The phonics portion of our
program is known as “Letter Loon.” In this program, we will promote the study
of individual letters, letter sounds, as well as the formation (lines and
shapes) that make up these letters. From letter poems, show and share, and
writing practice with various materials, our Letter Loon program is sure to set
a solid foundation for our Robins as they explore and develop lifelong literacy
skills. This portion of our literacy program is broken into three categories:
Recognize letters (See it) – engaging children in hands-on and active learning
experiences that fosters letter recognition.
Letter sounds (Say it) – engaging children in hands-on and active learning
experiences that fosters knowledge of letters sounds.
Letter formations (Build it) – engaging
children in hands-on and active learning experiences that encourages building
of letters. This will include the use of various writing instruments as well as
different manipulatives and materials in the classroom.
“Say It” – Letter Sound Buckets |
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Materials: Plastic containers, various manipulatives | |
Purpose: The purpose of letter buckets is to enhance your introduction of the new letters for each unit and to give children an opportunity to connect letters to sounds. In order for writing and reading to take place, children must first be able to connect the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. | |
Introduction: During community meeting with your children, revisit and review the letters of the unit. As you review: · Name each letter. · Talk about the lines and shapes that make up each letter. · Connect to the children as you ask, “whose name begins with this letter?” Pass letter manipulatives around as you talk about them. Let the children see and feel the letters up close. Introduce the sound(s) of the letters that you are exploring. · Say the sounds out loud together. · Can you think of a word that begins with the letter?
Letter Sound Buckets: Using empty containers encourage children to search within their environment (inside and out) for manipulatives that represent the sounds of the unit letters you are studying. Once complete, pass around each item for the children say the letter sound(s) that correspond with each item. Set your letter sound buckets out in your learning environments and let the children explore them freely. · Can they sort by letter and letter sound? · Can they find other items that begin with that same sound? Extend this experience: Continue to explore letter and letter sounds from this unit throughout your conversations and play experiences. If children find new manipulatives (from home or school) to add to their letter sound buckets, let them! | |
Closure: Read Alphatales Letter Book(s) with your classroom. Visit our L.E.A.P Playlist n the music app and sing along to some phonics songs. | |
“Say It” – Letter Songs |
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Materials: Letter song flip chart | |
Purpose: The purpose of letter songs is to enhance your introduction of the new letters for each unit and to give children an opportunity to connect letters to sounds. In order for writing and reading to take place, children must first be able to connect the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. | |
Introduction: During community meeting with your children, revisit and review the letters of the unit. As you review: · Name each letter. · Talk about the lines and shapes that make up each letter. · Connect to the children as you ask, “whose name begins with this letter?” Pass letter manipulatives around as you talk about them. Let the children see and feel the letters up close. Introduce the sound(s) of the letters that you are exploring. · Say the sounds out loud together. · Can you think of a word that begins with the letter?
Letter Sound Songs: Take out your letter song flip chart and introduce the songs for the letters in your current unit. Sing the song once to the children and then encourage children to sing along with you. Bring out your corresponding puppet to make this interactive for the children. Invite children to take out musical instruments to shake and move as they sing the song.
Extend this experience: Continue to explore letter and letter sounds from this unit throughout your conversations and play experiences. | |
Closure: Read Alphatales Letter Book(s) with your classroom. Visit our L.E.A.P Playlist n the music app and sing along to some phonics songs. | |
“Say It” – Letter Web |
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Materials: Chart paper, markers, letter manipulatives | |
Purpose: The purpose of letter web is to enhance your introduction of the new letters for each unit and to give children an opportunity to connect letters to sounds. In order for writing and reading to take place, children must first be able to connect the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. | |
During community meeting with your children, revisit and review the letters of the unit. As you review: · Name each letter. · Talk about the lines and shapes that make up each letter. · Connect to the children as you ask, “whose name begins with this letter?” Pass letter manipulatives around as you talk about them. Let the children see and feel the letters up close. Introduce the sound(s) of the letters that you are exploring. · Say the sounds out loud together. · Can you think of a word that begins with the letter? · Revisit letter songs and sing them together.
