Rationale:  To learn to read and spell words, children must be able to recognize and be able to write letters that represent certain phonemes.  The lowercase letters p, b, and d are often confused because they look so similar in writing.  This lesson will review the vocal gestures /p/, /b/, and /d/, while teaching children fun ways to write the graphemes which represent these phonemes.  The children will learn to recognize these letters in written texts and to write them.

Materials:  Primary paper and pencil; flash cards with pictures of a bat, ball, pie, pig, dog and a dish on them. Flash cards with the uppercase and lowercase letters p, b, d, P, B, and D on them.  Chart with empty pages of primary lined paper.

Procedures:
1. Introduce the lesson by reviewing.  Hold up the different pictures and ask the children if they know what the pictures are of.  Do you hear different sounds in the beginning of the words ball and dog.  Are they different or are they the same sounds?  Once we have established that the beginning sounds are different, then add the flash cards of the letters to see if the children can identify what letters I am holding up. Good, now lets match these letters with the beginning sound of the picture I am holding up.  Now we are going to work on writing these letters.
2. Start with introducing how to write the letter Pp.  Start at the rooftop and move your pencil strait down to the sidewalk.  Pick your pencil up and start back at the rooftop and curve around to the fence line.  For a lowercase p start at the fence line and draw a strait line down into the gutter.  Next start back at the fence line and curve around to the sidewalk.
3. Next demonstrate how to write the letter Bb, while having the children follow along on their paper.  Start at the rooftop and draw a strait line down to the sidewalk giving Mr. B a nice, strong back.  Start back at the rooftop and curve around to give Mr. B a big strong chest and a big fat belly.  For little b just draw a line from the rooftop to the sidewalk just like you did with big B, but his time start at the fencelike and curve down to the sidewalk, just giving little b a belly.
4. Next ask the children to write the letter Dd with you.  We’re going to give him a nice, strong back just like P and B.  Next start at the rooftop and curve all the way around all the way down to the sidewalk.  For little d, we make a strait line from the rooftop to the sidewalk and curve around heading backwards.
5. For assessment, have the children make sets of threes matching the uppercase, lowercase, and picture cards together.

Reference:  Murray, Bruce ed., (2001), “Punch in the Stomach” article.

For Futher information, send email to prestke@mail.auburn.edu
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