The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat
Book Information:
Book: The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat
Author: Nurit Karlin
Illustrated by: Nurit Karlin
Level: Kindergarten/1st Grade
Introduction:
The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat is a Level 1 Beginning Reading I Can Read! book written and illustrated by Nurit Karlin. This book includes repetition and rhyming words, specifically words that rhyme with “cat” and “broom.” The book also features simple sentences, minimal text on each page, simple vocabulary, and a storyline that is engaging to young readers. The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat follows the story of a fat cat, who is owned by Wilma the Witch. When Wilma the Witch goes out for a ride on her broom one night, the fat cat and Wilma’s pet rat have a disagreement, which involves the cat refusing to move off of the rat’s mat. The rat employs the help of his friends, bat and hat, to help get the fat cat off his mat. In the end, only Wilma the Witch can help resolve the issue.
The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat is ideal for shared reading because it supports emergent readers through text features such as rhyme, rhythm, and repetition and offers a storyline that peaks the interest of young children. The first three sentences of the text provide the rhyme scheme for the rest of the book: “Wilma the witch has a crazy broom. It likes to fly around her room. She also has a fat cat and a pet rat.” Every page after that either features words that rhyme with “broom” or “cat.” The repetition, rhyme, and rhythm of the book aids children in learning and being able to pronounce words that rhyme with “broom” and “cat.” By the end of the book, children will know and be able to pronounce the words broom, room, bat, brat, cat, fat, hat, mat, rat, that, and vat. The book also aids children in familiarizing themselves with the letters b, c, f, h, m, r, t, v, w, etc. and the different sounds those letters make. The sentences in the text are short and simple, making them easier for students to read and comprehend, there are minimal words on each page so that students do not become overwhelmed, and the vocabulary is basic. After several repeated readings, students will find it easy to remember the words of the text and join the teacher in reading the book aloud. Also, the storyline is appealing to students since it deals with the make-believe (Wilma the Witch) and a selection of talking animals and objects.
Focus 1- Concept of Print
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA- RF.K.1.
Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print. Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
Activity to Teach Concept of Print: Silly Conversation/Out of Order Pocket Chart
Read The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat aloud to students a minimum of three times on three separate school days. Point at the words with a pointer the second and third time the text is read aloud. Purposely hold the book upside down the first time the text is read aloud and pretend to have difficulty reading the book (idea gathered from https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/silly-ways-to-teach-print-awareness.html). Wait for students to notice and comment on the fact that the book is being held upside down when it should be held right side up. Introduce students to the front and back of the book as well as the cover page the first time the text is read aloud. Act shocked that the author/illustrator’s name is printed on the front cover (i.e. “Oh no, someone wrote her name on this book! This book must belong to her so that means we can’t read it!”/ idea gathered from https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/silly-ways-to-teach-print-awareness.html). Take this opportunity to explain to students who the author/illustrator is and what he or she contributes to the book. The second and third time the text is read aloud, address the fact that the text is read from left to right, top to bottom, and one page after another. Purposely skip over sentences or pages and wait for students to notice so that the importance of reading left to right, top to bottom, and page after page can be explained (idea gathered from https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/silly-ways-to-teach-print-awareness.html).
Write each of the following words in black permanent marker on white rectangles of paper: “It landed on the hat, which landed on the bat, who landed on the rat, who landed on the cat, lying flat on the mat.” Review the sentence with students before beginning the activity. Place the white rectangles out of order on a pocket chart (i.e. the on It landed hat,) and have students approach the pocket chart one at a time and attempt to place the rectangles in the proper order. Each break in the sentence will be placed on a different line of the pocket chart (i.e. “the on It landed hat,” on the first line, “landed which bat, the on” on the second line, etc.). Once the sentence has been properly reassembled and read aloud as a class word by word with the aid of a pointer, arrange the rectangles in a different order and practice again.
