Chasing Cheap Chopsticks!
Beginning
Rationale:
To
learn to read and spell
words children must first learn phonemes and letter
correspondences.
Sometimes a phoneme is represented by two letters that go together to
make one
sound such as /ch/. This is what we call a digraph. Digraphs are a
necessity to the use of the English Language.
Without digraphs, we would be limited in the vocabulary that we
could
use. This lesson will help children understand that when they see
a c
and h together, they make the /ch/ sound. So that the students
may learn
this digraph and its use in everyday language.
Materials:
Dry
erase board and marker
for each student
Chalk
or Dry erase board
Elkonin
Letterbox (1 per
child)
Letters:
i, p, a, s, e,
r, c, h, t, l, u, n, m (one of each per student)
Chopsticks. One pair per student.
Martin, Bill Jr. Chicka Chicka
Boom Boom. Simon & Schuster Inc. 1989.
Procedure:
To
begin this lesson, I
would review the sounds we have learned such as b /b/, s /s/, and g
/g/. When
the letter is alone, it makes different sounds. I will explain to
my
students that two letters are placed together to make one sound like
/ch/. "What
two letters placed together make /ch/?" Wait for any responses. If
no one gets it say, " well, that is what we are going to learn
today." "We are going to talk bout the way our mouths move when we
put c and h together." "They say
/ch/." "Now watch the way my mouth moves when I read the word chew."
"Can everyone make that sound with me?" "Good." “What are
other words that start with /ch/?”
Wait for answers, recording a couple of the best answers on the board.
Write
the words chop,
clip, chin, and cheese on the chalkboard.
Ask which of the words does not have the /ch/
phoneme. Read the words to the students, then have children read
the
words off the board. Next, slowly reread the words from the board
placing
and emphasis on the /ch/. Underline the digraph while reading the
word. Then, have the student's reread each word placing an
emphasis on
the /ch/.
Write
a tongue twister
on the board. "Chuck chases cheap chopsticks." Have the
students copy the sentence onto his/her individual dry erase
board. Read
the sentence slowly and emphasize the /ch/ sound. Then have
students read
it with you and circle the words that
they hear /ch/ in. (this can be done in a group or individually
depending on
the class) After allowing time for them to circle the words, have
volunteers come up one at a time and circle one word on the board that
has the
/ch/ sound.
Letterbox
lesson: Pass
out the letterbox and letters to each student. Remind them
how the letterbox activity works. Tell them that each box
contains a
different sound. "Remember when the c and h are side by side,
they make the /ch/ sound." Illustrate this on the board using
the word chop. Draw 3 boxes. "The first sound (I used
the
word "sound" so the students would understand.) in 'chop' is
/ch/." "I am going to put the c and h side by
side in the first box." "Now then, /ch/o...the /o/ is next so we will
put that in the second box." "We have one more box left."
"The last letter p belongs in the last box." "Let's check
it to make sure we have it right." "/ch/o/p/...perfect! Now
then, does everyone understand that when the c and h are side by side
they make
the /ch/ sound?" "Well, now I want you to spell these words
using your letterboxes." "But be careful, some might have a
silent e!" "Does anyone remember where we place the silent e?"
"Yes that’s right, outside the last box!" (Write words on the
board·chip, chase, chat, rich.) "Now, spell each of
these
words using three of your letterboxes." "I am going to walk
around to see that everyone understands." "Please do not erase
your letterbox until I tell you to." After checking all 3
phoneme words, move on to four phoneme words (four boxes) such as
(munch and
lunch).
Read: Pass out pairs
of chopsticks. Tell the students that they can “chop” the
other
stick with one, every time that they hear the /ch/ phoneme. After reading a story with the /ch/ phoneme
repeated, have them reread it and chop at every work that has the
phoneme.
Introduce
the book Chicka
Chicka Boom Boom (Martin, 1989.).
Tell the children that each letter is climbing the coconut tree. What will happen when X, Y, and Z get up to
the top of the coconut tree? Read to
find out.
Extra practice: Have
the students work in small groups to write a story with as many /ch/
phoneme
words as they can find. This story can
be as silly as they want to make it.
Have them read the whole story to the class, having the class
use the
chopsticks as explained earlier.
Assessment: I
will make a worksheet that will have a four
lines with three pictures on each line.
Each line will have a picture with a different phoneme and there
will be
one with the /ch/ phoneme. For example,
one line could have a picture of a table, a lamp and a chair. The directions at the top of the worksheet
will instruct the student to circle the picture that you hear the /ch/
phoneme
in.
Resource:
Anne
Joseph, "Chomp Chomp Chocolate"
Martin, Bill Jr. Chicka Chicka
Boom Boom. Simon & Schuster Inc. 1989.
Bruce
Murray, The
Reading Genie
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