My English Lessons

First grade reading lesson plans for teaching phonemic awarenes.

How to teach 1st grade reading using phonemic awareness.

1) Pronounces all sounds in words containing two or three phonemes

Play Slide game. The teacher will draw a slide on the board. The student will make each sound as they slide by. This game can be used with blends also. Make each sound separately, and then “slide” from sound to sound.

Assign each child one letter of the alphabet. Demonstrate knowledge of the alphabet and letter sounds by verbalizing sounds and letters. As a new word is introduced the students responsible for the letters/sounds, will piece the word together to form the word.

Guide students to tap knees or make a shape with the body as each letter or blend in a vocabulary word is vocalized. This is also good for practicing spelling.

2) Blends sounds in words containing initial and final blends

Make a shape for each letter in a blend. The students, working in pairs, will connect the shapes to form a visual image of the blend. As the blend is formed, the class will vocalize the action.

Use a Twister game to identify letters and their sounds. The teacher will write one letter on each color dot. The students will stand on a color called out by the teacher. The student will say the sound of the letter and will say one word that begins with that sound.

Uses letter-sound (grapheme/phoneme) relationships to identify words in context

1) Recognizes letter-sound associations

Have students take a letter out of a bucket, identify it, and say a word that begins with that sound.

Have students stand, sit, hop, or jump when the teacher says the first letter of their name.

Create a sound box (e.g., M A X say the word).

Choose a song for the class to learn (e.g., folk, traditional, patriotic, etc.). The students will memorize the lyrics of the song. Ask students to identify selected letter-sound associations from the song lyrics.

Guide students to pronounce a sound and write the sound. Draw pictures of words that begin with that sound.

Have a variety of small objects on display (e.g., car, comb, cat, ball, box, etc.). Randomly place the letters of the alphabet alongside the objects. After identifying each object, place the correct beginning sound letter beside each object. Group the objects with the same beginning sound together. Ending sound letters or blends may be used the next time the activity is done.

Play a modified version of the Beach Ball Game. Example: Write large alphabet letters on the ball. Students will stand in a circle and clap together in slow rhythm. The students will toss the ball. As each child catches the ball, he or she must say the sound of the letter that is under their right thumb. While keeping in rhythm, the child must say a word that begins with that letter. On the next round the students must say a word that ends in the letter, etc.

Read a poem and clap on each word that begins with a selected letter sound.

Identify a letter sound, and cut out pictures representing words that begin with the letter sound (e.g., the letter m for moon, man, mat). Construct a collage by assembling the pictures.

Assemble a letter-sound class book. Give each student the following frame: A is for . Students will illustrate their sentence. Staple and make class book. Place in class library for students to check out.

Develop a story for letter/sound presentation. For each letter of the alphabet, turn the letter into some sort of living character and make up a story about this character. While telling the story, it is best to draw the character as the student watches. For example, write a large letter “O.” Draw on some ears, hair, eyes, nose, and a round circle for a mouth. Tell the student that “O” has a sore throat and must go to the doctor. The doctor tells him to open his mouth and say “Ahhh.” Display the letters on the wall or the student’s desk for easy reference. As the student sees the character letter, he will remember the story and the sound the character makes. When all the letters have been taught, two character letters can be combined to make a blend.

2) Recognizes word families and rhyming words

Have students listen to some questions. The questions are followed by rhyming word answers. The students then repeat the rhyming words and answer questions with the correct rhyming word (e.g., What do dogs have? paws or saws; Which are pets? kitten or mittens).

Guide students to locate rhyming words in a story, poem, or song lyrics. Highlight the rhyming words with colored markers or colored stickers.

Have students to make a paper chain of rhyming words.

Create an original song using rhyming words. Choose a familiar melody, and compose new lyrics using the vocabulary words (rhyming words).

Develop a class rhyming book. Let each student write a sentence using rhyming words. Students will illustrate the sentence. Place each page in a zip-lock bag. Staple zip-lock bags together to make a rhyming book.

Have students identify and illustrate rhyming words. Fold paper in half, length wise. Fold into fourths. Write a word on the top flap. Lift the flap and write another word that rhymes with the word on the bottom flap. Illustrate both words.

Read a poem or story that contains rhyming words. Use rhythm sticks (or pencils) to tap once on each one – syllable word that rhymes; twice on each two-syllable word that rhymes, etc.

3) Identifies new words by picture cues

Provide opportunities to match a picture to a word.

Provide opportunities to pantomime a new word.

Illustrate a new word on the board. The class tries to guess the new word by the clues the student draws.

4) Identifies likeness and differences in words and letters

Allow students to make a collage of words that are alike. Make a collage of words that are different. (Use magazine pictures, drawings, etc.).

5) Knows how to make new words

Write words on cards and cut zig-zag to make puzzle pieces. The student will put the puzzle pieces together.
Write word endings on the board and have students make new words by adding consonants to the beginning (e.g., op, op).
Have students to create a paper chain of letters in a word.
Have students to illustrate new vocabulary words. Cut paper into four (4) strips. On each strip, write a new vocabulary word. On the other side (or beside the word on the same side), the students will draw or color a picture to illustrate the new word. Staple the four (4) large strips of paper together and stagger strips to make a booklet of word illustrations (flip book).
Use finger paints and sponge letters to paint new words.
Make a rubbing of letters to build a new word. The teacher will cut the letter shapes from materials of varying textures (e.g., sandpaper, wallpaper, etc.).

6) Decodes words using phonemes

Make an impression of a new word. Place two (2) tablespoons of paint in a zip-lock bag. Seal or tape the top securely. Have students write each phoneme on the bag with their index finger. Say the word or phoneme as it appears in the paint through the plastic.

Have students spell out words in rhythm while jumping rope.

Have students spell out new words on the floor using rope, yarn, etc. Students will follow the pattern of the letters in the word. The students will create a dance or rhythm movement to follow the letters/sounds.

Divide into small groups. Each group will form the shape of a phoneme using play dough. The class will pronounce the phoneme and identify words that contain that phoneme.

Write the letters of the alphabet on Post-It-Notes, one letter on each Post-It-Note. Use one color for consonants and another for vowels. Combine the letters on Post-It-Notes to form spelling/vocabulary words of the same phonemes, then of different phonemes, etc.