Concept 2: Breaking & Blending Phonemes
Students must be able to utilize their basic phonological skills of the English ABC's in order to read basic sight words. The importance of this is to provide a skill set for students to use while coming across unfamiliar words; once students have a process that works for them, it can significantly impact their reading in a positive way. It is important to note that with each lesson provided, the activities can be varied or repeated several times. It is not expected that all students move and learn at the same pace, therefore teachers (utilizing their knowledge of learner contexts in the classroom) can determine the pace of the content provided.
Materials Needed:
Lesson Content:
The teacher will begin by reading "The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat" to the whole class. While doing so, he/she will model the appropriate way to sound out an unfamiliar word by breaking down each phoneme and blending it (e.g., "The … /f/ /a/ /t/, fa /t/, fat cat sat on the mat"). For direct instruction on what phonemes are and how to break them down within words, please visit the resource page and watch the "What are phonemes? [Teachers]" video. This will allow students the opportunity to see the process modeled before the teacher explicitly teaches the concept.
Next, the teacher will distribute blank phoneme charts to students. For the younger grades, students may only need a three or four block frame, whereas older students may need longer ones. Each student will also be provided with enough chips/markers to fill each of the frames (e.g., three chips for a three block frame). The teacher will begin by modeling a sight word and breaking down the word into its phonemes (e.g., "Pig… /p/../i/.../g/... pi /g/... pig!"). While breaking the word down, the teacher will place one marker in each of the boxes for each sound he/she makes; this chip placement must be done at the same time as letter is being said. Then, the teacher will model a few other words before having the students do it with her. For students who are struggling, the teacher can continue to work in small groups or one-on-one (or an Instructional Aide or parent volunteer if possible) while the students who are proficient can be given harder and longer words.
Finally, the teacher will wrap up the lesson by showing videos to their students that break down and blend different phonemes. It is not required that the teacher use the exact videos that are provided, however they simply act as a model for the type of video that would work within this reading concept area.
Materials Needed:
- "The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat" by Nurit Karlin
- Blank phoneme charts/frames (can be created by the teacher or downloaded from free sources online)
- Chips/Markers to place on phoneme frames
- Laptop/Desktop that hooks up to a document camera and projector
- Videos - provided on the resource page
Lesson Content:
The teacher will begin by reading "The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat" to the whole class. While doing so, he/she will model the appropriate way to sound out an unfamiliar word by breaking down each phoneme and blending it (e.g., "The … /f/ /a/ /t/, fa /t/, fat cat sat on the mat"). For direct instruction on what phonemes are and how to break them down within words, please visit the resource page and watch the "What are phonemes? [Teachers]" video. This will allow students the opportunity to see the process modeled before the teacher explicitly teaches the concept.
Next, the teacher will distribute blank phoneme charts to students. For the younger grades, students may only need a three or four block frame, whereas older students may need longer ones. Each student will also be provided with enough chips/markers to fill each of the frames (e.g., three chips for a three block frame). The teacher will begin by modeling a sight word and breaking down the word into its phonemes (e.g., "Pig… /p/../i/.../g/... pi /g/... pig!"). While breaking the word down, the teacher will place one marker in each of the boxes for each sound he/she makes; this chip placement must be done at the same time as letter is being said. Then, the teacher will model a few other words before having the students do it with her. For students who are struggling, the teacher can continue to work in small groups or one-on-one (or an Instructional Aide or parent volunteer if possible) while the students who are proficient can be given harder and longer words.
Finally, the teacher will wrap up the lesson by showing videos to their students that break down and blend different phonemes. It is not required that the teacher use the exact videos that are provided, however they simply act as a model for the type of video that would work within this reading concept area.