Rationale: Letters represent many different sounds.  These sounds are called phonemes.  Children need to be able to recognize letters and their phonemes in order to become fluent readers.  The purpose of this lesson is to teach children to recognize the letter U, and its phoneme, /u/.

Procedures:
1. “Today we are going to learn the grapheme (letter) U, and its phoneme (sound), /u/.  You might make this sound when you are thinking about something.  Can everyone make this sound with me?  Uhh.”
2. “I am going to say a sentence that contains the /u/ sound in many of the words.  Repeat the sentence after me: Uncle Umphrey picked up the ugly umbrella.”  Children repeat the sentence once or twice, until they are familiar with it.  “Now, I want you to count the number of words with your fingers which contain the /u/ sound.”  Help the students understand that there are five words in the sentence which contain the /u/ sound.
3. “Now, I am going to say some words and I want you to raise your hand to tell me which word contains (has) the /u/ sound.  I will only call on those who are being good listeners and doing as they are asked.  Here are the words: beetle or bug; mat or rug; duck or dog.”  As soon as I feel confident that the students are familiar enough with the //u/ sound, I will continue.
4. “Okay, put your letterboxes on your desk.  Now, I need everyone to get out the following letters:  b,c,d,g,h,j,k,m,p,s,t,u.  I am going to show you how to use a letterbox to spell words.   I am going to call out some words.  As I call out these words, I want you spell them the best you can on the letterboxes.  Remember to say the word to yourself and sound it out.  For each sound you hear, put the representing letter/ letters in a box.  First, fold your letterboxes where three boxes are showing.  Here are the words: hug, duck, tug, cup.”  After the spelling of each word, ask the students the number of phonemes in each one.  Instruct them to count with their fingers to figure out how many sounds (phonemes) are in each word.  This is to make sure that the students really understand the concept of phonemes.  You should be sure that the students are not simply counting the boxes to figure out the number of phonemes.  “Now, fold your letterboxes so that only four are showing.  Here are some more words: jump, jugs, must.”  Remember to ask the students the number of phonemes in each word after it is spelled.  During this entire process, the teacher should walk around the room checking the student’s progress.
5. “Now, we are going to read Bud the Sub.”  Everyone will have his or her own copy.  “I want everyone to read the book by yourselves.  Take out a piece of paper and your pencil.   I want you to write the words that contains the /u/ sound.  After you finish, we will go over the words you have written down.  Do not call out any answers unless you are called upon.  I will call on those who are raising their hands.”  I will have a copy of all the words in the story that have the /u/ sound.
6. “I want everyone to take out their paper and pencil.  We are going to write a message (a sentence).  I want you to write a sentence about anything; however, it has to contain at least three words that contain the /u/ sound.  You can write two sentences if you wish.”
7. Assessment:  I will give each student a sheet of paper with pictures on it.  Each picture will have letterboxes below it.  The number of letterboxes will be appropriate for the picture.  If the title of the picture has the /u/ sound in it, the students will be instructed to write the title inside the letterboxes.  The students will be reminded that each sound goes in one letterbox.

Materials:
-Letterboxes
-Bud the Sub
-Primary paper
-Pencil
-Card with picture of umbrella
-Sheet with pictures on it (tub, duck, hug, cub, sub)

Reference:  http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/elucid/mauldinbr.html     Heather Mauldin/ Umbrella’s Up!

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