Open Wide
Rationale: This lesson teaches children about the short vowel correspondence o = /o/. In order to be able to read, children must learn to recognize the spellings that map word pronunciations. In this lesson children will learn to recognize, spell, and read words containing the spelling o. They will learn a meaningful representation (child saying “ahh” to doctor), they will spell and read words containing this spelling in a Letterbox lesson and read a decodable book that focuses on the correspondence o= /o/.
Materials: Graphic image of child saying ah; cover-up critter; whiteboard or smartboard Elkonin boxes for modeling and individual Elkonin boxes for each student; letter manipulatives for each child and magnetic or smartboard letters for teacher: o, x, h, t, c, p, b, f, r, g; list of spelling words on poster or whiteboard to read: ox, hot, cop, box, frog ; decodable text: A Hot Spot, and assessment worksheet.
Procedures: 1. Say: In order to become expert readers, we need to learn the code that tells us how to pronounce words. Today we are going to learn about short o. When I say /o/ I think about being at the doctor and opening my moth for the doctor to check my throat and saying “ahh”. [show graphic image].
2. Say: Before we learn about the spelling of /o/, we need to listen for it in some words. When I listen for /o/ in words, I hear o say /o/ and I feel my mouth open and my jaw drop. [Make vocal gesture for /o/.] I’ll show you first: pot. I heard o say /o/ and I felt my mouth open and my jaw drop [open mouth]. There is a short o in pot. Now I’m going to see if it’s in home. Hmm, I didn’t hear o say /o/ and I didn’t feel my mouth open and my jaw drop. Now you try. If you hear /o/ say, “ahh” If you don’t hear /o/ say, “That’s not it.” Is it in stop, rain, drop, spot, fan? [Have children open their mouths wide when they hear /o/]
3. Say: Now let’s look at the spelling of /o/ that we’ll learn today. The way to spell /o/ is by writing an o. [Write o on the board.] What if I want to spell the word mop? “My sister has to mop the kitchen.” Mop is something you use to clean. To spell mop in letterboxes, first I need to know how many phonemes I have in the word, so I stretch it out and count: /m/o/p/. I need 3 boxes. I heard that /o/ just before the /p/ so I’m going to put an o in the 2nd box. The word starts with /m/, that’s easy; I need an m. [Point to letters in boxes when stretching out the word: /m/o/p/.]
4. Say: Now I’m going to have you spell some words in letterboxes. You’ll start out easy with two boxes for ox. An ox is an animal. What should go in the first box? [Respond to children’s answers]. What goes in the second box? I’ll check your spelling while I walk around the room. [Observe progress.] You’ll need three letterboxes for the next word. Listen for the beginning sound that goes in the first box. Then listen for /o/. Here’s the word: hot, I wish it was hot outside. [Allow children to spell words.] Time to check your work. Watch how I spell it in my letterboxes on the board: h-o-t and see if you’ve spelled it the same way. Try another with three boxes: cop; The cop keeps us safe. [Have volunteer spell it in the letterbox on the front board for children to check their work. Repeat this step for each new word.] Next word. Listen to see if this word has /o/ in it before you spell it: pan; you cook in a pan. Do you hear /o/ in pan? No, pan is spelled with /a/ [volunteer spells it on the front board. Now let’s try one more 3 phonemes: box; My toys come in a box. One more then we’re done with spelling, and this time you need 4 boxes: frog; I have a frog in my pond. Remember to stretch it out to get this tough word.
5. Say: Now I am going to let you read the words you’ve spelled, but first I’ll show you how I would read a tough word. [Display poster with frog on the top and model reading the word.] First, I see the vowel o. It must say /o/. I’m going to use a cover-up to get the first part. [Uncover and blend sequentially before the vowel, then blend with the vowel.] /f/ /r/ = /fr/ + /g/ = /frg/. Now I’m going to blend that with /o/. Frog; that’s it. Now it’s your turn, everyone together. [Have children read words in unison. Afterwards, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn.]
6. Say: You’ve done a great job and reading words with our new spelling for /o/: o. Now we are going to read a book called A Hot Spot. The story is about a mom digging in her garden on a hot summer day. Everyone in the family brings the mom something to help her stay cool. But the son’s idea doesn’t go very well. [The children read the story alone. After individual reading, the class rereads aloud together, and stops between page turns to discuss the plot.]
7. Say: That was a fun story. What happened with the son gave him mom a drink? Right, it exploded in her face. Before we finish up with our lesson about how to spell o= /o/, I want to see how you can solve a reading problem. On this worksheet you are going to color the pictures that have a short o sound in them. Then, you are going to circle the words with the short o in them. Finally, you will write three words with the short o in them. [Collect worksheets to evaluate individual child progress.]
Resources:
A Hot Spot: From Lad and His Pals by Bruce and Geri Murray. https://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Murray/e/B07VH5LHWG?ref_=pe_1724030_132998060
Assessment worksheet: https://www.myteachingstation.com/short-o-sound-worksheet
Icky, Icky, Sticky! By Anne Marie Newnan https://missannemarienewman.wixsite.com/portfolio/beginning-reading