Focus 2 - Alphabet Knowledge
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.D
Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Activity to Teach Alphabet Knowledge: Upper- and Lowercase Mates
Write the words bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, rat, and vat on large sheets of cardstock, reserving a different color of cardstock for each word. Underneath each lowercase word, write its uppercase equivalent (i.e. bat, Bat). Underline the first letter of each lower- and uppercase word (i.e. the “c” in cat, the “C” in Cat) in black permanent marker and point to the letters with a pointer. Pronounce the letters and tell students that that pronunciation serves as the name of the letter, explaining that lower- and uppercase letters are pronounced exactly the same (i.e. “The word ‘cat’ begins with the letter ‘c.’ The word ‘Cat’ also begins with the letter ‘C’”). Repeat the process for each of the seven words. Display the large example sheets where students can see and access them (i.e. in a semi-circle on the floor).
Place magnetic upper- and lowercase letters (b, c, f, h, m, r, and v) in random order on the board and ask students one at a time to identify either an upper- or lowercase letter (i.e. “Show me where the uppercase R is.”). If the student correctly identifies the uppercase/lowercase letter, then ask the student to identity its uppercase/lowercase mate (i.e. “Now show me the letter R’s lowercase mate”). If the student correctly identifies both letters, ask the student to remove the uppercase and lowercase letters from the board and place them on top of the respective example sheet (i.e. place the uppercase R and lowercase R on top of the “rat, Rat” example sheet). If the student has difficulty identifying the upper- and lowercase versions of the letters, direct the student’s attention to the example sheets or ask the student to select a peer to help him or her.
Focus 3: Phonological or Phonemic Awareness
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2
Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E
Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
Activity to Teach Phonemic Awareness: Swapping Sounds
Working with the seven words utilized in the Upper- and Lowercase Mates Alphabet Knowledge activity, read the seven words aloud to students and ask them what each of the seven words have in common. Some students will say that the seven words all “sound the same at the end,” while others will say that the seven words rhyme. Inform students that each of the seven words also all have one syllable. Explain what a syllable is and then demonstrate what a syllable is using the hand-clap method. Have students hand-clap the syllable of each word with teacher assistance and then without teacher assistance. Pronounce the first letter of each word and then enunciate the sound that that letter makes (i.e. the “c” in “cat” makes the /kuh/ sound). Pronounce the second letter of each word (a) and enunciate the sound that that letter makes in that specific word. Pronounce the third letter of each word (t) and enunciate the sound that that letter makes in that specific word. Repeat this process several times with students. Call on various students, provide them with one of the seven words, and then pronounce one of the letters from the word. Ask the students to make the sound that that specific letter makes (i.e. give a student the word “rat,” pronounce the letter “r” in “rat,” and then ask the student to make the sound that the letter “r” makes in “rat”). If a student is struggling, assist the student in sounding out the letter correctly. Repeat this process until students understand that each letter makes a different sound.
Call on students, read one of the seven words to them, and then ask them to either swap the first or third letter of the word with another letter (i.e. swapping the letter “t” with the letter “l” in the word “cat,” transforming it into the nonsense word “cal,” swapping the letter “m” with the letter “t” in the word “mat,” transforming it into the nonsense word “tat”). Stress to students that it is acceptable if their new word does not make sense; the focus of this lesson is not on spelling or correctness, but sounds. Have the student pronounce the new word in its entirety. Then have the student only pronounce the first or last letter of the new word (i.e. pronounce the “l” in “cal,” the first “t” in “tat”). Then have students enunciate the sound that that letter makes in the word. Stress to students that changing the first or third letter of these words not only changes the way the word looks or is spelled, but changes the way the word is pronounced (i.e. “cal” is pronounced differently than the word “cat” because of the “l” sound at the end of the word).
Focus 4: Sight Words
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.C
Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
Activity to Teach Sight Words: Sight Word Centers
After reading the text aloud to and with students multiple times, write the sight words “the, of, to, and is” on the board. Ask students if they have ever heard or read these words before. Explain the importance and meaning of these words in a way that is understandable to children. Pronounce each word for students and then ask students to pronounce the words with teacher assistance, using a pointer to help sound out the words. Eventually, point at each word and ask students to pronounce the word without teacher assistance. Place a copy of The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat where it is visible to all students and open to a random page. Ask students to raise their hands and identify one of the four sight words (i.e. a student identifies the sight word “the” twice in the sentence “The rat hates the cat”). Then divide students into four groups: the “The” Group, the “Of” Group, the “To” Group, and the “Is” Group. Give students old school memos that will eventually be recycled (i.e. flyers, announcements, etc.) and ask them to only focus on their group’s designated sight word (i.e. the “The” Group is only looking for the word “the”) and to ignore all of the other text. Give each child a reading guide strip to aid them in focusing on one sentence at a time. Have students “highlight” their group’s designated sight word in yellow crayon. After five minutes, have the groups rotate so that every group has a chance to search for each of the four sight words.
