Rationale:  Phonemic awareness is a prerequisite for phonics knowledge, spelling development, and word recognition.  It is also one of the top predictors of future reading and spelling achievement (Eldredge, 27).  Through this lesson, students will learn the /A/ (long A).  This will be taught through a tongue twister, locating /A/ in spoken words, distinguishing which word /A/ is in, and through reading Jane and Babe.

Materials:
Primary paper and a pencil for each child
Dry erase board and marker for each child
Crayons
Unlined paper for each child
Jane and Babe book

Procedure:
1.Today we are going to learn a very important sound that we hear everyday.  This sound is /A/.  We need to know how to locate this sound to we can read all these good books.

2.Have you ever been watching TV and heard someone say "Aaaay Matey!"?  /A/ is the sound you hear in "Aaaay and in mA-A-Atey."  The /A/ sound is what we are going to be looking for today.  Let's all practice saying "Aaaay Matey!" and wave just like we are saying hello to someone.  Good job.  Now, let's listen for the /A/ in make: maa-a-ake.  Let's all say make and when you hear /A/ I want you to wave.  Very good.

3.Now we are going to say a tongue twister.  Reveal the chart with "Kate always takes Jake to the lake in the rain."  Let's all say this together.  Now let's say it again and stretch out the /A/ in each word that we hear it in.  "Kaa-a-ate alwaa-a-ays taa-a-akes Jaa-a-ake to the laa-a-ake in the raa-a-ain."  Great job!! 

4.Now we are going to practice writing the letter A.  Everyone please get out your lined paper and a pencil.  For a capital (big) A, you start at the roof, bring it down to the sidewalk, start back at the roof (where you began your first line) and bring this second line down to the sidewalk, now cross at the fence.  For a lowercase a, start right under the fence, go up and touch the fence, then around and touch the sidewalk:  around and straight down.  Model how to write the letters on the chalkboard as I am explaining.  Now I want everyone to practice writing Aa all the way across your paper.  I will walk around and check everyone's.

5.Everyone now take out your dry erase board and marker.  I am going to say two words, I want you to listen for the hello sound in each word.  If you hear the /A/ in the first word, write a 1 on your board.  If you hear it in the second word, write a  two.  We will then share our answers and decide which word we heard the /A/ in. Lake or pond, give or take,rain or shine,safe or out, fake or real

6.I will now read Jane and Babe.  I will introduce the book by saying that Jane has a very special friend named Babe.  Babe is a lion.  Jane always goes to visit Babe, what do you think will happen today when Jane goes to see Babe?  After reading the book have a short class discussion about what the students thought about the book.  I will read it again and have the students make the /A/ sound with their mouth when they hear the /A/ sound in the book. I will then list long A words from the book on the other side of the tongue twister chart by having the students identify the words.  Have each student write in the journal 3 sentences using different /A/ words.  The students will be using inventive spelling.  When the students are finished, have them draw pictures of /A/ words on a sheet of paper and label the different words.  The student should use their crayons to make the pictures more interesting.  We will then hang the students work on a bulletin board in the classroom

7.For assessment ask students to identify the /A/ words in the other students work on the bulletin boards.  Each child needs to pronounce the /A/ sound in each of the different items.

References: 
Eldredge, J. Teaching Decoding in the Holistic Classrooms. New Jersey:  Prentice 
Hall Inc.  1995.  p.27.

Jane and Babe.  Phonics Readers Long Vowels.  Carson, CA:  Educational Insights. 
1990. 
 
 

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