Rationale: Since a_e= /A/ sound is a very common but complicated sound in the English language, it is important to teach this correspondence early on. This lesson will help identify the a_e= /A/ sound. They will learn to recognize the correspondence in written texts and be able to correctly pronounce the sound when reading.
Materials: Letterboxes, cutouts of the letters- d,a,t,e,k,s,f,g,p,l,n, chalk, James and the Good Day(Phonics Readers-Long Vowels. Educational Insights. 1990), paper and pencil
Procedures:
1) Introduce the lesson to the children by explaining that when the
a is followed by another letter and then an e, the a makes the long A sound
and the e is silent.
2) Model this by placing the word date on the overhead. Bring
down the letters a and e and isolate the a and explain this makes the /A/
sound. Children, when I have the letter e followed by the a in a
word it makes the /A/ sound can everyone say this sound with me, /A/.
Great job. Now I’m going to blend the letter d in with the /A/ sound.
Can everyone do this with me? Now we are going to add the t sound
to the d and the a to say the word date. Now everyone remember that
the e is silent so lets all say the word together, d-a-t-e.
3) Now we are going to say a riddle all together to make sure we understand
how to make the /A/ sound. Write the riddle, “Kate ate cake at Jane’s
gate, on the board. Now I’m going to point to each word and I want
you to say the riddle with me.
4) Next do a letterbox lesson on the overhead and have the children
tell you how to spell each of the words. Use the words ate, take,
safe, date, gate, plate, snake. Now I’m going to put the words on
the board without the boxes and I want you to spell out what each word
is in your own letterboxes.
5) Now I’m going to put some words on the board and I want you to tell
me which of the two words has the /A/ sound in it. Some of the words
have the short /a/ sound that we learned earlier. Remember the a
by itself says /a/. Which word has the /A/ sound in it, band or cane,
jar or bake, crab or wave, Chad or Jane, brag or brave?
6) Have the students read the book James and the Good Day individually
and then have the students discuss the story. Then have them write
a story about what they have done to get in trouble with their parents.
7) For assessment, give the children a spelling test using words with
short /a/ and long /A/. Allow the children to use their letterboxes
and then have them write their answers on paper so they can be checked
later. Some words are name, grade, tame, face, trade, made.
Reference:
Eldredge, Lloyd, J. Teaching Decoding in Holistic Classrooms. Prentice Hall. 1995. pp. 50-70.
Murray, Bruce A. and Lesniak, Theresa. “The letterbox lesson: A hands-on approach for teaching decoding.” The Reading Teacher. Vol. 52, No. 6. March 1999.pp. 644- 650