Rationale: Phoneme recognition is a very
in learning to read. Children must learn and understand that each
represented by a letter or letters in the alphabet. They must also
phonemes in spoken language as well. This lesson is designed to help
learn the short u sound (u=/u/). Students will be able to recognize /u/
spoken language by learning a meaningful representation and a letter
bugs juggled plums under an umbrella”
Set of flash cards
with a picture
of a bug on one side and an X on the other side.
Crayons and drawing
Book Fuzz and
the Buzz by
Picture or flash
cards with the
pictures of bug, nut, bed, plum, tub, sun, pan, cup, rug, and pig
- Begin the lesson by explaining to
the children that each letter of the alphabet has its own special
sound, and that each sound is achieved by a certain way you move our
mouth. Then ask the students to share with you the way they think you
would write the letter u. Tell the students “Today we are going to
learn about the letter u. The letter u makes two different sounds. The
long u and the short u. We are going to learn about the short u. Today
we are going to be looking for the short u sound in many different
kinds of words.”
- Ask student:” Does
anyone know what a foghorn sounds like? It makes the short u sound.”
Model for them the pulling of the foghorn while also saying the short u
sound. Then have them do the same. Explain to them that this is the
sound we will be looking for in some words today. As I say the word bug
listen for the short u sound: b-u-u-u-g-g. When you hear the short u
sound I want you to make the foghorn motion.
- Then bring in the
tongue twister: Three bugs juggled plums under an umbrella. Let’s all
say it together, but this time when you hear the /u/ sound I want yall
to remember to do the foghorn motion. Good job!
- Have the students take out their
primary paper and pencils. The teacher will model each letter in the
writing process as it comes. The letter u represents /u/. Let’s write
this letter. Start at the fence, draw straight down to the sidewalk,
curve over, and back up to the sidewalk; now, without lifting your
pencil, draw straight back down to the sidewalk. Walk around to
see everyone’s u. Then have them write a whole row of u’s
just like the one we wrote together. Don’t forget—when you see
the letter u in a word, that means it makes the foghorn sound
- Pass out flash cards to
students. “I am going to say some words one at a time. If
you hear /u/ in a word show me the side of the card with the bug on it;
if you don’t hear /u/ in a word then show me the side of the with the X
on it. Then read off the words one at a time: bug, nut, bed, plum, tub,
sun, pan, cup, rug and pig.
- Read the story Fuzz and the
Buzz aloud to the students then discuss it with them. Read it again
stretching out the /u/ sound every time it comes up, and have the
students make the foghorn motion. After you read the story, go through
and write all of the words with the /u/ sound on the board. After that,
have the students draw and color a picture to represent the story.
teacher will help the students identify the names of images on a
The students will circle the pictures that have the /u/ sound in them.
use inventive spelling to write the names of the pictures they circled.
adapted by: Jillian Wyatt
Writen by: Kristen Acuff
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