Letter Web: Set up your chart paper and markers to record children’s responses to this question: “What starts with the letter …?” Invite children to come over and explore the letter manipulatives and letter sound buckets as they think about what other words begin with these letters. Keep chart paper and transfer children’s responses to a classroom word wall or word book. Add images of the word next to each word so that children can connect the written word to its actual meaning.
Extend this experience: Continue to explore letter and letter sounds from this unit throughout your conversations and play experiences. As new words come up, add to your word wall or book. Post your letter web for families to see and encourage them to explore their home environments for words that also begin with the letters you are exploring. | |
Closure: Read Alphatales Letter Book(s) with your classroom. Visit our L.E.A.P Playlist n the music app and sing along to some phonics songs. | |
“Say It” – Round Robin Authors |
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Materials: Chart paper, paper, drawing/writing materials, letter manipulatives | |
Purpose: The purpose of Round Robin Authors is to enhance your introduction of the new letters for each unit and to give children an opportunity to connect letters to sounds. In order for writing and reading to take place, children must first be able to connect the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. | |
Introduction: During community meeting with your children, revisit and review the letters of the unit. As you review: · Name each letter. · Talk about the lines and shapes that make up each letter. · Connect to the children as you ask, “whose name begins with this letter?” Pass letter manipulatives around as you talk about them. Let the children see and feel the letters up close. Introduce the sound(s) of the letters that you are exploring. · Say the sounds out loud together. · Can you think of a word that begins with the letter? · Revisit letter songs and sing them together.
Round Robin Authors: Set up your chart paper and markers to record children’s responses as you all become authors and write a short story or poem using words that begin with your unit letters. Add a note to each line indicating where each child took place in authoring this story.
Extend this experience: Set out paper, drawing and writing materials, and your story/poem. Remind the children of the line they authored in your story/poem and invite them to illustrate their part of the story. Laminate and create a class book to add to your library. Set up a process where families can “check out” this book and read together at home. | |
Closure: Read Alphatales Letter Book(s) with your classroom. Visit our L.E.A.P Playlist n the music app and sing along to some phonics songs. | |
“Say It” – Dry Erase Letters |
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Materials: dry erase boards, markers, erasers, letter cards, letter formation poems. | |
Purpose: The purpose of Dry Erase Letters is to enhance your introduction of the new letters for each unit and to give children an opportunity to connect letters to sounds while gaining exposure to the shape and lines of each letter. In order for writing and reading to take place, children must first be able to connect the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. | |
Introduction: During community meeting with your children, revisit and review the letters of the unit. As you review: · Name each letter. · Talk about the lines and shapes that make up each letter. Pass letter manipulatives around as you talk about them. Let the children see and feel the letters up close. Introduce the formation poems that correspond with your unit letters. · Say the poem together as you air trace the letter. · Can you think of a word that begins with the letter?
Dry Erase Letters: Set up your dry erase boards (at least one for each letter you are exploring) and invite children over to explore them. Encourage children to follow the lines as they erase the letter. When they are erasing talk about: · What letter is this? · What sound(s) does this letter make? · What words can we think of that begin with this letter? Rewrite the letters and try it again!
Extend this experience: Set out letter cards/formation poems and let children begin exploring the shapes, lines, and formation of each letter. If needed, add stencils for tracing on the white boards. · Can they begin to replicate some of those shapes and lines? | |
Closure: Read Alphatales Letter Book(s) with your classroom. Visit our L.E.A.P Playlist n the music app and sing along to some phonics songs. | |
“Say It” – Drive Around |
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Materials: letter road maps, cars, wooden blocks or train tracks, painters’ tape | |
Purpose: The purpose of Drive Around is to enhance your introduction of the new letters for each unit and to give children an opportunity to connect letters to sounds while also gaining exposure to the shape and lines of each letter. In order for writing and reading to take place, children must first be able to connect the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. | |
Introduction: During community meeting with your children, revisit and review the letters of the unit. As you review: · Name each letter. · Talk about the lines and shapes that make up each letter. Pass letter manipulatives around as you talk about them. Let the children see and feel the letters up close. Introduce the formation poems that correspond with your unit letters. · Say the poem together as you air trace the letter. · Can you think of a word that begins with the letter?
