Mmmm Mangos
Emergent Literacy Design
Rationale:
This lesson will provide information for children to identify the letter m as
/m/. Students will learn how to write the letter m. What m sounds like and some
words that are associated with the letter m.
Children will practice the letter m by finding in words, using rhyming
words, and writing the letter. The teacher will assess children's knowledge of
the letter m individually.
Materials:
Primary paper and pencil, chart with the tongue twister "Matthew munched mangos
mainly on Mondays", copy paper and crayons, Book:
A Letter M and assessment sheet.
Procedures:
1. Explain to your students
how tricky writing is. Tell them how you will learn about the letter
M and how fun it will be to learn a
new letter. Say: "We are going to be learning about the letter
M today. We will learn how to write
the letter M in upper and lower case.
We will practice the letter M by
looking at words with m in them, drawings, rhyming, reading and other
activities. Learning a new letter will not only help you with your writing, but
it will also help you decode more words as you are reading. Everyone do this
close your mouth and hum mmmm then
open your mouth. You do this by smacking your lips tightly together.
This is what the letter
m sounds like when we are using this
letter."
2. Say:
"Think about your favorite food. Picture your favorite food sitting on your
desk. Now pretend you just took a really big bite of your food. What's the first
thing you usually say after you eat something really good? You say 'mmm that was
good'. I always say 'mmm' after I take a bite of pizza. Now let's practice
saying 'mmm' everyone say 'mmm that was yummy' and rub your belly. So when we
hear someone say 'mmm' what letter are they talking about?
M, wonderful job!"
3. Pull
out the tongue twister. Say: "Now let's look at a tongue twister that I came up
with that uses the letter m. Matthew munched mangos mainly on Mondays. Let's
read it together slowly first to learn it. Now this time I want you to really
put the 'mmm' on the m's like this,
Mmmatthew mmmunches on mmmangos mmmainly on MMMondays.
Now let's break the /m/ sound off the word. Say it with me, /m/ atthew
/m/unches /m/angos /m/ainly on /m/ondays.
4. (Have
students pull out their primary pencil and paper) Say:" Now we are going to
practice writing the letter m. Let's do a capital
M first. Start at the sidewalk and
pretending you are climbing up and slide and go to the rooftop. Then slide down
a new slide back to the sidewalk. Then take a new slide and climb back up to the
rooftop. Then get on a new slide and slide back down to the sidewalk. You have
just made a capital letter M. I want
you to do this 5 times. I'll be walking around and checking your work.
Great job everybody. Now let's try a
lower case m. You know how we used slides in the uppercase
M. (point to the slides) Well in
lowercase m we are going to use camel
humps. Start at the fence and draw a short line down to the sidewalk. In the
middle of the line you just draw put you pencil there. From that spot I want you
to make a hump like a camel's hump and go straight down to the sidewalk. Then
draw another hump that is touching the first hump making sure the top of the
hump touches the fence. The end of that line should end at the sidewalk. I want
you to make five more lowercase m's
and I will be walking around and checking your
m's. "
5. Say:
"Let's practice listening for the 'mmm' sound it some words. Remember the /m/
sound on your lips that we practiced earlier and how it was tightly smacking
your lips together and then opening them. Let's do that again. Good Job! Now,
I want you to rub your belly if you hear
the /m/ sound: (have these on cards) bed, mop, sock, cup, camel, ball, monkey,
ham, ear, me. Pick two words one with the m and one without and talk about how
you knew it was an m sounding word. Now
do you hear the /m/ sound in: mouse or rat? big or small? Sometimes we hear /m/
in the middle or the end of the world like in the word small.
Ham or turkey? Monster or witch? Goose
or moose? Snack or meal? Good job.
6. Say:
"We are now going to read a book about the letter
m, Called the
Letter M Book.
As we read raise your hand if you hear
the m sound. Then we will write the m
word on the board." After reading review the
m words from the book.
7. Say:
"To show others you have learned the letter m, I will give you a sheet of copy
paper. I want you to write the letter M
in lower and uppercase on your paper and then draw a picture of an item that
starts with the letter m. Make sure you name the item that you drew on your
paper. Be creative.
8. For
assessment, I will have students complete a work sheet where they will read a
poem where they will have to circle the capital
M's and underline the lowercase
m's. This will be done individual and
as the children finish I will have them come to me so I can check their sheet
and then I will have them read me the poem.
References:
Weibel,
Tim, A Letter M Book,
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/minibooks/m-mini-book.pdf
Houlton,
Allyson, Mmmm…Morgan Made a Milkshake.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/invitations/houltonel.htm
Assessment Sheet:
http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/m-poem.htm