Setting Purpose: Communicating in Print | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G2:S1:C1:L2

Setting Purpose: Communicating in Print

In this Lesson

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Daily Learning Targets

  • Opening A: I can identify the syllables and vowel sounds in words. (RF.1.3, RF.2.3)
    • I can decode a word with a vowel in the middle and a silent "e" at the end.
    • I can decode (regularly spelled) two-syllable words with long vowels.
    • I can identify the five or six types of syllables in written words.
  • Work Time A: I can use what I know about the closed, open, and magic "e" syllable types to read the poem "A Moment in Time." (RF.1.3)
    • I can decode a word with a vowel in the middle and a silent "e" at the end.
    • I can decode (regularly spelled) two-syllable words with long vowels.
  • Work Time B:  I can read and spell words with the closed, open, and magic "e" syllable types. (RF.1.3, RF.2.3, L.2.2)
    • I can identify spelling patterns based on syllable type.

Ongoing Assessment

  • Observe students during Opening A.
    • Determine whether they can identify the number of syllables in spoken and written words.
    • In addition, determine whether they can identify the syllable type used to represent the vowel sound in the word. Example: “The vowel sound /ī/ in the word ‘time’ is made by the magic ‘e’ spelling pattern.”
  • Observe students during Work Time A. Determine whether they can read one- and two-syllable words with the closed, open, and magic “e” syllable types.
  • Observe students during Work Time B. Determine whether they can read and spell one- and two-syllable words with the closed, open, and magic “e” syllable types.

Agenda

Agenda

1. Opening (5 minutes)

A. Building Two-Syllable Words for the Poem "A Moment in Time"

2. Work Time (15 minutes)

A. Understanding How Print Communicates Sound: Magic "e" Spelling Pattern in "A Moment in Time"

B. Reading and Writing Words: One- and Two-Syllable Words: Closed, Open, and Magic "e"

3. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes)

A. Reflecting on Learning: How Do You Get to Be Proficient or Really Good at Something?

4. Differentiated Small Group Instruction and Rotations (40-45 minutes)

In Advance

  • Prepare:
    • Enlarged Syllable Cards (cut them apart; to display in Opening A)
    • Enlarged poem: "A Moment in Time" (write on chart paper or project electronically)
  • Poem: "A Moment in Time" in a transparent sleeve (one per student or pair; optional)
  • Consider pre-determining partners for Work Time A and B (optional) and a method for deciding which partner will "go first."
  • Copy the Word Card page (one per pair) for Work Time B (optional).
  • Gather materials for independent work time (see Differentiated Small Group Instruction and Rotations).

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T)

  • syllable, vowel (L)
  • moment, splendid (T)

Materials

  • Enlarged Syllable Cards (one set to display)
  • Enlarged poem: "A Moment in Time" (see Teaching Notes, "In advance" above)
  • Poem: "A Moment in Time" in a transparent sleeve (one per student or pair; optional)
  • Whiteboard markers (one per student; optional)
  • Whiteboard erasers (or tissues, socks, etc.; one per student; optional)
  • Word Cards page (one per pair; optional)
  • Whiteboard (one per pair; to be used as a hard surface as needed; optional)

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Building Two-Syllable Words for the Poem “A Moment in Time”

  • Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “The Muffin Man”:

Teacher sings: “A syllable has a vowel sound, a vowel sound, a vowel sound. A syllable has a vowel sound. Is it short or is it long?”

Students repeat: “A syllable has a vowel sound, a vowel sound, a vowel sound. A syllable has a vowel sound. Is it short or is it long?”

  • Introduce the Building Two-Syllable Words for the Poem activity:

1. Teacher says: “Every syllable in a word has a vowel sound, and the sound is either short or long. Some words have one syllable, so they have one vowel sound. Some words have more than one syllable, so they have more than one vowel sound.”

2. Teacher invites students to listen as he or she says a word and to think about how many syllables they hear in the word.

3. Teacher says: “time.”

4. Teacher asks:

“How many syllables does this word have?” (one)

“How many vowel sounds does it have?” (one)

“What vowel sound did you hear?” (/ī/)

5. Teacher repeats steps 2–4 with the following words: “picnic,” “include,” “concrete,” “introduce.”

6. Teacher says: “Just like the song says, every syllable in a word has a vowel sound, and the sound is either short or long. If a word has one syllable, it has one vowel sound. If a word has two syllables, it has two vowel sounds, and if a word has three syllables, it has three vowel sounds.”