Drive Around: Set up your letter road maps using materials listed above. Invite the children over to drive and explore each letters road map. · What are the lines and shapes of each letter? Encourage children to add other elements to their play to enhance their experience. · Can they find manipulatives that begin with the letters you are exploring?
Extend this experience: Set up a “road map” and “parking lot” using painters’ tape. Inside each space place an image that represents each letter from your unit. Have children flip over a letter card and see if they can drive a car into each space that corresponds with the letter shown on the car. | |
Closure: Read Alphatales Letter Book(s) with your classroom. Visit our L.E.A.P Playlist n the music app and sing along to some phonics songs. | |
“Say It” – Letter Hunt |
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Materials: letter picture cards | |
Purpose: The purpose of Letter Hunt is to enhance your introduction of the new letters for each unit and to give children an opportunity to connect letters to sounds while beginning to understand the relationship between images and words. In order for writing and reading to take place, children must first be able to connect the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. | |
Introduction: During community meeting with your children, revisit and review the letters of the unit. As you review: · Name each letter. · Talk about the lines and shapes that make up each letter. Pass letter manipulatives around as you talk about them. Let the children see and feel the letters up close. Introduce the formation poems that correspond with your unit letters. · Revisit letter songs and sing them together. · Can you think of a word that begins with the letter?
Letter Hunt: Set out letter/picture cards in various parts of your classroom environment. Invite children to take a scavenger hunt around the classroom and see how many letter/picture cards they can find. Come back together for a small group time and let children share what they found.
Extend this experience: Take your letter hunt exploration outside. Invite children to search your outdoor learning spaces for objects that begin with or represent the letters that you are studying for this unit. Bring nature items inside and allow them to talk about what they found. Set new letter manipulatives out in our learning environments for children to continue to explore. | |
Closure: Read Alphatales Letter Book(s) with your classroom. Visit our L.E.A.P Playlist n the music app and sing along to some phonics songs. | |
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“Say It” – Special Soup |
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Materials: Soup pot, kitchen slitted spoon, letter cards/foam letters, “Special Soup” Song poster, Grocery flyers, child scissors |
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Purpose: Children will be able to identify letter name and produce letter sounds for the given letter focus. Children will also be exposed to words that begin with the letter focus to reinforce that letters make up words. This builds their concept of print and phonics skills for future reading and writing. |
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Introduction: Prior to starting the activity, tap into their background knowledge. · Have you ever been to a grocery store? Who do you go with? · What types of things do you buy at a grocery store? (You can list student responses and emphasize beginning letter sounds)
Review the letters that they have been naming and share that you are going to make special soup with them! First we need to find some foods to add to our soup. Let’s look for foods that begin with the letters we’ve been working on.
Special Soup Activity: Set out child safety scissors, grocery flyers, letter cards, soup pot, cooking utensils. Invite children over to cut out various foods or grocery items that could be used in the “special soup.” Encourage students to search for foods that start with the letter focus of the unit. Name each item with emphasis on the beginning sound. Sing the Special Soup Song using children’s food items!
Once you’ve done your shopping, put your soup pot in the middle of your space and pop in the letter cards. As you add the letter cards to the pot, share that they have a special sound.
Play and sing the Special Soup Song in plex and invite children to insert their foods that begin with the letters of focus [i.e. P= pizza, pickles, pepperoni]
Encourage students to get up and move as you mix the soup or have students take turns adding their “food” to the pot and mixing.
Extension: · Expand your food collecting to incorporate letters from past units that you’ve reviewed with the children. This is a great way to reinforce previous learning or add to future “special soups!” · Children can create “food” using various art materials that could go in the “Special Soup” based on the letter focus. · Create a collaborative poster of foods that start with the letter focus. · Add your cooking supplies (soup pot, spoons, bowls, etc.) to the imagination station area and invite children to make their own letter soup with their peers! |
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Closure: · Reinforce the letters that you worked on today, make sure to focus on the letter sound during the “say it” units – this starts building emergent readers! · Read Alphatales Letter Book(s) with your classroom. · Visit our L.E.A.P Playlist in the music app and sing along to some phonics songs. |
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