Focus 5: Analogizing Words
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D
Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
Activity to Teach Analogizing Words: Rhyming Rimes
Retrieve the large sheets of cardstock that were used in the Upper- and Lowercase Mates Alphabet Knowledge activity as those sheets contain rhyming words that have different onsets but identical rimes (i.e. bat, cat, etc.). Cover the uppercase version of each word (i.e. Bat, Cat) with a sticky piece of paper that can be removed later so that students are focused solely on the lowercase version of each word (i.e. bat, cat, etc.). Pronounce each word for students and then ask the students to pronounce the words with teacher assistance, using a pointer to help sound out the words. Point at the first letter of each word and have students pronounce the letter (i.e. bat begins with the letter “b”). Then have students make the sound that the letter makes in that specific word (i.e. the letter “b” in “bat” makes the /buh/ sound, the letter “c” in “cat” makes the /kuh/ sound). Place a sticky piece of paper over the first letter, or onset, of each word. Students will quickly notice that the only letters remaining on each large sheet of cardstock are the letters “at,” or the rime “at.” Ask students what each large sheet has in common. Remove the sticky pieces of paper and ask students what the difference is between each large sheet of paper.
Divide students into groups of four and provide each of the four group members with an index card that has the rime “at” written on it in black permanent marker. Provide each group with lowercase foam letters (b, c, f, h, m, r, and v). Ask students to practice placing the different foam letters in front of their rime index cards. Move from group to group and ask students to pronounce the different words they have created (i.e. Teacher: “Can you pronounce that word for me?” Student: “Vat”). Ask students to compare the words they make to the words their group members make (i.e. “cat” vs. “rat”).
Focus 6: Phonics
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
Activity to Teach Phonics: Touchy Sounds
Focus on letter-sound correspondence by teaching students the hard and soft /c/ sounds. Write the word “cat” on the board and have students pronounce the word with and without teacher assistance, then have students only pronounce the first letter of the word, then have students make the sound that the first letter makes. Write the familiar word “circle” on the board and have students pronounce the word with and without teacher assistance, then have students only pronounce the first letter of the word, then have students make the sound that the first letter makes. Stress that the “c” in “cat” makes the hard /c/ sound, which is pronounced /k/, and that the “c” in “circle” makes the soft /c/ sound, which is pronounced /s/. Beneath the word “cat,” write the word “cake” and have students pronounce the word with and without teacher assistance, then have students only pronounce the first letter of the word, then have students make the sound that the first letter makes. Explain that the “c” in “cake” makes the hard /c/ sound like the “c” in “cat.” Beneath the word “circle,” write the word “city” and have students pronounce the word with and without teacher assistance, then have students only pronounce the first letter of the word, then have students make the sound that the first letter makes. Explain that the “c” in “city” makes the soft /c/ sound like the “c” in “circle.”
Give each student one small, hard ball and one small, soft ball. Allow the students to manipulate both balls before beginning the activity. Ask them what each ball feels like and if one ball is harder or softer than the other. Instruct students to raise either the hard ball or the soft ball depending on the /c/ sound they hear at the beginning of the given word (i.e. When given the word “castle,” students should raise the hard ball in the air for the hard /c/ sound. When given the word “celery,” students should raise the soft ball in the air for the soft /c/ sound). If students are raising the incorrect ball, take the time to explain which ball is correct and why. Be sure to enunciate each word slowly and clearly so that students do not become confused.
Conclusion:
The above activities will aid students in acquiring the foundational skills they need in order to become fluent readers. These activities are engaging and designed specifically for students at the Kindergarten/1st grade level. They also alleviate the frustration that often comes with learning to read so that students do not develop a negative relationship with reading. Students are not passively learning these skills, but actively engaging in the learning process through shared reading so that they can enter upper grade levels with the confidence and knowledge they need.
