Slithery Snake S
Emergent Literacy
Lesson Design
Rationale:
This
lesson will help children identify /s/, the phoneme represented by S.
The students will learn to recognize /s/ in spoken words by learning a
meaningful representation (slithering snake) and the letter symbol S, practice
finding /s/ in words, and apply phoneme awareness with /s/ in phonetic cue
reading by distinguishing rhyming words from beginning letters.
The students will also get to work on their own for recognizing /s/ in
partially spelled words.
Materials:
Primary paper and pencil; chart with Silly Sally sprays soapy suds; cue cards
with SAY, SMALL, SAND, SELL; and assessment worksheet for identifying words with
partial spellings and /s/.
Procedures:
1.)Our written language is kind of tricky to learn sometimes.
We have to practice to be able to find out how to write down the sounds
that our mouths make. Today we are
working on how to find the mouth movement for /s/.
/s/ is spelled with the letter S.
That S looks like a snake and sound like a snake hissing.
2.)Let’s make pretend out arm is a snake.
Wiggle it back and forth just like a snake moves, /s/, /s/, /s/, [move
arm like a snake] Notice where your
tongue is? (Touching above top teeth).
When we say /s/, we put our tongue above our top teeth and blow out air
making a hissing sound just like a snake.
I can feel the snake’s hiss in
sand.
3.) Let me show you how to find /s/ in the word
sand.
Stretch the word out so it takes a really long time to say and listen for
the snake sound. Sss-a-a-a-n-d.
That was it. I felt my tong
touch above the top teeth and blow out air.
I can feel the /s/ in sand.
4.)Now, let’s do a tongue twister with that same /s/ sound [on chart].
Silly Sally sprays soapy suds.
Now say it three times as a group.
Say it again but this time really stretch the /s/ at the beginning of the
words while making your arm to the snake motion.
Ssssilly Ssssally ssssssprays sssssoapy ssssuds.
Now, let’s try that again and this time instead of dragging out the
sound, let’s separate that sound at the beginning from the rest of the word: /s/
illy /s/ ally
/s/ prays /s/ oapy
/s/ uds
5.)[Have students take out primary paper and pencil].
We use S to spell /s/.
Capital S looks like a big snake, and little s looks like a baby snake.
Let’s write the lowercase letter s.
Start just below the fence. Curve it back up to touch the fence.
Swoop down to right below where we started and bend it back around to
touch the sidewalk. Let me see
everyone’s s.
After I check everyone’s little s’s,
I want you to make nine more just like it using the same steps we just did.
6.)Have students answer and explain how they know:
Do you hear /s/ in sack or
line?
Small or
top?
Fall or
list?
Jump or
clasp?
Belt or
smell?
Say: Let’s see if you
can spot the mouth move /s/ in some words.
If you do hear /s/, make the snake movement with your arm as you hiss.
If they don’t just say no way.
Slam, mask, jump, ran, spider, fly, meat, stash, stick, risk, let
What am I saying:
s-tall?
s-pit? What am I saying: la-ss?
mi-ss?
7.) Phonetic cue reading. We use
S to write the hissing snake sound,
/s/, so this word is ssss-plit, split.
You try some: Is this: SAY - say
or pay? SMALL - small or
mall?
SAND - band or
sand? SELL
- sell or
fell?
Assessment:
Have the students complete the partial spelling worksheet while assessing
phonetic cue reading in step 7 individually.
REFERENCE
Dr. Murray, Bruce, The Reading Genie, Mouth Moves and Gestures for Phonemes,
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/mouthmoves.html
DLTK's Sites, Beginning Consonants Worksheets
http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/s-begins2.htm