Name: Blending Letter Sounds

Date: November 17, 2010

Grade Level/Subject: 1st/Reading

Prerequisite Knowledge: Prior knowledge about Where Does the Rabbit Hop; prior knowledge of facts about ants

Approximate Time: 40 minutes

Student Objectives/Student Outcomes: Students will blend word parts to say words. Students will read words with l-blends. Illinois State Standards:

As a result of their schooling, students will be able to:

1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.2. Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.3. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

a. Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.

4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Materials/Resources/Technology: Large lined paper Marker Where Does the Rabbit Hop? by Cass Hollander The Ant’s Journey by Janie Spaht Gill

Implementation:

Time 10 minutes Opening of lesson:

Ask the students to share what they remember from reading Where Does theRabbit Hop? on the previous day. Reread the story.

Tell the students: “We are going to brainstorm a list of words that begin withdifferent letter blends.”

25 minutes Procedures:Write the letter l on the board. Tell them that l can blend with otherconsonants to make a new sound. Point to the words plant (p. 4), cold (p. 6),flow (p. 7), blue (p. 10), and place (p. 12) as you read each word. Point to thetwo letters in each l-blend, asking children to first make the individual sounds,and then to blend the letter sounds together. Together, brainstorm and list onthe board other words that begin with pl, fl, or bl.

Tell the students: “Great job brainstorming different words!” Explain to thestudents: “Boys and girls, you will be working on word work activities thisafternoon as I work with one of the reading groups.” Send quiet groups ofstudents back to their desks. Choose one behaved student from each tablegroup to get their word work drawer. Call Ethan, Griffin, Ainsley, and Devanto the back table.

Read aloud the title of the book and the author’s name, and invite children toexamine the cover. Ask: What do you see in the picture? Where does the storytake place? What is the ant doing?

Activate prior knowledge by asking children what they know about ants. Ask:How big are they? Where do you usually find them? How do they move? Havechildren discuss what an ant’s journey might be like. Ask: Where do you thinkthe ant shown on the cover is going? What do you think it might see? Howmight it see things differently than you would?

Point out the word journey on the cover. Explain that another word forjourney is trip, and that a journey is “a long trip,” not a short one. Havechildren share their experiences of going on a journey with family members.

Have children read the book. Afterwards, prompt for overall understanding.Possible prompts include the following:

What kind of places does the ant journey to in the story? What kind of things does the ant find on its journey?

Point out the word ant on page 3. Write ant on the board and circle the lettersnt. Explain that the letters nt at the end of the word are blended together andstand for the sounds /nt/. Have children say ant and /nt/. Tell children to listenas you say some words, and raise a finger each time they hear you say a wordthat ends with /nt/. Say the words mint, land, rent, pink, tint, hunt, dent, andhelp.

If time allows, introduce words with the final blend nd in the same way. Pointout the word end on page 18. Say the words send, mind, fast, wand, wept,bind, hand, and milk.

Accommodation for special needs:

For students who may have behavioral difficulties, make sure you frequentlyengage them in discussion to help refocus their attention.

5 minutes Summary/Closing:Tell the students: “Great job today guys!” Have them nicely and quietly placetheir word work worksheets in their yellow folders. Ask one student fromeach table group to share a word that begins with pl, fl, or bl before calling

students in number order to line up for specials.

Student Assessment:The primary form of assessment for this lesson will be an ongoing informalassessment completed by checking for understanding after reading the bookas well as through observation. Also, asking individual students for wordsthat begin with pl, fl, or bl before they move onto the next activity is anotherform of assessment for this lesson.

Post Lesson Reflection:

Student Interest

Student Motivation

Teacher Knowledge

Teacher Organization

Teacher Articulation

Student Understanding

Other