Book Information:
Book: The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat
Author: Nurit Karlin
Illustrated by: Nurit Karlin
Level: Kindergarten/1st Grade
Introduction:
The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat is a Level 1 Beginning Reading I Can Read! book written and illustrated by Nurit Karlin. This book includes repetition and rhyming words, specifically words that rhyme with “cat” and “broom.” The book also features simple sentences, minimal text on each page, simple vocabulary, and a storyline that is engaging to young readers. The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat follows the story of a fat cat, who is owned by Wilma the Witch. When Wilma the Witch goes out for a ride on her broom one night, the fat cat and Wilma’s pet rat have a disagreement, which involves the cat refusing to move off of the rat’s mat. The rat employs the help of his friends, bat and hat, to help get the fat cat off his mat. In the end, only Wilma the Witch can help resolve the issue.
The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat is ideal for shared reading because it supports emergent readers through text features such as rhyme, rhythm, and repetition and offers a storyline that peaks the interest of young children. The first three sentences of the text provide the rhyme scheme for the rest of the book: “Wilma the witch has a crazy broom. It likes to fly around her room. She also has a fat cat and a pet rat.” Every page after that either features words that rhyme with “broom” or “cat.” The repetition, rhyme, and rhythm of the book aids children in learning and being able to pronounce words that rhyme with “broom” and “cat.” By the end of the book, children will know and be able to pronounce the words broom, room, bat, brat, cat, fat, hat, mat, rat, that, and vat. The book also aids children in familiarizing themselves with the letters b, c, f, h, m, r, t, v, w, etc. and the different sounds those letters make. The sentences in the text are short and simple, making them easier for students to read and comprehend, there are minimal words on each page so that students do not become overwhelmed, and the vocabulary is basic. After several repeated readings, students will find it easy to remember the words of the text and join the teacher in reading the book aloud. Also, the storyline is appealing to students since it deals with the make-believe (Wilma the Witch) and a selection of talking animals and objects.
Focus 1- Concept of Print
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA- RF.K.1.
Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print. Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
Activity to Teach Concept of Print: Silly Conversation/Out of Order Pocket Chart
Read The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat aloud to students a minimum of three times on three separate school days. Point at the words with a pointer the second and third time the text is read aloud. Purposely hold the book upside down the first time the text is read aloud and pretend to have difficulty reading the book (idea gathered from https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/silly-ways-to-teach-print-awareness.html). Wait for students to notice and comment on the fact that the book is being held upside down when it should be held right side up. Introduce students to the front and back of the book as well as the cover page the first time the text is read aloud. Act shocked that the author/illustrator’s name is printed on the front cover (i.e. “Oh no, someone wrote her name on this book! This book must belong to her so that means we can’t read it!”/ idea gathered from https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/silly-ways-to-teach-print-awareness.html). Take this opportunity to explain to students who the author/illustrator is and what he or she contributes to the book. The second and third time the text is read aloud, address the fact that the text is read from left to right, top to bottom, and one page after another. Purposely skip over sentences or pages and wait for students to notice so that the importance of reading left to right, top to bottom, and page after page can be explained (idea gathered from https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/silly-ways-to-teach-print-awareness.html).
Write each of the following words in black permanent marker on white rectangles of paper: “It landed on the hat, which landed on the bat, who landed on the rat, who landed on the cat, lying flat on the mat.” Review the sentence with students before beginning the activity. Place the white rectangles out of order on a pocket chart (i.e. the on It landed hat,) and have students approach the pocket chart one at a time and attempt to place the rectangles in the proper order. Each break in the sentence will be placed on a different line of the pocket chart (i.e. “the on It landed hat,” on the first line, “landed which bat, the on” on the second line, etc.). Once the sentence has been properly reassembled and read aloud as a class word by word with the aid of a pointer, arrange the rectangles in a different order and practice again.
