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Program 101-1, Week 20

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Week 20, Day 1

Letter sound fluency: /a/ .. /Q/

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1
Group Size: Small Group
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Index card size letters cards
Goal: Given index card size letter cards, students will be able to discriminate between each letter sound
Items: All letter sounds learned so far

What to do

  1. Assemble a stack of index cards with letters printed on them. The cards should be a mix of all letters learned so far, weighted toward the most recently learned letters.
  2. Now let's play a game. We're going to try to go through this stack of cards as fast as we can, saying the sound of the letter on each card. Let's see how fast we can go. My turn first.
  3. Model taking the top card of the stack, showing it to the students, and saying the sound of the letter after a pause. Continue through the stack.
  4. Do you think you can go faster than I did? Call on a single student in the group, starting with a student you think may be slower. Show the first card: What's the sound of this letter? If the student is incorrect, correct him, have him repeat your answer, and move to the next card. Praise correct answers.
  5. Select the next quicker student and repeat until all students in the group have worked through the stack.
  6. Okay, now let's go faster. Shuffle the stack of cards and repeat with students in the same order, but encourage them to go faster.
  7. If time and focus allow, shuffle and repeat at an even faster pace.
  8. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an Activity Log.


Related activities

About this activity


Letter writing accuracy: a m s t i f r o d u g c b n k v l e h w j p y T M F D I N A R L E H G B x q z Y J Q

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student
Goal: Given a letter name, the student writes it ( "a" -> |a| )
Items: All written letters learned so far

What to do

  1. I'm going to name some letters and I want you to write them. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seats pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
  2. Ready? The first letter is: name a letter the students know how to write. Start with a relatively easy letter.
  3. When everyone has finished writing, say: Hold up your paper so I can see what's your letter. If students have trouble writing the letter, model how to write it on the board; then, repeat that letter for the whole group.
  4. Continue with other letters. Mix recently introduced letters with earlier letters, repeating recent letters more frequently. For example, if students know how to write a, m, s and you just taught them t, you might ask them to write: m, t, a, t, s, m, t.
  5. If multiple students are struggling, go back to simpler letters and build back to the ones they are struggling with. You may need to model a difficult letter or go back to the Introduce writing a letter activity for that letter.
  6. If students are able to write each letter you name confidently, try dictating multiple letters before asking them to show their work.
  7. As a variation on this activity, write all the letters that students know on the board, and invite a student to choose what letter everyone should write.


Related activities


Sounding out accuracy: CCVCC: cross, stink, brick, truck

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


Related activities


Word-form recognition accuracy: C~C~VC: flop, tell, snug, hand

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, say the word without sounding out ( abc -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let's read some words without saying the letter sounds out loud. When I touch a word, you sound out each letter to yourself, then say the whole word out loud.
  3. My turn first. Point to each letter of the first word, mouthing out the letter sounds as you touch beneath each letter. What's the word? Say the word.
  4. Your turn. As I touch each letter, sound out the word to yourself. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch just beneath each letter of the first word. Don't mouth out the letter sounds yourself. What's the word? Students say the word.
  5. Great. Next word. Continue with each of the words in the list.
  6. Look for students who are not saying the words or who are saying the wrong word. Call on a mix of several students—some who aren't sounding out and some who are—to silently sound out and then name the words individually. In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble.
  7. When students are able to mouth-sound-out a complete set of words without error, repeat the list but change the format: instead of pointing to each letter and mouthing the letter sound, tell students to sound the word out to yourself without moving your lips. Point beneath the word and pause for three seconds before asking: What's the word? For students who are still mouthing the letter sounds, ask them to try sounding out silently. Next time you do this activity, skip the mouthing out part of the instruction so that students get used to reading the words without mouthing the letter sounds.

