Cat in the Hat

Kate McNamara
Emergent Literacy

Rationale: In order for children to begin to learn to read, they must understand that each sound we make when we speak can be represented by written letters of our alphabet. Since our mouths make similar shapes when we pronounce the short vowels, they are the hardest to discriminate. This lesson helps students identify the /a/ sound in spoken words by associating the sound with an action (yelling) and also learn to correctly write the letter a (I'll model it for them on the board.) and spot the letter in written words.

Materials:     primary paper and pencil
                     a book that concentrates on the /a/ sound (The Cat in the Hat is a good choice)
                     chart with "The fat cat in the hat ran when he saw the rat" written on it
                     picture page with illustrations of a hat, sock, bat, shoe, bus, map, chair, bag, wig, pen, cat, and cup

Procedure:
1) Ask students "Have you ever wanted to read that book your parents read to you all by yourself? Parents know the secrets to reading, and today we're going to learn one of those secrets! We're going to learn the secret to remembering /a/ and also how to recognize it in words you see in books."

2) Ask, "Have you ever been so scared or surprised by something that you let out a yell? I say, "aaaaahhhhh" when I'm scared. That's what we're learning about today, and we find this sound in words like caaaaat, caaaab, and taaaab. See, I made the scared sound in those words!

3) "Here's a great tongue twister to help us practice and remember the scared sound we make."The fat cat in the hat ran when he saw the rat." Now let's all say it together and stretch out the /a/ sound when we hear it in a word. "The faaat caaaat in the haaat raaaan when he saw the raaaat." Great job everyone!

4) "Now let's take out our paper and pencils so we can practice writing the letter that makes the /a/ sound." (I'll model the letter a on the board before they write it.) "Begin just below the fence, curve down to the sidewalk, and curve back up like you're making a c. Now pick up your pencil and starting at the fence, make a stick down to the sidewalk to close your c.  After I see you've done it correctly, make a whole row of a's. Each a you write makes the /a/ scared sound."

5) Ask students to listen for scared sounds in these words and clap when they hear it and do nothing when they don't. You read sock, glad, see, him, apple, Andrew, Kate, eye, pack, Dad, mom.

6) Read the book that concentrates on the /a/ sound and discuss it with students. Now read it again and have students raise their hands when they hear the /a/ sound. They can then draw a picture of something that has /a/ in its name and write a message with invented spelling. Hang these works of art on the wall in the classroom!

7) To assess the students, give them each a picture page and go over what the pictures are together. Then have them circle the pictures that include the /a/ sound in the name of the picture (their cat, their Dad, their favorite fruit-apple).

Sources:
            Dr. Seuss. The Cat in the Hat. Random House Inc., New York: 1957.

            http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/chall/kirschel.html
 

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