Focus 2 - Alphabet Knowledge
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.D
Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Activity to Teach Alphabet Knowledge: Upper- and Lowercase Mates
Write the words bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, rat, and vat on large sheets of cardstock, reserving a different color of cardstock for each word. Underneath each lowercase word, write its uppercase equivalent (i.e. bat, Bat). Underline the first letter of each lower- and uppercase word (i.e. the “c” in cat, the “C” in Cat) in black permanent marker and point to the letters with a pointer. Pronounce the letters and tell students that that pronunciation serves as the name of the letter, explaining that lower- and uppercase letters are pronounced exactly the same (i.e. “The word ‘cat’ begins with the letter ‘c.’ The word ‘Cat’ also begins with the letter ‘C’”). Repeat the process for each of the seven words. Display the large example sheets where students can see and access them (i.e. in a semi-circle on the floor).
Place magnetic upper- and lowercase letters (b, c, f, h, m, r, and v) in random order on the board and ask students one at a time to identify either an upper- or lowercase letter (i.e. “Show me where the uppercase R is.”). If the student correctly identifies the uppercase/lowercase letter, then ask the student to identity its uppercase/lowercase mate (i.e. “Now show me the letter R’s lowercase mate”). If the student correctly identifies both letters, ask the student to remove the uppercase and lowercase letters from the board and place them on top of the respective example sheet (i.e. place the uppercase R and lowercase R on top of the “rat, Rat” example sheet). If the student has difficulty identifying the upper- and lowercase versions of the letters, direct the student’s attention to the example sheets or ask the student to select a peer to help him or her.
Focus 3: Phonological or Phonemic Awareness
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2
Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E
Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
Activity to Teach Phonemic Awareness: Swapping Sounds
Working with the seven words utilized in the Upper- and Lowercase Mates Alphabet Knowledge activity, read the seven words aloud to students and ask them what each of the seven words have in common. Some students will say that the seven words all “sound the same at the end,” while others will say that the seven words rhyme. Inform students that each of the seven words also all have one syllable. Explain what a syllable is and then demonstrate what a syllable is using the hand-clap method. Have students hand-clap the syllable of each word with teacher assistance and then without teacher assistance. Pronounce the first letter of each word and then enunciate the sound that that letter makes (i.e. the “c” in “cat” makes the /kuh/ sound). Pronounce the second letter of each word (a) and enunciate the sound that that letter makes in that specific word. Pronounce the third letter of each word (t) and enunciate the sound that that letter makes in that specific word. Repeat this process several times with students. Call on various students, provide them with one of the seven words, and then pronounce one of the letters from the word. Ask the students to make the sound that that specific letter makes (i.e. give a student the word “rat,” pronounce the letter “r” in “rat,” and then ask the student to make the sound that the letter “r” makes in “rat”). If a student is struggling, assist the student in sounding out the letter correctly. Repeat this process until students understand that each letter makes a different sound.
Call on students, read one of the seven words to them, and then ask them to either swap the first or third letter of the word with another letter (i.e. swapping the letter “t” with the letter “l” in the word “cat,” transforming it into the nonsense word “cal,” swapping the letter “m” with the letter “t” in the word “mat,” transforming it into the nonsense word “tat”). Stress to students that it is acceptable if their new word does not make sense; the focus of this lesson is not on spelling or correctness, but sounds. Have the student pronounce the new word in its entirety. Then have the student only pronounce the first or last letter of the new word (i.e. pronounce the “l” in “cal,” the first “t” in “tat”). Then have students enunciate the sound that that letter makes in the word. Stress to students that changing the first or third letter of these words not only changes the way the word looks or is spelled, but changes the way the word is pronounced (i.e. “cal” is pronounced differently than the word “cat” because of the “l” sound at the end of the word).
Focus 4: Sight Words
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.C
Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
Activity to Teach Sight Words: Sight Word Centers
After reading the text aloud to and with students multiple times, write the sight words “the, of, to, and is” on the board. Ask students if they have ever heard or read these words before. Explain the importance and meaning of these words in a way that is understandable to children. Pronounce each word for students and then ask students to pronounce the words with teacher assistance, using a pointer to help sound out the words. Eventually, point at each word and ask students to pronounce the word without teacher assistance. Place a copy of The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat where it is visible to all students and open to a random page. Ask students to raise their hands and identify one of the four sight words (i.e. a student identifies the sight word “the” twice in the sentence “The rat hates the cat”). Then divide students into four groups: the “The” Group, the “Of” Group, the “To” Group, and the “Is” Group. Give students old school memos that will eventually be recycled (i.e. flyers, announcements, etc.) and ask them to only focus on their group’s designated sight word (i.e. the “The” Group is only looking for the word “the”) and to ignore all of the other text. Give each child a reading guide strip to aid them in focusing on one sentence at a time. Have students “highlight” their group’s designated sight word in yellow crayon. After five minutes, have the groups rotate so that every group has a chance to search for each of the four sight words.