Related activities


Introduce an irregular word: his

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Irregular word index card (print it here)
Goal: Given a printed irregular word, say its sound ( irregword -> "irregword" )
Items: The irregular word for this lesson

What to do

  1. Some words try to trick you. You can sound them out, just like you’ve been doing, but then you have to say the word a bit differently. Let’s meet a new trick word.
  2. Write the irregular word on the board in letters at least a foot high or, for a small group, show students the index card printed word. Let’s sound out this word. My turn first. Touch each letter and say the sound: wwwaaasss. But when we say this word fast, we say was. What’s the word?
  3. You try it. When I touch each letter, say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Students: Wwwaaasss (or whatever the irregular word is you are teaching). What’s the word? Correct any student who blends the sounded-out word, e.g., says wass with a short a, instead of was. We say: was. What's the word? Ask them to sound it out and then say it again.
  4. Write 6 words on the board (arrange them randomly): 2 of the words should be the irregular word you are teaching, and they should be interspersed with 4 regular words that the students already know how to sound out.
  5. I'm going to try to trick you. When I point to the word we just learned, say the word. When I point to any other word, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of words and either say the word or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  6. Your turn. Ready? Point to words randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  7. If a student says one of the other words, point to the irregular word and say: You only need to make a sound for this word. When I point to any other word, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to the irregular word. Have those students try words individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities


Week 20, Day 2

Introduce soft-c

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials:

Goal: Given a printed letter with two common sounds, the student can say both sounds ( c -> /c/, /s/ )
Items: soft-c

What to do

  1. Write the letter c on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
  2. You already know the sound for this letter. What is it? Students: /c/ (as in cat). Right. But this letter sometimes borrows the sound of another letter; this letter: Write s on the board next to c. What is the sound for this letter? Point to s. Students: /s/. Erase the s.
  3. We use the /s/ sound for this letter at the start of words like city, circus, and cycle and at the end of words list ice and space.
  4. Write 12 letters on the board: 4 of the letters should be c and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to c, such as x and m.
  5. When I point to the letter we just learned, say both of its sounds: /c/, /s/. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sounds or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  6. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  7. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not c), point to c and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to c. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities


Letter writing fluency: J

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student
Goal: Given a letter name, the student writes it ( "a" -> |a| )
Items: Any written letter learned so far

What to do

  1. Today, I want you to write a letter as many times as you can in one minute. I'm going to time the minute. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seat pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
  2. Ready? The letter I want you to write is: name a letter the students know how to write.
  3. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, ask them to do the same and continue.
  4. When the minute is up say: That's one minute, you can stop. Hold up your paper so I can see what you wrote. In an Activity log, make a note of students who have written far fewer letters than the rest of the group. You will need to give them more letter writing practice.

Related activities


Sounding out accuracy: CCVCC: blond, snack, class, print

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


Related activities


Reintroduce an irregular word: his

Activity Type: Reintroduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Irregular word index card (print it here)
Goal: Given a printed irregular word, say its sound ( irregword -> "irregword" )
Items: The irregular word for this lesson

What to do

  1. Write the irregular word on the board in letters at least a foot high or, for a small group, show students the index card printed word.
  2. Let's review this word. Be careful! It's a trick word. Let's sound it out together. Touch each letter and say the sound, e.g., wwwaaasss. But when we say this word fast, what's the word? Good: was (or whatever the word is you are reviewing). Remember, some words try to trick you. You can sound them out, just like you’ve been doing, but then you have to say the word a bit differently: was.
  3. Look for students who are not saying the word or who are just blending what they sounded out, e.g., wass with a short a , instead of was. Ask them to sound out the word, then ask: What's the word?
  4. Write 6 words on the board (arrange them randomly): 2 of the words should be the irregular word you are teaching and they should be interspersed with 4 regular words that the students already know how to sound out.
  5. I'm going to try to trick you. When I point to the word we just learned, say the word. When I point to any other word, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of words and either say the word or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  6. Your turn. Ready? Point to words randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  7. If a student says one of the other words, point to the irregular word and say: You only need to make a sound for this word. When I point to any other word, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to the irregular word. Have those students try words individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities


Week 20, Day 3

Reintroduce soft-c

Activity Type: Reintroduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials:

Goal: Given a printed letter with two common sounds, the student can say both sounds ( c -> /c/, /s/ )
Items: soft-c

