Dribble your D
Rationale
It is important for students to understand and recognize phonemes quickly and
easily, so that they can become fluent readers. Because
b and
d are often confused by emergent
readers, it is important to supply them with tools to help decipher between the
two letters. In this lesson, students will learn to recognize /d/ in spoken
words by learning a meaningful representation (moving hand like you are
dribbling a basketball) and the letter symbol
d. Students will practice finding /d/
in spoken words by reciting tongue ticklers and pointing out the pictures that
contain /d/ on a worksheet and apply phoneme awareness with /d/ in phonetic cue
reading by distinguishing rhyming words from beginning letters. Students will
learn how to write d on primary
paper.
Materials
Picture of a boy dribbling a basketball
Mirror
Chart with tongue tickler- David’s daddy’s dog didn’t dig dirt in the dark.
Assessment worksheet with pictures of /d/ words
Primary paper
Pencil
Word cards with dot, dig, ten, date, pug
Poem
Procedures
1. Begin the lesson by introducing the phoneme /d/ and show the picture of a boy
dribbling a basketball. Recite several words containing /d/ while stretching out
each word so that students can hear the sounds you are making. “Watch me as I
stretch out the letter D and make the /d/ sounds. Now say it with me, ‘dddddd’.
The letter D sounds like someone dribbling a basketball. Can everyone dribble
their basketball with me? (While moving hand up and down like dribbling a ball)
/d/, /d/, /d/, /d/, /d/”.
2. “Now, everyone look into the mirror while you say /d/. What motion does your
mouth make? Notice how your tongue hits the roof of your mouth and then you
lower your jaw. Everyone put your hand under your chin so that you can feel your
chin dropping when you say /d/. It is important for students to understand the
movement of the mouth so that it is easier to pick out these phonemes in spoken
words.
3. I’m going to show you how to find the sound /d/ in words. I’m going to say a
word in slow motion, and you are going to listen for our dribbling /d/ sound.
Hhhhh-oooo-llll-d. I felt my chin drop at the end of that word. Hhhh-ooo-lllll-d.
The end of this word has the dribbling /d/.
4. Introduce the tongue tickler on chart paper. “David’s daddy’s dog didn’t dig
dirt in the dark. Can everyone say this with me 2 more times? Now, let’s say it
and stretch out the dribbling /d/ at the beginning of each word. DDDavid’s
ddddaddy’s ddddog ddddidn’t ddddig dddddirt in the dddark. What words start with
/d/?”
5. “Did you know that there is a symbol we use to write the sound /d/? Everyone
take out their pencil and paper, and I will show you the special symbol. Let’s
write the lower case c. Start by
making a little c a little bit under
the fence and curving around down to the sidewalk. Next, draw a line starting at
the rooftop and bring it straight down to the sidewalk, which will connect the
line and the little c. After I walk
by and put a star on your paper, you may finish the line out by writing more
d’s.
6. Call on students and ask: Do you hear the dribbling d in
cat or
dog?
Duck or
off?
Yes or
bed? “Now I’m going to say a list of
words and when you hear a word with the dribbling d, I want you to dribble your
basketball. List: funny, drink, double,
bug, sad, door, purse.
7. Introduce “My Dog Fred” poem. “I am going to read this poem to you, and each
time you hear the dribbling D, I want you to give me a big thumbs up. I am going
to read it slower the second time and I want you to write the dribbling d words
on your paper.
8. I will show the word dot and model how to decide if it is
dot or
pot. The d tells me that I need to
use my dribbling d sound, /d/. dddddot. Now you try some: dig,
dig or
pig? ten,
ten or
den? pug,
pug or
dug? date,
late or
date?
9. Students will be assessed by completing a worksheet that displays pictures of
several items. Students are directed to color the pictures that have the /d/
sound in them.
Resources
Lesson Design: “Sizzling Steak” by Stephanie Pollak
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/adventures/pollakel.htm
Poem:
http://www.poetry4kids.com/poem-546.html
Tongue Tickler:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/ticklers.html
Ideas for Assessment Worksheet:
http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/letterd.htm