Ohhhhhhh!!  I get it!!
oa=/O/

Beginning Reading Lesson Plan
Ginger Outlaw

Materials:
1. Large Poster with the tongue twister, "The coach rung the goal and started to boast!"
2. Elkonin boxes for each child (2, 3,& 4 boxes)
3. The letters: a,b,d,g,f,k,l,o,s (tape oa together)
4. Individual copies of Meet Mr. Cricket for the students
5. Primary paper and pencils

Procedure:
1. Introduce the lesson by informing the students that they will learn the correspondence oa=/O/ and the sound that it makes.  Tell the class how important it is that they learn their vowels and their sounds, because without a vowel there can be no word.  Vowels are the glue that holds words together.  Tell the students that the vowels oa=/O/ are very fun to say and very important to their reading.
2. Ask the students, "Have you ever been trying to figure something out for a long time and you finally understand it?"  Sure, everybody does!  What do you say when you finally get it?  I say, "Ohhhhhh!  I get it!  Have any of you ever said this before?  Did you notice the /O/ sound?  Well that is the vowel that we are going to learn today.  We are going to learn that oa=/O/.  It is in words such as:  Coat, moan, and soap.  Listen for the /O/ sound in other words that we say today!
3. Now I have a fun tongue twister for you to help me with today!  [Pull out large poster]  "The coach rung the goal and started to boast!"  Let's all say it together now and listen for the /O/ sound.  Good job!  This time let's stretch the /O/ sound in the words out.  [Model]  "The c-o-o-o-o-o-a-ch rung the g-o-o-o-o-al and started to b-o-o-o-o-ast!"  Now let's try it together!  Great!  Now let's try it one more way.  Each time we say /O/ let's break it off of the word.  [Model]  "The c /O/ch rung the g /O/l and started to b/O/st!" Now have the kids to say it.  Can anyone tell me if they heard a word with /O/ in it?  Super!!
4. Please take out your lined paper and your pencils because we are going to practice writing the letters o and a.  You will start at the fence and make a circle.  Be sure to close it up and there you have an o!  Now let's make an a by making a c with a line to close it up.  Now you have an a!  When you have written these correctly, I will place a smiley face sticker on your paper and you are to keep writing o's and a's to the end of the line.  Terrific job students!!
5. Now it is time for the letterboxes!  Everyone grab yours out of your desks.  We will use what we have learned today about the sound /O/ to spell words.  Remember students that we learned that oa=/O/.  Everyone ready?  Let's fold out 2 boxes and spell the word oak.  This word has 2 sounds in it.  The o and the a are taped together, so they will go in the same box.  After each student has this word correct, write the word on the board and have the class to read it aloud.  Now students, I want you to fold out one more box to make a total of three boxes.  Provide the words:  soak, loaf, goal, boast, and float.  Walk around to make sure that each child is getting the hang of it.
6. Hand out the book, Meet Mr. Cricket to the children.  This will be a book that I previously read to the class so that the students will be familiar with the words.  Have the students to spread out in the room and read quietly to themselves.  I will come around and listen to each of you read.  When you are finished reading, I want you to come to you desks and write down some of the words from the book that had the /O/ sound.  After all students are done, write the words on the board for the whole class to see.
7. Now I am going to say some words and I want you to pick out the one that has the /O/ sound in it.  I will say the word and then as a class tell me which is right.  Do you hear oa=/O/ in coat or jacket?  Toad or frog?  Bread or toast?
8. Assessment:  The teacher should provide a sheet of paper with several pictures on it.  Have the students to circle the pictures that contain the /O/ sound.  Then have the students to write the word under the picture.  Remind the students that oa=/O/.
Pictures of: toad, cat, snake, goat, and pig
 

References:
Hoffman, Beverly.  Meet Mr. Cricket.  Dominie Press, 1997.

Murray, B.A. and T. Lesniak. (1999). "The Letterbox Lesson:  A Hands-on approach to teaching decoding."

www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/openings/minkbr.html
"Aaaaaa!  Being Happy!  By Shay Mink

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