Rambling Rabbits Make /a/'s

Emergent
Readers
Rationale:
To
become successful in reading, individuals must acknowledge that each
letter has a particular corresponding sound.
This lesson will assist children in identifying ���a,��� the
phoneme represented by /a/. The students
will learn to recognize /a/ in spoken words by relating the letter a,
practice finding /a/ in words, writing the letter ���a,��� and
identifying the sound in spoken words through a read-aloud book.
Materials:
Primary Paper
Pencil
Chart with ���Abby ate Aunt Ally���s apples.���
Rabbit Rambles
Pre-made cards with: Do you hear
/a/ in cat or dog?
Do you
hear /a/ in mouse or rat?
Do you
hear /a/ in hat or bow?
Do you
hear /a/ in rabbit or bunny?
Do you
hear /a/ in him or man?
Do you hear
/a/ in fat or skinny?
Do you
hear /a/ in cry or laugh?
Do you
hear /a/ in white or black?
Do you
hear /a/ in bathtub or shower?
Do you
hear /a/ in crab or fish?
Assessment worksheets identifying pictures with /a/. (URL���s
below)
Procedures:
1. Say:
Our written language is a hassle at times.
The hard part is figuring out which letter makes each sound and
the movement that your mouth makes for each letter.
Today we are going to work on spotting the mouth move /a/.
We will spell /a/ with ���a.���
a looks like a bunny, and /a/ sounds like a rabbit rambling on.
2. Let���s pretend to talk
excessively /a/, /a/, /a/, /a/ [making mouth movement with hands like
one is talking and hopping like a rabbit.]
Notice what position your mouth is in when you say /a/.
When we say /a/, you open your mouth wide and your tongue stays
down.
You try it out! It is like you are
running out of breath when you have been rambling on too much.
3. Let me show you how to find /a/
in the word rabbit.
I���m going to stretch rabbit out in super slow
motion and listen for my rambling stream of sound. R-a-a-a-bit. Slower!
R-r-r-a-a-a-a-b-i-t. You got it! I felt my
mouth open and stay open after the /a/ sound and then I said the rest
of the word, closing my mouth as doing so.
I can feel my mouth make that ramble /a/ in rabbit.
4. Let���s say a tongue twister (on
chart). ���Abby ate Aunt Ally���s apples.���
Everybody say it 3 times together.
Now say it again, and this time, stretch /a/ out at the
beginning of each word. ���Aaabby aaate Aaaunt Aaally���s aaapples.���
Try it again and this time break off the word: ���/a/bby /a/te
/a/unt /a/lly���s /a/pples.���
5. [Have students take out primary paper and pencil] we use
���a��� to spell /a/. Capital A looks like
a rabbit���s cage. Let���s write the
lowercase letter ���a.��� Start on the
fence line, and make a loop, lift your hand and put it back on the
fence line touching the top of your loop and make a line from there all
the way down to the sidewalk staying on your loop���s side.
I want to see everyone���s ���a.���
After I put a smile on it for just fine repeat that nine more
times.
6. Call on students to answer and
tell how they knew: Do you hear /a/ in cat
or dog? Mouse or rat? Hat or bow? Cry or laugh? Crab or fish? Say:
Let���s see if you can spot the /a/ sound in some of these words.
Clap if you hear /a/: cat, dog, cast, last, first, math, sit,
sat, crab, fish.
7. Say: ���In this book we will see what will happen when a
rabbit rambles on. Clap your hands every time you hear the /a/ sound.
8. Show CAT and model how to decide
if it is cat or dog: The /a/ tells me to
ramble on, /a/ so this word is c-a-a-a-t, cat.
You try some MAT: mat or met? Fast: fist or fast? RABBIT: rabbit
or ribbit?
9. For assessment, distribute the
worksheets. Students are to complete the
papers by 1) circling the correct word and writing it and 2) line up to
correct /a/ picture.
References:
Rabbit Rambles
Websites:
www.edhelper.com/phonics/Vowels6_5.htm
www.edhelper.com/phonics/Vowels6_htm
Bruce Murray. Brush Your Teeth With F.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/readinggene/sightings/murrayel.html
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