What to do

  1. Write the letter c on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
  2. This letter has two sounds; let's review them. Anyone: what are the two sounds? Good: /c/ g(as in cat) and /s/ (as in sat).
  3. Look for students who are not saying the sounds. Ask them: What are the sounds? Look for students who are making the wrong sounds and model the sounds for them until they have them right. Well done everyone.
  4. We use the /c/ sound for this letter at the start of words like car, cold, clean and we use the /s/ sound for this letter at the start of words like city, circus, cycle.
  5. Write 12 letters on the board: 4 of the letters should be c and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to c, such as T and v.
  6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say both of its sounds: /c/, /s/. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sounds or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not c), point to c and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to c. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities


Letter writing accuracy: a m s t i f r o d u g c b n k v l e h w j p y T M F D I N A R L E H G B x q z Y J Q

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student
Goal: Given a letter name, the student writes it ( "a" -> |a| )
Items: All written letters learned so far

What to do

  1. I'm going to name some letters and I want you to write them. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seats pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
  2. Ready? The first letter is: name a letter the students know how to write. Start with a relatively easy letter.
  3. When everyone has finished writing, say: Hold up your paper so I can see what's your letter. If students have trouble writing the letter, model how to write it on the board; then, repeat that letter for the whole group.
  4. Continue with other letters. Mix recently introduced letters with earlier letters, repeating recent letters more frequently. For example, if students know how to write a, m, s and you just taught them t, you might ask them to write: m, t, a, t, s, m, t.
  5. If multiple students are struggling, go back to simpler letters and build back to the ones they are struggling with. You may need to model a difficult letter or go back to the Introduce writing a letter activity for that letter.
  6. If students are able to write each letter you name confidently, try dictating multiple letters before asking them to show their work.
  7. As a variation on this activity, write all the letters that students know on the board, and invite a student to choose what letter everyone should write.


Related activities


Sounding out accuracy: CCVCC: stamp, crab, flip, blink, drill

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


Related activities


Word-form recognition accuracy: C~C~VC: sled, jump, best, snap, hint

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, say the word without sounding out ( abc -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let's read some words without saying the letter sounds out loud. When I touch a word, you sound out each letter to yourself, then say the whole word out loud.
  3. My turn first. Point to each letter of the first word, mouthing out the letter sounds as you touch beneath each letter. What's the word? Say the word.
  4. Your turn. As I touch each letter, sound out the word to yourself. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch just beneath each letter of the first word. Don't mouth out the letter sounds yourself. What's the word? Students say the word.
  5. Great. Next word. Continue with each of the words in the list.
  6. Look for students who are not saying the words or who are saying the wrong word. Call on a mix of several students—some who aren't sounding out and some who are—to silently sound out and then name the words individually. In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble.
  7. When students are able to mouth-sound-out a complete set of words without error, repeat the list but change the format: instead of pointing to each letter and mouthing the letter sound, tell students to sound the word out to yourself without moving your lips. Point beneath the word and pause for three seconds before asking: What's the word? For students who are still mouthing the letter sounds, ask them to try sounding out silently. Next time you do this activity, skip the mouthing out part of the instruction so that students get used to reading the words without mouthing the letter sounds.

Related activities


Irregular word fluency: was, of, the, to, you, I, is, said, that, he, his

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2, 3
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Irregular word index cards (print them here)
Goal: Given a printed irregular word, say its sound with automaticity ( irregword -> "irregword" )
Items: All irregular words learned so far

What to do

  1. Assemble a stack of word index cards. The cards should be a mix of all irregular words learned so far. (Optionally, once students are comfortable with irregular words, you can include some regular words in the pack too.)
  2. Now let's play a game. We're going to try to go through this stack of cards as fast as we can saying the word on each card. Let's see how fast we can go. My turn first.
  3. Next, model taking the top card of the stack, showing it to the students, and saying the word after a pause. Continue through the stack.
  4. Do you think you can go faster than I did? Call on a single student in the group, starting with a student you think may be slower. Show the first card: What's the word? If the student is incorrect, correct him, have him repeat your answer, and move to the next card. Praise correct answers.
  5. Select the next quicker student and repeat until all students in the group have worked through the stack.
  6. Okay, now let's go faster. Shuffle the stack of cards and repeat with students in the same order, but encouraging them to go faster.
  7. If time and focus allow, shuffle and repeat at an even faster pace.
  8. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an Activity Log.

