Navigating with N
Emergent Literacy Design
Rationale:
This lesson will help
children identify the phoneme /n/ represented by the letter N. Students will
learn to identify /n/ in spoken words, practice finding /n/ in words, learn to
recognize /n/ in spoken words using the sound a boat makes, and applying
phonemic awareness with /n/ in phonetic cue reading by distinguishing rhyming
words from beginning letters.
Materials:
Tongue Tickler
written on poster board: "Nick never worried Nora about her niece's neck,"
primary paper and pencils, Letter N Book, Note Cards:
Net, Nap, Not, Nice, Nest, Nine, Nickel,
and Assessment worksheet: (http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/n-begins2.htm)
Procedures:
1. Say: Our written language is a secret code. We have to learn what letters
stand for, and it can be tricky. The letters stand for the way our mouths move
when we say a word. Today we are going to learn about the letter 'n' and to me
the sound makes, /n/. To me /n/ sounds a bit like the sound a speedboat makes.
2. Let's
pretend we are driving a speedboat, /n/, /n/, /n/. (Pantomime steering a
speedboat) Notice where your tongue is (located at the roof of your mouth) and
the tongue makes a tickle feeling for the sound /n/.
3. Let
me show you how to find /n/ in the word
net. I am going to stretch out the word net in a slow motion and listen for
the sound the speedboat makes. Nnn-e-e-t. Slower: Nnn-e-e-e-t. I felt it! I felt
my tongue touch the roof of my mouth and my tongue tickle.
4. Let's
try a tongue tickler now. Nick never
worried Nora about her niece's neck. Great Job! Now let's say it twice in a
row. Very Good! Now let's stretch it out the /n/ at the beginning of the words 'NNNick
nnnever worried NNNora about her nnniece's nnneck.' Try it again and break the
/n/ off of the word: "/N/-ick /n/ever worried /N/-ora about her /n/-iece's /n/-eck.
5. [Have students take out primary paper and pencil]. We use letter N to
spell /n/.
Capital N starts at the rooftop and comes straight down. Then put your
pencil back at the point you started your N, except make a slanted line
away from the first line all the way to the sidewalk. Come back up to the
roof with a straight line. Now let's make a lowercase n. Start at
the fence and draw a straight line down to the sidewalk. Then start at the
fence and make one hump down to the sidewalk. I want to see everybody's
n. After I put a smile on it, I want you to make nine more just like it.
6. Call on students to answer and tell how they knew. Do you hear /n/ in nap or
hay? Mean or nice? Hun or mad? Time or nine? Say: Let's see if you can spot the
sound of /n/ in some words and don't forget to drive our speedboat if you hear
/n/: belt, near, run, far, nail, tear, ten, niece, pick, sun. Good Job!
7. Now we are going to look at the N book. At this point I will have students
listen to the story "The Best Nest". While reading I will have the
students do the "speedboat" sound and movement when they see or hear the letter
N in the story.
8. Show NAP and model how to decide if it is nap or map: The N
tells me to drive a speed boat, /n/, so this word is nnn-ap, nap.
You try some: NOT: not or cot? Neck: neck or peck? NOW: cow or now? NET: net or
pet? CAN: cat or can?
9. For the assessment, distribute the worksheet. Students are to complete the
spellings and color the drawings only with the picture that has the /n/ sound.
References:
Worksheet: (http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/n-begins2.htm),
Book: The Best Nest by: P.D. Eastman,
Helpful
Lesson: Abbie Simpson
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/realizations/simpsonel.htm
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