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Excerpted from Road to the Code: A Phonological Awareness Program for Young Children, by Benita A. Blachman, Ph.D., Eileen Wynne Ball, Ph.D., Rochella Black, M.S., & Darlene M. Tangel, Ph.D.
Copyright © 2000 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Say-It-and-Move-It
Materials: 1 Say-It-and-Move-It sheet per child
2 disks or tiles per child
Today you will work on single sounds and single sounds repeated:
- /a/
- /s/
- /t/
- /t/ ^ /t/
(^ indicates a slight pause)
To begin the lesson, each child has one Say-It-and-Move-It sheet and one disk. You should also have a Say-It-and-Move-It sheet facing the children, so it is actually upside down for you.
For this first lesson, when you give directions or ask questions, it is expected that the children will respond as a group.
Teacher (T) says: We are going to play a game called Say-It-and-Move-It. What's the name of the game?
Wait for the students to respond with "Say-It-and-Move-It."
T:Watch me and listen. I'm going to say a sound. /a/.
Remember to use the short sound of a as in apple.
T:Now I'm going to say it and move it.
Demonstrate for the children by placing your finger on a disk, drawing out (holding) the /aaa/ sound, and simultaneously moving the disk below the thick black line to the black dot at the left hand side of the arrow at the bottom of the Say-It-and-Move-It sheet. Then point to the disk and say,
T:/a/, one sound.
T: Now I'm going to sweep the disk back to the __________(clown, boat, or whatever object is pictured).
Move the disk back to the pictured object.
T: Now it's your turn. Listen first.
T: Say /a/.
T: What sound?
Wait for a response from the children.
T: Now, say it and move it.
If the children have difficulty, this is a good time for you to model the correct response again. Say, Watch me, and then demonstrate Say-It-and-Move-It, just as you did earlier. The children should then repeat the activity with /a/, as described above.
T: Let's try some different sounds.
Use the same procedure as above for introducing /s/ and /t/. Hiss with the /s/, and be careful with the /t/. Don't elongate the /t/ when you say it and move it. Say it quickly. Sometimes it is helpful to refer to these stop sounds as "hot sounds" so that the children "get off" of these sounds quickly.
T: Now we're going to try something even harder.
Take a second disk.
T: Are you ready? Listen and watch me.
I'm going to say a sound, but I may say it more than once.
T: /t/ ^ /t/
T: Now I'm going to say it and move it.
/t/ ^ /t/.
Move one disk below the line as you quickly say the first /t/, and move the second disk as you say the second /t/.
Move your finger from left to right under the two disks and say,
T: Two sounds.
Sweep the disks back to the picture.
Give each child a second disk.
T: Now I want you to try it.
T: Ready? Listen.
Say, /t/ ^ /t/.
Wait for the children to respond.
T: Now, say it and move it.
Again, wait for the children to respond and then say,
T: How many sounds?
If the children don't respond correctly, you should say,
T: Two sounds.
Have the group or individual children try various combinations of /a/, /t/, and /s/, presented as single sounds or sounds repeated.
Letter Name and Sound Instruction
Introducing the Letter "a"
Materials: Large alphabet picture card of "a"
Introduce the large alphabet picture card of the letter a (both large and small alphabet picture cards are in the Materials Section of the manual). It will add interest if you have colored this card before you show it to the children. If you do color the card, make sure that you retain a black and white copy of the picture card that can be photocopied for the children to color in later lessons.
You might tell the children that one sound that this letter makes is /a/ (as in apple, ant, and ask). Talk about what you see in the alphabet picture card. Point to various parts of the picture and isolate the /a/ sound in ant and apple (e.g., "Apple, do you hear the /a/ in apple?"). Help the children think of other words that start with the /a/ sound.
Take turns asking children the letter's name. Take turns asking children the letter's sound. Then mix the two (letter name and sound).
Phonological Awareness Practice
Sound Categorization by Rhyme
Materials: 3–5 sets of Sound Categorization by Rhyme cards
Recipe box (optional, see Teacher Notes)
Index tabs (optional, see Teacher Notes)
To Play: Select a set of Sound Categorization by Rhyme cards. The players must determine which one of four pictures does not belong in a set. Place the four pictures on the table in front of the children while singing or saying the following verse:
One of these things is not like the others.
One of these things does not belong.
One of these things is not like the others.
Which of these things does not belong?
After the cards have been placed on the table and the song has been sung, ask the children to name each picture. You may need to name the pictures along with the children. Then ask the question, "Which one does not belong?"
Have the children tell which card doesn't belong and have them tell why (or supply the rule). For example, if the objects pictured were hat, cat, fish, and bat, the children might say, "Hat, cat, and bat all rhyme or end the same, but fish doesn't."
In developing categorization by rhyme, the children may attempt to classify by some other principle, for example, by color or semantic category (e.g., farm animals). Acknowledge the correctness of their observations, and continue with a statement such as, "Yes, that's right, but I'm thinking of a different rule. Can you think of my rule?"
Excerpted from Road to the Code: A Phonological Awareness Program for Young Children, by Benita A. Blachman, Ph.D., Eileen Wynne Ball, Ph.D., Rochella Black, M.S., & Darlene M. Tangel, Ph.D.
Copyright © 2000 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
