Rationale:

To learn to read and spell words, children must understand that phonemes are represented by letters in order to map out spellings in spoken and written language.  Children have to be capable of recognizing phonemes before they can attempt to learn correspondences.  When children have mastered the vowel correspondences, they should be ready to move on to consonant correspondences.  In this lesson, children will be exposed to the correspondence b = /b/.  They will learn to recognize /b/ in spoken words through a meaningful representation and its letter symbol, along with practice of locating and identifying /b/ in written and spoken words.

Materials:

Primary paper and pencil; poster with "The buzzing bee bumped into the bathing bear"; class set of index cards with b on one side; picture of a drum for each child; Bud the Sub by Shelia Cushman; page of illustrations of bat, car, bug, ball, cat, dog, zebra, pig, submarine, boy, girl, baby, triangle.

Procedures:

1. "Class, today we are going to learn about a secret code.  The code is the sounds our mouths make when we say words.  The part of the secret code we are going to try to figure out is /b/.  We can find /b/ at the beginning, middle or end of many words, but I am sure you'll be able to find it!

2. Ask students: "Have you ever heard the drummer in the Auburn band beat on his drum? It makes the b-b-b-b sound that we are looking for today.  Here is how you find it in a word.  Stretch out the word and see if you can hear that drummer drumming.  I'll try balloon, b-b-b-balloon.  B-b-b-b·there it is!  I heard the drumming sound in the beginning!"

3. I want everyone to put on his or her listening ears as I read this tongue twister.  "The buzzing bee bumped into the bathing bear."  Now, everyone say it together.  Let's say it again, but this time let's try stretching out the /b/ in each word.  "The /b/ uzzing /b/ ee /b/ umped into the /b/ athing /b/ ear."  Great job, I really like the way you all stayed with me.

4. (Have students take out primary paper and pencil).  Say, "We use the letter b to spell /b/.  Let's see how we can write that. (Model for children on the board)  Our 'sky' is the top line on our paper.  The 'fence' is the dotted line in the middle, and the 'ground' is the line on the bottom.  Start at the sky and come down to the ground, making a straight line.  Next, we want to start just below the fence line, and loop around, touch the fence, come down to the ground, and loop back up to the first line we drew.  I want all my boys and girls to make their best b.  When I come and around and see it, I want you to make a full row of b's just like the one I showed you.  When you see the letter b, it means it makes the sound /b/.

5. "Since we know how to make the letter b, and we know what the sound /b/ is, let's find it in some words.  Do you hear /b/ in house or cub?  Bounce or hop? Rabbit or horse?" (Pass out index cards with b's on them).  "Now that you have gotten so good at finding b's, we are going to look at the tongue twister again.  Each time you hear /b/, I want you to show me your card with the b side facing me." (Reading one word at a time).  "The, buzzing, bee, bumped, into, the, bathing, bear."

6. Read Bud the Sub and discuss the story.  Reread it, and have the students make the drumming motion on their laps if they hear /b/ in the story.  Have each student write a message about the story on the page with the drum picture on it.  Allow them to use inventive spelling, and hang their messages up in a special location in the room.

7. Assessment:  Pass out page with illustrations on it.  Go over what each picture is with the children.  Then have them circle the pictures whose names have /b/.
 

Reference:

Byrne, B., and Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1990). Acquiring the alphabetic principle: A case for teaching recognition of phonemic identity.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 805-812.

Julie Miller's Emergent Literacy Design.  Billy's Blue Ball. http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/openings/millerel.html .  22, June 2003.

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