Oscar
the Octopus Operates
By: Alexis
Ogubie
Children
need to understand that letters stand for phonemes and spellings map
out those
phonemes in spoken words. However,
before they can match letters to phonemes, they must be able to
recognize
phonemes in spoken words. This lesson
will help children to identify short vowel /o/.
Short vowels are important because they are present in most
words. The following lesson will involve
completing
a letterbox lesson, reading words and a book that contains the /o/
correspondence.
Materials:
Procedure:
1. Show the phoneme
graphic of the octopus, o.
Explain that when you see the beginning letter of octopus, the /o/
sound represents
the o=/o/ correspondence. Show them the hand gesture of waving all of
your
fingers except the thumbs to represent the tentacles of an octopus. Can
you
make the octopus /o/ with me? Now this sound is made by a short vowel,
the
short o. This short o always makes the /o/ sound, so when you
hear the
short /o/, make sure you wave your octopus fingers.
2. Now I
am going to
bring out the chart with the tongue twister on it. I will first
read the
tongue twister demonstrating the octopus /o/. Next, the students
will
repeat the tongue twister with me. Here
we go, Oooscar the oooctopus oooperated in
Oooctober! Good, you did great
making the octopus/o/ sound.
3. Next,
make sure
that the student can distinguish the /o/ sound in words. So, ask:
Do
you hear /o/ in rock or stick? Cat or
dog? Flip or flop?
Ask
each one individually to make sure they are getting it. Ask if
students
know any more words that begin with /o/.
4. Begin
letterbox
lesson after discussing more words with the short /o/ sound in
them. Take
out your letterboxes and letters. We
will need the letters: d, o, t, j, b, c, s, p, m, k, f, r, e, a. Make sure that
the students do not read the words in
the letterboxes, but wait until the end when we take the letterboxes
away. First,
model the LBL for them to show them how
to do it. Now we are going to spell some words that have the /o/
sound in
them. I want to spell the word stomp.
I have fiveboxes to place
my
letters in. I am listening to the sounds that are in the word so
that I
know what letters I need to place inside the boxes. I know that I
hear
that /o/ so I am going to get an o
letter tile. The first sound I
hear is
a /s/ so that is the letter s,
next I hear /t/, then i hear /o/ which is the octopus
sound, the next sound i hear is /m/ which is the letter m and finally
I hear /p/ so that is the letter p. Now, I have placed
all my
letters in their boxes, and I have the word stomp. Next, use
the LBL
and the letter tiles to complete a lesson using the words: 3 phonemes: {dot,
bed, job, cat} 4 phonemes: {stop, smock}
5
phonemes: {frost}. These words will reinforce the octopus o=/o/
correspondence that we have been working on. Say the words for
the
student to spell, and if they make a mistake, pronounce the word as
they
spelled it. Allow them to self-correct. If they cannot
self-correct, then model how to spell the word. Let them know
that it is
okay to make mistakes and it was a tough word. Continue through
the LBL
until the child has spelled all the words.
5. Next,
bring out the
flash cards containing the words that they just spelled. Have
them read
each word. If they struggle with the words, then use the letter
tiles to
spell the word. Then break the word down into small parts.
Show
them that they can cover up parts of a tricky word and sound it out
part-by-part,
or letter by letter. Finish reading the words, and model as
needed.
Allow time for self-correction.
6. Now
bring out the
decodable book A Hot Spot. I know everyone knows
what it feels
like to be hot. Today we
are going to read a book about a hot day.
Tim has a hot job.
All he wants is a cool drink, but there is a pig in the way. Will he get a
drink. We will have to
read the rest to find out?
7.
Finally, bring out
the primary paper and pencil and have the students write a
message. I want each of you to write a sentence or
two describing your favorite holiday. Encourage them to use
invented
spelling.
Assessment:
Have each student read pseudowords containing the o= /o/
correspondence. Use
the following pseudowords {pog, yot, zom,
lod, mos}. This will provide an interesting assessment of the
student's ability to read using this correspondence.
Resources:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/letbox.html
Tew, Melanie. It's Obvious that You're Sick. http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/persp/tewbr.html