Emergent Literacy Design
Rationale: The most basic element to literacy
instruction is the understanding of
alphabetic letters, (in other words, letter recognition.) Many children
prior knowledge at home of the alphabet, but until they are able to
cognitive connection on their own, the concepts remain foreign.
quick to associate letters with certain pictorial references that are
to them. This lesson, by using a common theme with which they may
will help children to become more familiar with the infrequently used
paper and pencil
We Are Six by A. A. Milne
with the following sentence:
- “Six oxen were excited to exit when the pirates
who stole them did not use the extra axe and the hammer to fix the
- State the objective of the lesson to the
students in level-appropriate language. Begin by explaining to the students that
they can read any single book in the world if they’ve learned the
basics of reading. “One of the first things we will need to learn to do
is learn a bit about each letter of the alphabet.” You might say,
“Today we are going to look at a letter you do not see that often. Even
so, it is still an important letter. This is the letter X. It’s hard to
think of words that start with that letter, but if you hunt for it, you
will find it in the middles and at the ends of other words. It’s almost
like hunting for buried treasure.”
- Try to associate the letter X with the
students’ prior knowledge.
Ask the students, “Have you ever heard of a pirate story or seen a
pirate movie? When a pirate needs to make a quick getaway, he buries
his treasure. Before he leaves, though, he makes a map so he’ll
remember where he put it. How does he mark where the treasure is?
[Allow time for some responses.] That’s right! X marks the spot!”
- Model the letter formation. “Let’s try making our own Xs. Think of
an X as the mark a pirate makes when he sword fights. He starts at the
top and makes a cut to the right side, going down. When that doesn’t
work, he moves his sword over slightly and makes a cut to the left and
down like this. [Demonstrate the appropriate marks on a sheet of
primary paper making sure the sizes are proportionate to the lines of
the paper.] This is how I do it.”
- Allow the children to practice this on
their on chart paper. “See
if you can try. Take your sword (pencil) and make the same marks I did.
- Have the children find Xs in the sentence
on the chart paper.
“Listen to this sentence I am going to read to you. Look at each word
as I point to it. [Read the sentence slowly and use the pointer to
follow along with the text.] ”Now I’m going to send you on your own
treasure hunt. Anytime you see an X, that is where our treasure is
hidden! Anytime you see an X, raise your hand. I will take turns
calling you to come forward. When I call you, I want you pick out the
word with the X in it and circle the letter with your finger. As you
circle it, please say the letter’s name (X) out loud.”
- Question the students to reinforce the
concept. When finished,
ask the students how they knew which letters were the letters X. Remind
them of the strategies for writing the letter and how to remember the
name. (“X marks the spot!”)
As a potential extension activity, read Now We Are Six aloud.
you read the word “six” or other words with X in them, emphasize the X
them to raise their hands each time they think hear a word that uses
can have the students dictate a brief pirate story to you. Encourage
through random X word suggestions, to use as many X words as possible.
finished, read the story aloud while they point to each word.
- Adams, M.J. (1990) Beginning
to Read: Thinking and Learning
About Print. Center for the
study off Reading and the Reading
Research and Education Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. p 36.
J. (1995) Teaching Decoding in the Holistic
Classrooms. New Jersey: Prentice
Hall Inc. p. 144.
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