SHAGGY SHEBA SHAKES!
Beginning Reading
Jess Putnam

RATIONALE:  Phonemes are harder to recognize in words containing consonant clusters.  In order for children to be able to read them they must be able to recognize them in words and the sound they make.  /Sh/ is one of these digraph sounds.  After this lesson children will be able to recognize that when "s" and "h" are found together in a word they make one sound.  They will learn this from practice using letterboxes and reading text with /sh/ in it.

MATERIALS:  Letterboxes, letters (sh(tapped together) s, e, o, p, d, t, c, a, r, u, w, I, m) My Shaggy Dog poem (The SUPER book of Phonics Poems ö publisher Scholastic) on a poster, Dear Little Fish by Andreâ Dahan ö publisher:  Readerâs Digest

PROCEDURE:
1.  ãToday boys and girls we are going to learn about the /sh/ that we hear in words such as she and shop.ä  After this lesson everyone will be able to remember that when you see the letters ãsä and ãhä together they make one sound.  ãDoes everyone remember the letters ãsä and ãhä that we talked about last week?ä  ãCan anyone remember the sounds that they make?ä

2.ãCan anyone tell me the sound that the letters ãsä and ãhä make when they are together?ä  ãThatâs right our teeth come together and your tongue rest in your mouth as air is being pushed between your teeth and the /sh/ is made.ä

3. Now I am going to pass out the letterboxes and letters that we have used in the past to help us learn how to spell different words.  When you get your letters you will find that the ãsä and the ãhä are taped together.  ãCan anyone tell me why I taped them together?ä  ãThatâs is right because they make one sound so they go in one box.  In this lesson all the words use three, four, and letterboxes.  The teacher will then model the first word.  ãBoys and girls watch as I put the first word in the boxes after I say the word, shop.ä  ãDid everyone notice how my mouth moved as I said the word?ä  ãNow I want you to try it, I will say the word and you repeat it and then place the appropriate letters in the box.ä  Great job lets move on to the next word·.shed·..shot·..cash·..rush·.wish·..fish·..sash·..sharp·.short·.
shout·.splashä

4.Now the teacher will hang the chart that has the poem My Shaggy Dog up so that all the children can see it.  ãBoys and girls make sure you listen very carefully because now I am going to read a poem so you will be able to recognize the /sh/ in written print and oral language.ä
 

ãNow boys and girls I am going to pass out some piece of paper that are cut in the shape of a dog, so make sure you take one so you can participate in our next activity.ä  Next the teacher explains to the children that she is going to read the poem again but this time a little slower and every time they hear the /sh/ in a word they are to hold up their dog cut out.
5.The teacher then passes out the book Dear Little Fish to all of the children.  ãBoys and girls I want you to sit quietly at your desk and read this book.ä

ASSESSMENT:   When you are done I will call your name to come to the reading carpet and read a page of a book to me.ä  The students will pick a book on their own that has the /sh/ sound in it.  This way I will know if they can recognize the /sh/ sound in written language.  After reading a page from their book I will then ask them:  ãDo you hear the /sh/ in shoe or city··in shower or take··in champ or cap?ä  This will allow me to see if they recognize the /sh/ sound orally.

References:
Ross, Linda. The SUPER book of Phonics Poems. Schoalstic Inc. New York, NY. (2000) page 90.
Eldredge, J. Loyd. Teaching Decoding in Holistic Classrooms. Brigham Young University. Printice Hall, New Jersey (1995) page 190.

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