Z is for Zigby the
Zebra
Emergent Literacy
Rationale:
This lesson will help children identify /z/, the phoneme represented by
Z. Students will learn to recognize
/z/ in spoken words by learning a meaningful representation (falling asleep) and
the letter symbol Z, practice finding
/z/ in words, and apply phoneme awareness with /z/ in phonetic cue reading by
distinguishing rhyming words from beginning letters.
Materials:
*Primary paper and
pencil
*Letter
Z in capital and lowercase form for
display
*Picture chart with
embedded letter over the zigzag and tongue tickler:
“Zigby the Zany Zebra Zipped a Zillion
Zippers.”
*Zigby Camps Out
book (HarperCollins, 2002)
*Phonetic Cue
Reading Cards: ZIP, ZOO, ZOOM, ZAG
*Picture Cards:
zebra, zoo, zero, zigzag, rainbow, cat,
money, and skunk.
*Assessment
worksheet identifying pictures with /z/:
http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/z-begins2.htm.
Procedures:
1. Say: Our written
language is a secret code. The tricky part is learning
what letters stand for – the mouth
moves we make as we say words. Today we are going to work on spotting the mouth
move /z/. We spell /z/ with the letter Z
(display the letter Z on the
white board in capital and lowercase form.).
Z looks like a zigzag (have picture
card with zigzag and the letter Z
embedded over it), and /z/ sounds like you are falling asleep.
2. Let’s pretend we
are all falling asleep. What sound do people falling asleep make? Yes, /z/, /z/,
/z/. To make this sound, put your teeth together. Then touch the tip of our
tongue above your top teeth. There should be a tickling feeling between your
teeth as you say /z/. Act like you are falling asleep- as you say /z/. Show the
students how to look like you are falling asleep. Okay, everyone practice acting
like you are falling asleep while making the /z/ sound.
3. Model for the
students how to think about the beginning sounds in words, and have them try. Do
I hear /z/ in zebra or
monkey? /z/.. I hear /z/ in
zebra. (Remember to act like you are
falling asleep. They should do it with you). Do I hear /z/ in
zipper or
shoe? /z/…
zipper. Now have the students try. Do
you hear /z/ in zero or
two? Do you hear /z/ in
zoo or
farm?
4. Now let’s try a
tongue twister (written on chart). “ Zigby the Zany Zebra Zipped a Zillion
Zippers.” Everybody say it three times together.
Now say it again, and this time stretch the /z/ at the beginning of the
words. “Zzzzigby the zzzany zzzebra zzzipped a zzillion zzzippers.”
5. (Have students
take out primary paper and pencil.) We use the letter
Z to spell /z/. (Display the capital
and lowercase letter Z on the board.)
Model how to make a capital Z on the
board. (In this lesson, I refer to the top line of the primary paper as the
rooftop, the middle, dotted line as the fence, and the bottom line as the
sidewalk.) We are going to learn how to write the letter
Z. What does the
Z say? Class responds: /z/ while
acting like they are falling asleep. To make a capital
Z, you have to zig across the rooftop
(to the right), zag down through the fence to the sidewalk, and zig back to the
right across the sidewalk. Repeat the steps while the students make a capital
Z on their paper as you model how to
write another one of the board. Have them practice 5 more times on their paper
as you continue to repeat the steps and walk around the room to check to make
sure everyone is writing Z correctly.
After they have mastered the capital Z,
model how to write a lowercase z.
Explain that you do the same thing zig, zag, zig as the capital
Z, but this time you start on the
fence instead of the rooftop. Have the students practice writing lowercase
z 5 times while you repeat the steps
and walk around the room to make sure everyone is writing
z correctly. After they have finished
practice writing the capital and lowercase
Z, have students tell you the steps
used in writing those the capital and lowercase
Z to check for comprehension.
6. Then tell the
students that you are going to hold up picture cards. Some of them will start
with the /z/ sound and some of them do not. When I show the picture to you, I
want you to act like you are falling asleep if the picture starts with the /z/
sound. If it does not, I want you to shake your heads no. Then I will model an
appropriate response for the students. For example, here is a picture of a
zebra. I am going to act like I am
falling asleep because the word zebra
does start with the /z/ sound. The picture cards I will be showing the children
are zebra, zoo, zero, zigzag, rainbow,
cat, money, and skunk.
7. Next we are going
to read a book called Zigby Camps Out.
Booktalk: This book is about a zebra named Zigby that gets a package in the mail
from his aunt Zandra. What is in this package? We will have to read and find
out. Remind students to act like they are falling asleep when they hear the /z/
sound throughout the book. Model this procedure by reading the title
Zigby Camps Out and having the
students listen and make the /z/ sound after I say
Zigby. After reading the book ask
students if they know any other words beginning with the /z/ sound.
Have students write their word using
invented spelling on a piece of paper and draw a picture of it. Display their
work.
8. Have word cards
with words beginning with the /z/ sound. Show
ZIP and model how to decide if it is
zip or
tip: The
Z tells me that I am falling asleep,
/z/, so this word is zzzz-ii-pp, zip.
Have students try some: ZOO:
zoo or
boo?
ZOOM:
zoom or
loom?
ZAG:
zag or
tag?
9. For assessment,
distribute the worksheet. Students are to complete the partial spellings and
color the pictures that begin with Z.
Call students individually to read the phonetic cue words from step #8.
Assessment
worksheet:
http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/z-begins2.htm.
References:
1. Adams, Marilyn. Beginning to Read:
Thinking and Learning about Print - A Summary. Champaign: Center for the
Study of Reading Research and Education Center, 1990.
2. Paterson, Brian. Zigby Hunts for
Treasure. HarperCollins, 2002.
3. Shell, Hilary. Zippy at the Zoo.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/odysseys/shellel.html.