Rationale:  One step to learning to read easily and quickly is being able to decode. Children must be able to make the connection between graphemes and phonemes in order to do this.  They must be able to recognize vowels because every word contains them.  This lesson will help children identify e= /e/.  They will make the connection between the grapheme and the phoneme.  They will also practice finding /e/ in spoken and written words.
Materials: primary paper and pencil, Red Gets Fed (Educational Insights), and a chart with the tongue twister, “Red begs and begs to be fed before bed!”
Procedures:  1. Our written language is a secret code and we are going to try to figure out some of that code today.  We need to learn what letters stand for, what sounds they make and what mouth moves make those sounds.  In this lesson we are going to learn the mouth move /e/.  The sound /e/ is in many words and we will be able to read new words that contain this letter.
2. When we say /e/ our tongue is in the middle of our mouth.  Our mouth is open.  And our tongue does not hit the top of our mouth or the bottom; instead it rests right in the middle.
3. The letter e says /e/.  It is just like a rocking chair.  Have you ever been rocking in a rocking chair and heard /e/ /e/ /e/ as you rock back and forth?  Let’s pretend we are in a rocking chair.  Say /e/ with me as we rock back and forth.
4. I will read this tongue twister on the chart to you.  “Red begs and begs to be fed before bed!”  Let’s say it together three times.  This time stretch out the /e/ sound.  “Reeeeed beeeegs and beeegs to be feeeeeed before beeeed!”
5. Take out your primary paper and pencils.  Let’s write the letter /e/. We will first draw the letter c.  Then take your pencil and draw a side ways line across the top of the c over to the inside end of it.  Model this from students. Tell them to draw five more.
6. Call on students and tell how they know: Do you hear /e/ in red or had?  Meg or from? Let or pick?
7.   The student will read Red Gets Fed and talk about the story.
Assessment: The teacher will read it again and have students touch their noses when they hear /e/.  List words on the board. Have each student write a message about their pet or an imaginary pet using invented spelling.
Reference: Eldredge, Lloyd J.  Teaching Decoding in Holistic Classrooms. Prentice Hall, Inc. 1995. Pages 52-70.
 

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