Rationale: Phonemic Awareness is the basis for a child to become a successful reader.  A digraph is a grapheme with two letters that combine to make one sound.  This lesson will teach the phoneme /sh/ by using a tongue twister, games, and activities.

Materials: a) Poster with the tongue twister, "She Ships Shells to the Shore".  b) Poster with pictures of a shell, ball, ship, shirt, umbrella, shoe, chair, shark, and book.  c) Chalkboard.  d) Primary writing paper and pencil.  e) Book: She Sell Seashells: A Tongue Twister Story.  f) Brown paper sack with objects: ball, pencil, book, toy shark, shell, toy shrimp, toy ship, shirt, watch, and shorts.

Procedure:
1. "Sometimes a sound is written with two letters.  We are going to learn the sound /sh/.  It sounds like when you put your finger over your mouth to be quiet.  You say /sh/."  Then introduce a tongue twister.  "Can everyone say, She Ships Shells to the Shore.  How many times did you hear the phoneme /sh/?  You hear it four times."  Then show the poster with the tongue twister written on it.  Read it again letting the children repeat you.
2. Sound Matching: Show the children a poster with many pictures on it.  "Which pictures begin with the sound /sh/?"  After you go over the ones that begin with /sh/, have the children write the words on their own paper (you may have to write them on the chalkboard).
3. Phoneme Matching Game: "I will ask you a question.  The answer begins or ends with the sound /sh/.  See if you can figure it out."
A) What is something that lives in the ocean and has sharp teeth?  It begins with /sh/.  Answer: Shark.
B) What is something that you find in the sand at the beach?  It begins with /sh/.  Answer: Shell.
C) What is something that swims around in the water?  It ends with /sh/.  Answer: Fish.
D) What is something that floats on top of the water?  It begins with /sh/.  Answer: Ship.
4. Read Book: She Sell Seashells: A Tongue Twister Story
5. Assessment: Have a few items in a brown paper sack.  Each child will draw one item and tell you if it starts with /sh/.  "What is it?  Does it start with the sound /sh/?"  If it does, ask the child to write the word on his or her paper.  "Yes it does.  Now write the word down on your paper.  Or no it does not.  You can put it back in the bag."
6. Review: Have each child read the tongue twister.  Have each child write the tongue twister on his or her paper.  Go around to each child individually and ask "Can you find the /sh/ in each word?"

References:
Eldredge, J. Lloyd.  Teaching Decoding in Holistic Classrooms.  Prentice Hall.  New Jersey,
1995.  Pp. 53, 63-67.
Kin, Grace.  She Sell Seashells: A Tongue Twister Story.

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