Related activities


Week 20, Day 4

Introduce soft-g

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials:

Goal: Given a printed letter with two common sounds, the student can say both sounds ( g -> /g/, /j/ )
Items: soft-g

What to do

  1. Write the letter g on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
  2. You already know the sound for this letter. What is it? Students: /g/ (as in got). Right. But this letter sometimes borrows the sound of another letter; this letter: Write j on the board next to g. What is the sound for this letter? Point to j. Students: /j/ (as in jet). Erase the j.
  3. We use the /j/ sound for this letter at the start of words like gentle, giant, gigantic and giraffe and at the end of words list age.
  4. Write 12 letters on the board: 4 of the letters should be g and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to g, such as l and A.
  5. When I point to the letter we just learned, say both of its sounds: /g/, /j/. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sounds or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  6. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  7. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not g), point to g and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to g. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

Related activities


Letter writing fluency: Q

Activity Type: Build Fluency
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Lined paper and pencils for each student
Goal: Given a letter name, the student writes it ( "a" -> |a| )
Items: Any written letter learned so far

What to do

  1. Today, I want you to write a letter as many times as you can in one minute. I'm going to time the minute. First, go ahead and get into your writing position. Make sure students are sitting with their seat pulled in, both feet on the floor, and their hands on their desks.
  2. Ready? The letter I want you to write is: name a letter the students know how to write.
  3. Walk around the group and make sure everyone is writing the letter correctly. For students who make an error, write the letter for them on their papers, ask them to do the same and continue.
  4. When the minute is up say: That's one minute, you can stop. Hold up your paper so I can see what you wrote. In an Activity log, make a note of students who have written far fewer letters than the rest of the group. You will need to give them more letter writing practice.

Related activities


Sounding out accuracy: CCVCC: grill, dress, twig, Fran, had

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


Related activities


Introduce an irregular word: for

Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Irregular word index card (print it here)
Goal: Given a printed irregular word, say its sound ( irregword -> "irregword" )
Items: The irregular word for this lesson

What to do

  1. Some words try to trick you. You can sound them out, just like you’ve been doing, but then you have to say the word a bit differently. Let’s meet a new trick word.
  2. Write the irregular word on the board in letters at least a foot high or, for a small group, show students the index card printed word. Let’s sound out this word. My turn first. Touch each letter and say the sound: wwwaaasss. But when we say this word fast, we say was. What’s the word?
  3. You try it. When I touch each letter, say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Students: Wwwaaasss (or whatever the irregular word is you are teaching). What’s the word? Correct any student who blends the sounded-out word, e.g., says wass with a short a, instead of was. We say: was. What's the word? Ask them to sound it out and then say it again.
  4. Write 6 words on the board (arrange them randomly): 2 of the words should be the irregular word you are teaching, and they should be interspersed with 4 regular words that the students already know how to sound out.
  5. I'm going to try to trick you. When I point to the word we just learned, say the word. When I point to any other word, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of words and either say the word or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  6. Your turn. Ready? Point to words randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  7. If a student says one of the other words, point to the irregular word and say: You only need to make a sound for this word. When I point to any other word, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to the irregular word. Have those students try words individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

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Week 20, Day 5

Reintroduce soft-g

Activity Type: Reintroduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials:

Goal: Given a printed letter with two common sounds, the student can say both sounds ( g -> /g/, /j/ )
Items: soft-g

What to do

  1. Write the letter g on the board; make it at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use a letter card large enough for the whole group to see easily.
  2. This letter has two sounds; let's review them. Anyone: what are the two sounds? Good: /g/ (as in got) and /j/ (as in jet).
  3. Look for students who are not saying the sounds. Ask them: What are the sounds? Look for students who are making the wrong sounds and model the sounds for them until they have them right. Well done everyone.
  4. We use the /g/ sound for this letter at the start of words like good, girl, give and we use the /j/ sound for this letter at the start of words like gentle, giant, giraffe.
  5. Write 12 letters on the board: 4 of the letters should be g and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to g, such as h and I.
  6. When I point to the letter we just learned, say both of its sounds: /g/, /j/. When I point to any other letter, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of letters and either say the sounds or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  7. Your turn. Ready? Point to letters randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not g), point to g and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to g. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

