Lesson
Design -- Creaky Letter E
Lauren
Cauthen Emergent Literacy
• Rationale.
Phonemic
awareness and letter recognition are the two crucial steps towards
beginning
literacy. Emerging readers must learn to recognize the distinct sounds
of our
spoken language in order to make correspondences between written
letters and
the phonemes (mouth moves/sounds) that they represent. I would like for
this
lesson to make the e = /e/ (short e) correspondence memorable for
students. By
presenting the information in the context of an interactive story, I
believe
that the lesson will be engaging to young minds and easy to remember.
The
lesson will allow students to hear and recognize the short “e” sound,
to
produce the short “e” sound themselves, and to form the letter “e” on
paper by
engaging them in each of these activities.
Provide
the goal or objective for the lesson.
Tell
why the goal is important and how the
lesson activities will help
students reach the goal.
• Materials.
·
Copy of big book/
PowerPoint, In the Creaky Old House
(click here for
Powerpoint)
·
Writing paper and
pencil for each student
·
Copy of rocking chair
picture with embedded “e” to post as a
reminder of lesson
·
Dry erase board with
writing paper lines and marker
·
Worksheet
Exhaustive
list so we'll know exactly what materials to assemble.
• Procedures
for carrying out the lesson in detail, with numbered steps.
1)
Introduce the lesson
by telling students that we are going
to learn about a sound that is going to help us learn to read. “Do you
think
that a squeaky old door can teach us how to read? It can! Have you ever
heard a
squeaky door open? It sounds like eeeeee.” (as motion the opening of a
door)
Can you all open an old squeaky door with me?” (make noise and motion
along
with the children) It sure is a good thing we all know about squeaky
doors,
because when we read, squeaky doors sounds can help us to remember what
sound
the letter “e” can make.
2)
Introduce In the
Creaky Old House. “ I have a story
here about a very old and creaky house. Mysterious sounds are coming
from
inside. Do you think you can explore the house with me to solve the
mystery?
Where do you think the scary sounds are coming from?”
3)
Read the book,
inviting children to make the “eeeeeeee”sound
effects necessary at the end of each page.
4)
“So what sound does
our creaky letter “e” make?” (Let
students respond). “What are our mouths doing when we make that sound?”
Discuss
that the mouth is open and relaxed, and that the sound is coming from
our
throat.
5)
“Let’s practice
finding some words that have the creaky
“eeee” sound in them. I want you to open your creaky door every time
you hear
the “eeee” sound in this sentence: Everybody saw Eddie on his
elephant.” (model
as students also participate) “Great! Let’s practice that one more
time.”
6)
“Now let’s see you
open your squeaky doors again when you
hear the “eeee” sound. Which word says ‘eeee’?”:
a.
Ham or Eggs?
b.
Blue or Red?
c.
Jet or Plane?
d.
Play or Bed?
e.
Grade or Test?
7)
“We are getting so
good at hearing the “eeee” sound! Do you
remember what letter we use to write the “eeee” sound? That’s right,
the letter
‘e’. Let’s learn to write a letter ‘e’ on our papers. We start at the
top, and
draw a half circle down to the bottom. That kinda looks like the
rocking chair
from the story. Now we just need to add a seat to the rocking chair by
drawing
a line across the middle. Can everyone try it with me on their paper
this time?
(model as you explain)
Assessment.
Have
students fill out a
worksheet by writing a letter “e” in the properly lined box next to
each
picture that begins with the “e” sound.
• Reference
to a source that can tell us more. Provide all we need to track
down the
source.