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Learn 'S' with Slithery Snake 

By: Hanna Himmelwright

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Rational: 

This lesson will allow children to identify /s/ in words and phrases. Children will learn to recognize S in dialogue by using imagery of a snake. This will allow for practicing finding /s/ in words, and finding phoneme awareness with /s/ in phonetic cues. 

Materials:

Primary paper and pencil; picture for children to see, chart with “Slithery snake was super slippery”; drawing paper and crayons; Dr. Seuss’s ABC (Random House, 1963) word cards with SAND, SIT, SACK, STAIN; assessment worksheet identifying pictures with /s/

Procedure:

  1. Say: Today we are going to work on letter S! The letter S makes the /s/ sound. You might notice that S kind of looks like a snake and sounds like a snake when it hisses. SSSSSSSS

  2. Say: Lets practice the letter S and the sound that it makes /s/ /s/ /s/. When you make this sound with your mouth you will notice that your tongue reaches to the top of your mouth and you blow air out between our tongue and the top of our mouth.

  3. Say: Lets look at the word NEST and lets see if we can find the /s/ sound. Nnn-eeee-ssss-ttttt. Did you hear the /s/ sound? I heard it and feel my tongue making the /s/. 

  4. Say: Lets try a tongue twist to help us remember (show chart). A girl was on a walk with her family and she saw a slithery snake that was super slippery.” Know yall try it!  Now this time lets stretch out the /s/ sound in the words. “the sssslithery ssssnake that wassssss sssssuper ssssslippery.” Now this time and break it off the word.

  5. (Have students take out primary paper and pencil) Say: we are going to use the letter S to spell the sound /s/. Both the upper and lower case, S look like a snake. Lets write both S’s. Form a tiny c as the snakes head, than wrap it around to make his tail. Now I  am going to let yall try. Once I have checked your first one, continue to practice and make 5 more!

  6. Call on students to answer and tell how they knew: Do you hear /s/ in soon or moon? Sick or bite? Has or hat? Case or nice? Miss or him? Say: Let’s see if you can spot the mouth move /s/ in some words. Make a snake with your arm if you hear the /s/ sound: strawberry, spa, pot, rain, best, fish, sea

  7. Say: Lets look at an alphabet book. Dr. Seuss tell us about Silly Sammy Slick drank sodas and got very sick! Read page 36, drawing out /s/. Ask if they can think of other words with /s/. Can you name any foods that start with /s/. Then have each student write down their foods and draw a picture. Make sure to hang up work after they are done

  8. Show SAND and model how to decide if it is SAND or BAND: The S tells me to make my snake with my arm, /s/, so this word is ssss-and, sand. You try some: SIT or Hit? SACK or BACK? Stain or pain? 

  9. For assessment, distribute the worksheet. Students color the pictures that begin with S. Call students individually to read the phoneic cue words form step #8

 

Reference: Rhiannon Akins, Slither like a Slimy, Sticky Snake with S

http://akinsrhiannon.wix.com/eceed#%21el-design/rfw94

Assessment Worksheet:

https://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/s-begins1.htm

 

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