l-b-ow) and zebra (five phonemes: z-e-b-r-a).
  9. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.

About this activity

This activity is based on a procedure pioneered by Daniel Elkonin (see reference). The activity is sometimes performed with boxes drawn on paper into which students push chips. Here, we just use chips so that students come to associate them with sounds and will find it easier to make the transition to chips with letters printed on them.

Related activities


Reintroduce /n/

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: n

What to do

  1. Write the letter n 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: /nnn/. (Say the /n/ sound as in nut, holding for at least a second.) Remember, when you say /nnn/, your lips are apart, your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth, and the sound comes out of your nose: /nnn/. If you hold your nose, you can't say the sound: /nnn/. 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 /n/ sound to begin words like number, night, name, new, no. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /n/?
  5. Erase n. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be n and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to n, such as v 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 n), point to n 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 n. 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/ .. /n/

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: n

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 b n

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: ram, mob, it, fit, at, sit

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 8, Day 4

Phoneme identification with sound-it-out chips: bird, wave, pig, vet, vase, box, bowl, frog, hand, igloo, jump, king

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Three-plus blank chips per student
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say whether a given sound is at the beginning, middle, or end of the word ( "mat", where is /m/? -> "beginning" ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Give each student three chips. Make the chips that students use here similar to the letter card chips they will use later but without printed letters. In this way they make the chip-sound connection now and the letter-sound connection more easily later. Select a picture card for a three-phoneme word such as cat and put it where the group can see it. We’re going to use these chips to stand for each sound in this word: cat. I want you to place one chip in front of you as you say each sound in the word. My turn first: caaat. Place a chip each time you say a sound until you have three chips in a row.
  2. Now you do the same: say each sound in cat and put one chip down for each sound. Ready? Students: caaat. If a student has trouble (eg, putting chips down out of step with the sounds), model for him and have him try again. If he still has difficulty, try leaving the three chips down and having him point to each chip as he says the sound.
  3. That’s great. Okay, now listen carefully because in a moment I’m going to try to trick you. Point to your first chip and say, This first chip stands for the first sound in hat. What is the first sound in hat? Students: /h/. Right! /h/. The middle chip stands for the middle sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /a/. Right! /a/. The last chip stands for the last sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /t/. Right! /t/.
  4. So let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip in front of you that stands for the /h/ sound in hat. Is it the first sound, the middle sound, or the last sound? If students have trouble say, listen for the /h/ in hat: haaat. Point to each chip as you say the word slowly. Where is the sound /h/ in haaat? Point to the chip. Correct! It’s the first sound.
  5. Now I’ll try to trick you again. Where is the /t/ sound in hat? First, middle, or last? Again, help students who have difficulty with this. Right! /t/ is the last sound in hat: haaat.
  6. Next, select the picture card for another three-phoneme word, say, moon. Okay, let’s try another. Pick up your chips. Now we’re going to use your chips to stand for each sound in this word: moon. Put one chip down for each sound in moon and say the word slowly as you put chips down. Ready? Students: mmmooonnn. Perfect. Now let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip that stands for the /oo/ sound in moon. Provide further support and modeling as needed.
  7. Continue with other three-phoneme words. Watch for struggling students and give them an individual turn.
  8. Once students have mastered three-phoneme words, give them four and then five chips and practice with longer words such as elbow (four phonemes: e-l-b-ow) and zebra (five phonemes: z-e-b-r-a).
  9. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.

About this activity

This activity is based on a procedure pioneered by Daniel Elkonin (see reference). The activity is sometimes performed with boxes drawn on paper into which students push chips. Here, we just use chips so that students come to associate them with sounds and will find it easier to make the transition to chips with letters printed on them.

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Introduce /k/

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: k

What to do

  1. Write the letter k 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 /k/. (Say the /k/ sound as in kit.) When you say /k/, you open your mouth, the back of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, and you blow gently: /k/. 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 /k/ sound to begin words like keep, kind, kiwi, kite, kitten. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /k/?
  5. Erase k. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be k and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to k, such as g 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 k), point to k 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 k. 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 fluency: /a/ .. /n/

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: k

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: c

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: mob, rub, rat, fib, mug, add

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 8, Day 5

Phoneme identification with sound-it-out chips: gate, jam, doll, can, tent, tiger, wing, star, elbow, anvil, monkey, parrot, zebra

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Three-plus blank chips per student
Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can say whether a given sound is at the beginning, middle, or end of the word ( "mat", where is /m/? -> "beginning" ).
Items: 12 picture cards (make sure only the picture is visible on each card, not the word)

What to do

  1. Give each student three chips. Make the chips that students use here similar to the letter card chips they will use later but without printed letters. In this way they make the chip-sound connection now and the letter-sound connection more easily later. Select a picture card for a three-phoneme word such as cat and put it where the group can see it. We’re going to use these chips to stand for each sound in this word: cat. I want you to place one chip in front of you as you say each sound in the word. My turn first: caaat. Place a chip each time you say a sound until you have three chips in a row.
  2. Now you do the same: say each sound in cat and put one chip down for each sound. Ready? Students: caaat. If a student has trouble (eg, putting chips down out of step with the sounds), model for him and have him try again. If he still has difficulty, try leaving the three chips down and having him point to each chip as he says the sound.
  3. That’s great. Okay, now listen carefully because in a moment I’m going to try to trick you. Point to your first chip and say, This first chip stands for the first sound in hat. What is the first sound in hat? Students: /h/. Right! /h/. The middle chip stands for the middle sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /a/. Right! /a/. The last chip stands for the last sound in hat. What sound is that? Students: /t/. Right! /t/.
  4. So let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip in front of you that stands for the /h/ sound in hat. Is it the first sound, the middle sound, or the last sound? If students have trouble say, listen for the /h/ in hat: haaat. Point to each chip as you say the word slowly. Where is the sound /h/ in haaat? Point to the chip. Correct! It’s the first sound.
  5. Now I’ll try to trick you again. Where is the /t/ sound in hat? First, middle, or last? Again, help students who have difficulty with this. Right! /t/ is the last sound in hat: haaat.
  6. Next, select the picture card for another three-phoneme word, say, moon. Okay, let’s try another. Pick up your chips. Now we’re going to use your chips to stand for each sound in this word: moon. Put one chip down for each sound in moon and say the word slowly as you put chips down. Ready? Students: mmmooonnn. Perfect. Now let’s see if I can trick you. Point to the chip that stands for the /oo/ sound in moon. Provide further support and modeling as needed.
  7. Continue with other three-phoneme words. Watch for struggling students and give them an individual turn.
  8. Once students have mastered three-phoneme words, give them four and then five chips and practice with longer words such as elbow (four phonemes: e-l-b-ow) and zebra (five phonemes: z-e-b-r-a).
  9. Make a note in an Activity Log for students who continue to have difficulties.

About this activity

This activity is based on a procedure pioneered by Daniel Elkonin (see reference). The activity is sometimes performed with boxes drawn on paper into which students push chips. Here, we just use chips so that students come to associate them with sounds and will find it easier to make the transition to chips with letters printed on them.

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Reintroduce /k/

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: k

What to do

  1. Write the letter k 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: /k/. (Say the /k/ sound as in kit.) Remember, when you say /k/, you open your mouth, the back of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, and you blow gently: /k/. 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 /k/ sound to begin words like keep, kind, kiwi, kite, kitten. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /k/?
  5. Erase k. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be k and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to k, such as l and u.
  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 k), point to k 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 k. 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/ .. /k/

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: k

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 b n k

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: fan, on, rag, it, in, man

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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