Choo Choo! Coming Through!

Beginning Reading Lesson

By: Natasha Rosko

Rationale: The foundation of reading and writing requires that children learn that letters are symbols for phonemes. Children must learn how to recognize phonemes sounds in spoken word, before they can match letters to phonemes. Simple diagraphs are one of the necessary foundations for learning spoken words. However, simple diagraphs are challenging to learn because two letters make one sound. This lesson will help children learn to recognize the simple diagraph /ch/ in spoken words by learning the meaningful representation and the letter symbol for the sound. The students will also have practice finding the simple diagraph /ch/ in words.

Materials: Primary  paper and pencil; chart with "Charlie checks his chess set for a check mate." drawing paper and crayons; Chip the Chimp; cards with memory game words on them (cheek and week, champ and damp, chalk and walk, choose and loose). Elkonin letter boxes. Letters: c, h, a, l, k, o, p, m, u, n, s, t, e, c.

Procedures:
1. Sometimes letters like to be disguised as friends and when two letter pairs are together they make a different sound. This sound can trick you because it is not the sound you are listening to hearing. The letters c and h work together as letter friends. When c and h are together, they make a disguising noise, /ch/. Today, we will learn that noise and learn how to find c and h together making the noise /ch/. After we learn the noise, we will be able to identify /ch/ words without being fooled by their disguises.

 2. Have you ever heard the noise of a train? It makes the "choo choo" noise. That is the noise we will make today as we learn about our letter friends c and h. Let's pretend we are trying to warn people that our train is coming. We need to make the "choo choo noise." Let's make this noise together as we pull the horn with our arm. Will you help me? Say /ch/oo /ch/oo while pulling the horn. Help me warn the cars of the train! /Ch/.

 3. Fantastic. Let's try a tongue twister practicing our new quiet noise. (on chart). "Charlie check his chess set for a check mate." Those letter friends are tricky! Let's say it three times together. Wow! Those letter friends are tough, but I know we can do it! Great job! Now say it again with me and this time let's really stretch out the /ch/ at the beginning of each word. Fantastic! This time, let's break of the /ch/ sound on each word: "/Ch/arlie /ch/ecks his /ch/ess set for a /ch/eck mate."

 4. Using letterboxes, the instructor can model how to use the letterboxes to spell the word properly, explaining that the /ch/ sound, since they are friends and like to share, they share one box together. Teacher can model with the work "chalk." Each child, using their own set of letterboxes, will be able to participate with the teacher through the modeling. The teacher will exaggerate the noises of the word chalk and show the students how they will spell it. After the teacher models, the students will then have the opportunity to spell some words on their own. (chop, chomp, lunch, stench, check)

 5. (Have students take out primary paper and pencils). Let's remember together. To make the quiet sound we use two letters as friends. What two letters are they? That's right, c and h. Those two letters become letter friends and disguise themselves and make the /ch/ noise. Let's try writing /ch/. First draw the c We draw c by starting like a little a. Go up and touch the fence, then around and up. We've made a c! The /ch/ sound needs a friend, remember? What friend does it need? That's right, the h. Now, let's put our h right next to our c. Let us start at the rooftop, come down to the sidewalk, and make a hump just below the fence! Now together, we have made our letter friend, /ch/. After I have given you a stamp with my /ch/eck mark, I want you to make 7 more letter friends together! Now, you know every time you see the letters c and h disguised together, you know they make loud "choo choo" noise.

 6. Let me show you how to find the /ch/ in the word lunch. I'm going to stretch out the word in lunch slow motion and I want you to listen for the "choo choo" noise. When you hear it, I want you to tug on your horn. Ready? L.L.Lu.Lu.Lun.Lun.Lunch! Did you hear it?

 7. Call on students to answer and tell how they know they hear the train noise. Do you hear /ch/ in chomp or stomp? Snack or Lunch? Check or desk? Brush or Bunch? Cheese or dish? Great! Now, let's see if you can spot the "choo choo" noise in these words! Get ready to sound the alarm with your train horn. Ready? Charlie checks his chess set for a check mate.

 8. Read story the story, Chip the Chimp. This story is about a chimp named Chip. As we read this story, let's see if we can hear our "choo choo" noise. Afterwards, we can go back and see if we were right! Then have student draw about Chip the Chimp and write a sentence describing the silly monkey.

Assessment: Have the students play a rhyming matching game. When a pair is found, have them determine which word has the /ch/ sound. Using words: cheek and week, champ and damp, chalk and walk, Choose and loose.

References:
Murray, Bruce.  The ReadingGenie

Murray, Bruce. "Example of Emergent Literacy Design: Sound the Foghorn".

Reading from AtoZ --  to download decodable text Chip the Chimp.

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