POPCORN PPPPOPPING P
 

                                    Emergent Literacy Lesson Plan
                                  by Renee McInnish

Rationale: In order for children to be able to learn to read and write, they need to understand phonemes and learn how to detect them in words and be able to match graphemes to phonemes.  The letters b, d, p, and q are often confused by children because they all have a ball sitting on the sidewalk.  Also, students sometimes confuse the sounds of b, d, and p because they can sound similar to the child who is not phonemically aware yet.  This lesson will help children identify the /p/ in spoken words by learning a meaningful representation and a letter symbol, and then practice finding /p/ in words.

Materials:  Primary paper and pencil, chart with “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”, class set of cards with p on one side, drawing paper and crayons, Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop, popcorn popper and popcorn.

Procedures:
1. Introduce the lesson by explaining that 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.

2.  Ask students:  Have you ever popped popcorn with your parents?  What kind of sound did it
     make? Today we are going to pop some popcorn and while we do that I want us to listen to
     what kind of sound it makes as it pops.  As the popcorn is popping, I would ask students:
     what sound do you here?  That’s right!  /p/ /p/ /p/ /p/!  (The popcorn could then be used as a
     snack, but it will not, however, teach anything about the phoneme /p/ by eating the popcorn.
     However, hearing the popcorn pop should.)  The word pan has the /p/ /p/ /p/ sound.  Some
     more words that have the /p/ sound are lap, nap, and price.

3. Now let’s try a tongue twister that has the /p/ sound it (refer to chart).  “Peter Piper picked a
    peck of pickled peppers.”  Everybody say it three times together.  Now say it again, this time
    machine gun the /p/ like this Ppppeter.  O.k?  Now let’s all try it together.  “Ppppeter
    Ppppiper ppppicked a ppppeck of ppppickled ppppeppers.”  Let’s try it again.  This time we
    are going to break the /p/ sound away from the word like this /P/ eter.  Now let’s try it
    together.  “/P/ eter /P/ iper /p/ icked a /p/ eck of /p/ ickled /p/ eppers.”  Great job!

4. (Have students take out primary paper and pencil).  We can use the letter p to spell /p/. Let’s
     write it. Draw a ball on the sidewalk.  Now on the left side draw a stick that goes from the
     top of the ball to the bottom of the ditch.  I would now like for you to hold up your p so I can
     see it.  Nice job.  Now we are going to make nine more just like it.  When you see the letter
     p in a word, that’s the signal to say /p/.

5. Practice with recognizing the /p/ sound in words using rhyming riddles.

    Beginning sounds - Directions: Class, I’m going to tell you of something I’m thinking that
    begins with the /p/ sound and I want you to tell me what it is.  O.k?

    I’m thinking of a colorful bird that can talk.  Answer: parrot
    I’m thinking of an animal that has a curly tail and loves to eat.  Answer: pig
    I’m thinking of something that flies high in the sky and can carry people from state to state.
   Answer: plane
   I’m thinking of a snack that people like to eat in the movies.  Answer: popcorn
   I’m thinking of something that elephants like to eat.   Answer: peanuts

   Ending sounds ­ Directions: Class, I’m now going to tell of something that I’m thinking of
   that ends with the /p/ sound and I want you to tell me what it is.

   I’m thinking of something that people like to wear on their heads.  Answer: cap
   I’m thinking of an animal.  This animal was lost by Little Bo Peep.  Answer: sheep
   I’m thinking of something we use to scrub floors.  Answer: mop
   I’m thinking of what bunnies do when they want to go from here to there.  Answer: hop

   Phonemes in the middle ­ Directions: Class, I’m now going to tell you of something that I’m
   thinking of that has the /p/ sound somewhere in the middle of the word.

   I’m thinking of how someone feels when they are smiling.  Answer: happy
   I’m thinking of something that we sometimes find on coats and pants. Answer: zipper

6. Read Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss and talk about the story.  Read it again, having the students
    hold up the p cards when they here /p/.  List the words on the board.  As I read the story this
    time, I want you to listen for the popping /p/ sound - if you here it hold up the card with the p
    card.

7. Assessment:  Tell the students to draw a picture (using their drawing paper and crayons)
   of something has the /p/ sound in it.  When the students are finished with their pictures, split
   them up in groups of four.  Have them tell the group about their picture and how it represents
   something with the /p/ sound.  While students are in their groups, go around the room and look
   at their pictures, making sure that they comprehended the phoneme /p/.  Work with those
   students who seem confused.
 

Reference:
"Wallach’s and Wallach’s Tongue Twisters."http://www.auburn.edu~murraba/twisters.html.
 Eldredge, J. Lloyd. (1995). Teaching Decoding in Holistic Classrooms. pp.64-67.
 Crowley, Sharon J. & Merritt, King. (2000).  Remediating Reading Difficulties. (Boston: McGraw Hill) 3, pp. 16-21.
 Murray, Dr. Bruce. (Fall 1999). Lesson Designs: “Puff the Magic Dragon Lived by the Books.
 Mitchum, Benji “Cry Like a Baby” p. 13.

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