The
Tug says
Uhh!
Beginning
Reading Design
Rationale:
It
is necessary
for beginning readers to be able to recognize that phonemes and letters
correspond with each other in order to become a proficient reader.
Through the
knowledge gained in this activity, students will learn to recognize,
spell, and
read words that contain the correspondence u = /u/.
Materials:
- Single card with a u printed
on it
- Word cards with the following words printed
on it: cut and cat, duck
and dog, tub
and sink, rug and mat
-
Sentence
Strip with Tongue Twister printed on it: Uncle
was upset because he was unable to put his umbrella up.
-
Elkonin
Letterboxes per student
-
Letter
manipulatives (s, u, n, c, b, h, g, m, a,
t, d, r, j, p)
-
Chalk or
White-board erase marker
-
Bud the Sub, by:
Sheila Cushman, Educational Insights. (one per pair of students)
-
Primary
paper and pencil
-
Picture
page with the following pictures: bug,
truck, rug, brush, lock, bed, and flag.
Procedure:
1.
Introduce the
u = /u/ correspondence and how to spot it in written text. Today we are
going
to work with the letter u in written
text (hold the letter u card for the
students to see). The letter u makes
the /u/ sound. How does our mouth move when we say /u/? Our mouth is
open and
our tongue stays still. This is like the sound that a tugboat makes
when its
horn is blown. Everyone practice making
the /u/ sound and pulling on your tugboat horn.
2.
To practice recognizing the letter u
in written text, I will hold up two cards at a time (cards with words cut and cat, duck and dog, tub
and sink, and rug and mat).
Ask
students which word contains the letter u.
Hold up one card and as a group say it together, then do the same
with the
second card. Ask the following questions: Which
word has the /u/ sound in it? and Can
someone point the letter u in this
word? Student’s should raise
hand, call on one student.
3.
Now I want us to practice saying our funny sentence together. Uncle was upset because he was unable to put
his umbrella up. Say together several times. Now I want us to say
our
tongue twister, but let’s stretch out the /u/: Uuuncle was
uuupset because he was uuunable to put his uuumbrella uuup.
Pull on your boat horn when you hear the /u/ sound.
4.
Draw Elkonin letterbox on the board for teacher use during this portion
of the
lesson. Make sure that each student has an Elkonin letterbox with his
or her
own letter tiles. Ask the students to make sure that each student’s
tiles on
lower-case side up. We are going to practice spelling words with the
/u/ sound.
Look at the board and notice that I have two boxes drawn—this is for
two mouth
movies. Right now, I am going to spell the word up. The
first box is for the first sound in up, the /u/, which
is like our tugboat horn. The second box is for
the /p/. Now you are going to practice with the following words: {3}
sun, cub,
hug, rush, mat; {4} drum, jump; {5} grunt. Make sure that each time the
number
of phonemes changes that the students are prompted to open their
letterbox up
by one more box. (A review word should be
included.)
5.
Write each word from the letterbox lesson on the board one at a time.
Model for
students how to read a word written on the board. We are going to read
the word
pup. Let us start with the /u/, next
let’s add the /p/--/pu/. Say it together. Now let’s add the last /p/ -
/pup/.
Our word is pup. Call on one student
to read the word, then have the class repeat the word as a group.
6.
The students will be placed in pairs to read Bud the Sub.
Book talk: Bud is a sub who has an important job to do
when a tug gets hit. Can Bud save the tug? We will have to read and
find out.
Pass out one book per pair of students. The students will take turns
reading
the book to each other. I will walk around, listen, and observe each
pair of
students.
7.
Write a message about what you would do if you were in charge of a sub.
Remember that when we make the letter u that
we start at the fence line and draw down to the sidewalk, curve over,
and back
up to the fence. Now, without lifting your pencil, you should draw a
line back
down to the sidewalk. (Children should
use invented spelling.)
8.
Assessment:
-
Students will be provided a picture page where they should circle the
pictures
with the /u/ sound.
-
While students work on the picture page, I will call students up one at
a time
to assess their reading of Bud the Sub and
their understanding of the correspondence u = /u/. I will be using a
running
record.
Reference:
Cushman,
Sheila. Bud the Sub. Educational
Insights:
Boshell, Lindsay. Unopened
Umbrella. http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/insp/boshellbr.html
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