©2008 Zoo-phonics®, Inc., 20950 Ferretti Rd., Groveland, CA 95321 Tel: 800.622.8104 • Fax: 209.962.4320 • e-mail: zoo-info@zoo-phonics.com • Web Site: www.zoo-phonics.com

By the Authors of the Zoo-phonics ProgramGeorgene E. Bradshaw, Irene M. Clark and Charlene A. Wrighton

Illustrated by Matthew Anderson

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The Zoo-phonics Merged Animal/Letter Patternsmay be duplicated, enlarged or

reduced for use in the classroom.

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Merged Animal/Letter PatternsIncludes 16 patterns on which to mount the Animal/Letters

for bulletin boards, name tags, captions, etc.

The Zoo-phonics® Merged Animal/Letter Patterns may be

duplicated, (enlarged or reduced) for various educational uses in

the classroom or at home.

Besides the Merged Lower and Upper Case Animal Letters,

Zoo-phonics Patterns have been included (an apple, a train, a

ribbon, a leaf, a pumpkin, a bear, a sun, a heart, a shell, a paw, a

snowflake, a book, a zebra striped frame, Zeke with a banner,

Zeke in a plane and Zeke in a balloon) to help you extend your

curriculum or create “playful” bulletin boards.

Here are just a few ideas to try. We encourage you to come up

with your own! Show these to your students. They will have

great ideas of their own!

Remember to teach Lowercase Letters and Letter Sounds

before Capitals and Letter names!

1) Create bulletin board captions.Choose the size of the Merged Animal Lowercase Letters (you may enlarge, reduce, or keep as is) and then

photocopy a set (26). Now, choose, then photocopy and enlarge one of the Patterns. Glue the Animal Letters,

“a-z” to each. You can place these above your chalkboard or use on your bulletin boards as captions. (You can

also cut gold foil or colored construction or tissue paper as a background for added color.)

2) Label initial sounds.Run off many sets of the Merged Animal Lowercase Letters to use as labels to address the initial sounds of

items found in the classroom or home. For example, on the door, place the “d” with tape.

3) Make name tags.Make name tags for each child’s desk or folder. Designate your classroom jobs, the “star” or student of the week.

If you haven’t introduced capital letters yet, you can spell out their names with the Merged Animal Lowercase

Letters. When your students are ready, replace the lowercase first letter with the appropriate Merged

Capital Letter.

Make name tags for volunteers, visiting parents and other V. I. P.’s for “Open House,” “Back to School

Night,” or other special occasions.

4) Make an “a–z” book.Photocopy, and then cut out the Merged Animal Lowercase Letters and paste each in the right or left hand corner

of a piece of construction paper, one letter per page. Staple or bind the pages together to form a book. Fill the

book with either a collection of words appropriate to the letter, or have the students write great alliterations. “Allie

Alligator asks ants to eat apples, applesauce and alphabet soup.” You could fill the book with interesting names

using the capital letters.

5) Make a word wall.Each day or week, collect words with your target phonemic concept. Ask your students to take responsibility to

collect the Merged Animal Letters that make the words, and add them to your Word Wall. Students can then take

Directions For Use

turns daily leading the class in the Signal, Sound and reading of the words. They can then use them in sentences

or a great oral language exercise.

6) Use the letters for Sentence Making.Run off many sheets of the Animal Letter Patterns, both lower and uppercase. Your students can then make

sentences, stories, poems, and songs.

7) Use as an alternative for the Zoo-phonics® Rubber Stamps.Reduce the size of the Merged Animal/Letter Patterns, and then make them available to students for spelling

practice, posters, letter writing, class newspapers, holiday greetings, etc. Have the children create Valentines,

Christmas cards or other seasonal notes. You can place the letters in breadboxes, egg cartons, or envelopes for

better organization.

8) Use as a spelling unscramble.Photocopy the letters which form the words in your spelling list. Place the letters in envelopes, and hand

out one envelope per group, and give them construction paper and a glue stick. Have the student work

cooperatively to spell out each word. Check their work before they glue the letters onto paper. Remind

them to Signal!

You can also fill plastic eggs, one (or several) Merged Letter(s) per egg, or one (or several) word(s) per

egg for the child to unscramble. We call these, “Scrambled Eggs.”

9) Mix and Match.(Play only if there is a strong base of Lowercase Letters.)

Photocopy many Merged Animal Letters and Merged Capital Letters. Make matches of each and place

several in plastic eggs. The students can then “crack” the egg, and match the lowercase letters to their

uppercase letter counterparts. Don’t forget to Signal!

10) Make hats.Go to your local paint store and ask if the management would donate painters’ hats to your class, one hat

per student. Photocopy and enlarge the letters, and then laminate them. Place a Velcro® “coin” on each

laminated letter (the lamination lends durability) and to the front of the cap. Hand out the letters, one letter

per child. Each student is to affix the letter to his or her hat. Now call out CVC, etc. The students holding

the letters that form the word are to come to the front of the room, get into order (facing their classmates)

and lead the class in Signals and Sounds. For an added activity, ask a student to use the word in a sentence.

Allow your imaginations to soar!Provide the letters (both lowercase and uppercase) and

the patterns, paper, glue, and colored pens or pencils (glitter,

buttons, feathers, etc.).

Let your students come up with clever ideas on how to

use these materials. Have them color in your Patterns for a

full-color look.

Remember! Keep it light and make it fun!

Cut around theletter, cutting off asmuch white spaceas possible.