Focus 5: Analogizing Words
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D
Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
Activity to Teach Analogizing Words: Rhyming Rimes
Retrieve the large sheets of cardstock that were used in the Upper- and Lowercase Mates Alphabet Knowledge activity as those sheets contain rhyming words that have different onsets but identical rimes (i.e. bat, cat, etc.). Cover the uppercase version of each word (i.e. Bat, Cat) with a sticky piece of paper that can be removed later so that students are focused solely on the lowercase version of each word (i.e. bat, cat, etc.). Pronounce each word for students and then ask the students to pronounce the words with teacher assistance, using a pointer to help sound out the words. Point at the first letter of each word and have students pronounce the letter (i.e. bat begins with the letter “b”). Then have students make the sound that the letter makes in that specific word (i.e. the letter “b” in “bat” makes the /buh/ sound, the letter “c” in “cat” makes the /kuh/ sound). Place a sticky piece of paper over the first letter, or onset, of each word. Students will quickly notice that the only letters remaining on each large sheet of cardstock are the letters “at,” or the rime “at.” Ask students what each large sheet has in common. Remove the sticky pieces of paper and ask students what the difference is between each large sheet of paper.
Divide students into groups of four and provide each of the four group members with an index card that has the rime “at” written on it in black permanent marker. Provide each group with lowercase foam letters (b, c, f, h, m, r, and v). Ask students to practice placing the different foam letters in front of their rime index cards. Move from group to group and ask students to pronounce the different words they have created (i.e. Teacher: “Can you pronounce that word for me?” Student: “Vat”). Ask students to compare the words they make to the words their group members make (i.e. “cat” vs. “rat”).
Focus 6: Phonics
Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
Activity to Teach Phonics: Touchy Sounds
Focus on letter-sound correspondence by teaching students the hard and soft /c/ sounds. Write the word “cat” on the board and have students pronounce the word with and without teacher assistance, then have students only pronounce the first letter of the word, then have students make the sound that the first letter makes. Write the familiar word “circle” on the board and have students pronounce the word with and without teacher assistance, then have students only pronounce the first letter of the word, then have students make the sound that the first letter makes. Stress that the “c” in “cat” makes the hard /c/ sound, which is pronounced /k/, and that the “c” in “circle” makes the soft /c/ sound, which is pronounced /s/. Beneath the word “cat,” write the word “cake” and have students pronounce the word with and without teacher assistance, then have students only pronounce the first letter of the word, then have students make the sound that the first letter makes. Explain that the “c” in “cake” makes the hard /c/ sound like the “c” in “cat.” Beneath the word “circle,” write the word “city” and have students pronounce the word with and without teacher assistance, then have students only pronounce the first letter of the word, then have students make the sound that the first letter makes. Explain that the “c” in “city” makes the soft /c/ sound like the “c” in “circle.”
Give each student one small, hard ball and one small, soft ball. Allow the students to manipulate both balls before beginning the activity. Ask them what each ball feels like and if one ball is harder or softer than the other. Instruct students to raise either the hard ball or the soft ball depending on the /c/ sound they hear at the beginning of the given word (i.e. When given the word “castle,” students should raise the hard ball in the air for the hard /c/ sound. When given the word “celery,” students should raise the soft ball in the air for the soft /c/ sound). If students are raising the incorrect ball, take the time to explain which ball is correct and why. Be sure to enunciate each word slowly and clearly so that students do not become confused.
Conclusion:
The above activities will aid students in acquiring the foundational skills they need in order to become fluent readers. These activities are engaging and designed specifically for students at the Kindergarten/1st grade level. They also alleviate the frustration that often comes with learning to read so that students do not develop a negative relationship with reading. Students are not passively learning these skills, but actively engaging in the learning process through shared reading so that they can enter upper grade levels with the confidence and knowledge they need.