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Program 101-1, Week 11

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Week 11, Day 1

Introduce /j/

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: j

What to do

  1. Write the letter j 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 /j/. (Say the /j/ sound as in jet.) When you say /j/, your mouth is open, your tongue moves away from the roof of your mouth, and your voice box is on: /j/. Touch your throat to make sure your voice box is on when you say it: /j/. 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 /j/ sound to begin words like just, jump, jam, jellyfish, jungle. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /j/?
  5. Erase j. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be j and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to j, such as z 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 j), point to j 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 j. 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/ .. /w/

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: j

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: e

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: C~VCC: land, last, list, mess, rest

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 11, Day 2

Reintroduce /j/

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: j

What to do

  1. Write the letter j 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: /j/. (Say the /j/ sound as in jet.) Remember, when you say /j/, your mouth is open, your tongue moves away from the roof of your mouth, and your voice box is on: /j/. Touch your throat to make sure your voice box is on when you say it: /j/. 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 /j/ sound to begin words like just, jump, jam, jellyfish, jungle. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /j/?
  5. Erase j. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be j and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to j, such as x 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 j), point to j 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 j. 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/ .. /j/

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: j

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 v l e h w j

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: C~VCC: well, will, went, set, end

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


Introduce word-form recognition: VC, C~VC: mat, mud, Sid, rod, sum

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: None for Whole class. For Small groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, say the word without sounding out ( abc -> "abc" )
Items: mat, mud, Sid, rod, sum

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. Today we're going to read some words without saying the letter sounds out loud. When I touch a word, you sound out each letter to yourself, then say the whole word out loud.
  3. My turn first. Point to each letter of the first word, mouthing out the letter sounds as you touch beneath each letter. What's the word? Mat.
  4. Your turn. As I touch each letter, sound out the word to yourself. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch just beneath each letter of the first word. Only mouth out letter sounds if students don't understand what you want them to do, otherwise just watch the students. What's the word? Students: mat.
  5. Great. Next word. Continue with each of the words in the list.
  6. Look for students who are not saying the words or who are saying the wrong word. Call on a mix of several students—some who aren't sounding out and some who are—to silently sound out, and then name the words individually. If some students are getting a single letter sound wrong, ask them to sound out the word out loud so you can find the problem. Then, model the correct sounding out, have them repeat; have them do it again silently, and then have them try another word silently. In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble.

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Week 11, Day 3

Introduce /p/

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: p

What to do

  1. Write the letter p 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 /p/. (Say the /p/ sound as in pet.) When you say /p/, you close your lips and gently blow them open: /p/. 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 /p/ sound to begin words like paper, picture, please, play, pretty. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /p/?
  5. Erase p. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be p and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to p, such as v and c.
  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 p), point to p 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 p. 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/ .. /j/

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: p

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: h

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: C.VC: dad, did, cat

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 11, Day 4

Reintroduce /p/

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: p

What to do

  1. Write the letter p 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: /p/. (Say the /p/ sound as in pet.) Remember, when you say /p/, you close your lips and gently blow them open: /p/. 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 /p/ sound to begin words like paper, picture, please, play, pretty. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /p/?
  5. Erase p. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be p and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to p, such as n and l.
  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 p), point to p 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 p. 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/ .. /p/

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: p

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 v l e h w j p

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: C.VC: bag, bat, ten

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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Word-form recognition accuracy: VC, C~VC: rat, mad, rug, am, rag

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, say the word without sounding out ( abc -> "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 read some words without saying the letter sounds out loud. When I touch a word, you sound out each letter to yourself, then say the whole word out loud.
  3. My turn first. Point to each letter of the first word, mouthing out the letter sounds as you touch beneath each letter. What's the word? Say the word.
  4. Your turn. As I touch each letter, sound out the word to yourself. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch just beneath each letter of the first word. Don't mouth out the letter sounds yourself. What's the word? Students say the word.
  5. Great. Next word. Continue with each of the words in the list.
  6. Look for students who are not saying the words or who are saying the wrong word. Call on a mix of several students—some who aren't sounding out and some who are—to silently sound out and then name the words individually. In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble.
  7. When students are able to mouth-sound-out a complete set of words without error, repeat the list but change the format: instead of pointing to each letter and mouthing the letter sound, tell students to sound the word out to yourself without moving your lips. Point beneath the word and pause for three seconds before asking: What's the word? For students who are still mouthing the letter sounds, ask them to try sounding out silently. Next time you do this activity, skip the mouthing out part of the instruction so that students get used to reading the words without mouthing the letter sounds.

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Week 11, Day 5

Introduce /y/

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: y

What to do

  1. Write the letter y 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 /yyy/. (Say the /y/ sound as in yet, holding it for at least a second.) When you say /yyy/, you smile slightly, your tongue is behind your lower teeth, and your voice box is on: /yyy/. Touch your throat to make sure your voice box is on when you say it: /yyy/. 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 /y/ sound to begin words like you, year, young, yes, yellow. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /y/?
  5. Erase y. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be y and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to y, such as h and m.
  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 y), point to y 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 y. 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/ .. /p/

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: y

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: w

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: C.VC: big, can, had

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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