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Sounding out accuracy: CCVCC: hot, skill, black, spell, man

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K, 1, 2
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, sound out and then say the word ( abc -> "aaabbbcc" -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let’s sound out some words. When I touch each letter, you say its sound and keep saying it until I touch the next letter. Don't stop between sounds. After you sound out the word correctly, say it fast.
  3. My turn first. Start saying the first sound as you touch just beneath the first letter. Hold each sound for about one second. For example, aaammm. Now I say it fast. What's the word? Am.
  4. Your turn. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch the first letter and let the students sound out without you. Students: aaammm. What's the word? Students: am.
  5. Continue with the other items on the board.
  6. For words beginning with stop sounds, pause very briefly on the stop sound and slightly longer than usual on the next sound: caaaannn. Avoid cuhaaannn and c-(pause)aaannn.
  7. Call on each student to sound out the words individually. Point to the words in a random order to avoid students memorizing a sequence. (If you are going through flash cards in a deck, shuffle the deck for each student.) In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble. If some students can say the word slowly but not fast, you may need to go over oral blending with them.


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Word-form recognition accuracy: C~C~VC: help, snip, frog, pond, miss

Activity Type: Build Accuracy
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: None for Whole Class. For Small Groups, download 3x5 index cards
Goal: Given a written regular word, say the word without sounding out ( abc -> "abc" )
Items: The words specified in the lesson titles, here

What to do

  1. Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the words.)
  2. Let's read some words without saying the letter sounds out loud. When I touch a word, you sound out each letter to yourself, then say the whole word out loud.
  3. My turn first. Point to each letter of the first word, mouthing out the letter sounds as you touch beneath each letter. What's the word? Say the word.
  4. Your turn. As I touch each letter, sound out the word to yourself. Ready? Make sure everyone is looking at you, then touch just beneath each letter of the first word. Don't mouth out the letter sounds yourself. What's the word? Students say the word.
  5. Great. Next word. Continue with each of the words in the list.
  6. Look for students who are not saying the words or who are saying the wrong word. Call on a mix of several students—some who aren't sounding out and some who are—to silently sound out and then name the words individually. In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble.
  7. When students are able to mouth-sound-out a complete set of words without error, repeat the list but change the format: instead of pointing to each letter and mouthing the letter sound, tell students to sound the word out to yourself without moving your lips. Point beneath the word and pause for three seconds before asking: What's the word? For students who are still mouthing the letter sounds, ask them to try sounding out silently. Next time you do this activity, skip the mouthing out part of the instruction so that students get used to reading the words without mouthing the letter sounds.

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Reintroduce an irregular word: for

Activity Type: Reintroduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 10 minutes
Materials: Irregular word index card (print it here)
Goal: Given a printed irregular word, say its sound ( irregword -> "irregword" )
Items: The irregular word for this lesson

What to do

  1. Write the irregular word on the board in letters at least a foot high or, for a small group, show students the index card printed word.
  2. Let's review this word. Be careful! It's a trick word. Let's sound it out together. Touch each letter and say the sound, e.g., wwwaaasss. But when we say this word fast, what's the word? Good: was (or whatever the word is you are reviewing). Remember, some words try to trick you. You can sound them out, just like you’ve been doing, but then you have to say the word a bit differently: was.
  3. Look for students who are not saying the word or who are just blending what they sounded out, e.g., wass with a short a , instead of was. Ask them to sound out the word, then ask: What's the word?
  4. Write 6 words on the board (arrange them randomly): 2 of the words should be the irregular word you are teaching and they should be interspersed with 4 regular words that the students already know how to sound out.
  5. I'm going to try to trick you. When I point to the word we just learned, say the word. When I point to any other word, you have to stay quiet. My turn first. Point to a series of words and either say the word or make a performance of saying nothing, as appropriate.
  6. Your turn. Ready? Point to words randomly, holding on each one for a few seconds.
  7. If a student says one of the other words, point to the irregular word and say: You only need to make a sound for this word. When I point to any other word, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to the irregular word. Have those students try words individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.

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