7. Teacher says: “I have a poem I’d like to share with you. It’s called ‘A Moment in Time.’ Before I show it to you, though, let’s play a game with some of the words we’ll see in the poem.”

8. Teacher displays the Enlarged Syllable Cards.

9. Teacher says: “Each of these cards has a syllable on it. And we know that every syllable has a vowel sound. We’ve been working on ways the vowel sounds can be spelled. Closed syllables show us that the vowel sound is short.”

10. Teacher asks:

“Can you find a closed syllable on one of these cards?” (“in,” “sect,” “rab,” “bit,” “mo,” “ment,” “mu,” “sic,” “a,” “long,” “sing,” “ing,” “splen,” “did”)

11. Teacher invites one or two students to identify a closed syllable and pronounce it aloud.

12. Teacher asks:

“Can you find an open syllable on one of these cards?” (“mu,” “a”)

13. Teacher invites one or two students to identify an open syllable and pronounce it aloud.

14. Teacher asks:

“Can anyone find a magic ‘e’ syllable?” (no)

15. Teacher says: “Hmmm. There don’t seem to be any magic ‘e’ syllables up here.”

16. Teacher says: “It’s time to play the game. I’ll say a word and invite you to come up and build it with the Syllable Cards.”

17. Teacher says: “moment.”

18. Teacher invites a student to build the word with the Syllable Cards, decode it, and tell how many syllables and vowel sounds there are in the word.

19. Repeat step 17 with the remaining words: “insect,” “splendid,” “singing,” “music,” “rabbit,” “along.”
  • Emphasize that every syllable has one vowel sound as opposed to one vowel letter. This supports the word analysis in Work Time A when students see that two vowels in a CVCe word work to produce one vowel sound.
  • When posing questions, consider first inviting students to turn to an elbow partner to share their ideas, then inviting one or two students to share with the group. This promotes active participation from all students.
  • Steps 1-6 provide a review of the relationship between syllables and vowel sounds. If students are secure in this knowledge, consider skipping those steps and starting with the game in step 7.
  • Depending on the group's comfort level in distinguishing between long and short vowel sounds, consider reminding students that the long sound for a vowel is the sound we hear when we say its name.
  • If students need help identifying the vowel sounds in each word during step 16, consider inviting them to segment each sound in the words to isolate the vowel sound with the thumb- or arm-tapping technique used in the Kindergarten and Grade 1 curriculum. In the thumb-tapping technique, students say the word slowly; each time their mouth changes position, they tap a finger (index finger first) to the thumb. The arm-tapping technique involves extending one arm and tapping each sound in turn with the other hand beginning at the shoulder and moving down the arm.
  • The words "splendid" and "insect" might be unfamiliar to some students. Consider using them in a sentence or inviting a student volunteer to use them in a sentence to support understanding of this vocabulary.
  • The word "along" is included as an option for extension in this Opening activity. The first syllable ("a'") makes a schwa sound (/u/) as opposed to the long a. Consider drawing students' attention to this, reminding them of how the "a" sounds as a word in a sentence (e.g., "I see a dog.") or pronouncing similar words such as "about" or "around".

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Understanding How Print Communicates Sounds: Magic "e" Spelling Pattern in "A Moment in Time"

  • Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "The More We Get Together":

"Now it's time to read the poem, the poem, the poem. Now it's time to read the poem called 'A Moment in Time.'"

  • Introduce the Understanding How Print Communicates Sounds activity:

1. Teacher says: "The author of this poem was out for a hike on this splendid path in the woods. She wrote this poem because she wanted to capture a moment in time. She wanted to describe what was happening in one particular moment during her hike. She wants us, her readers, to understand what was going on in that moment on her hike. Let's take a look."

2. Teacher displays the enlarged poem: "A Moment in Time" or projects it electronically and invites students to look at it silently for a moment.

3. Teacher reads the poem aloud exactly as written (i.e., all CVCe words are missing the magic "e" and as a result are pronounced with a short vowel sound).

4. Teacher asks:

"What's going on? This doesn't make sense! Why not?" (silent "e" is missing from many words)

5. Teacher points to the word "shad" in the first line and says: "'An insect sits in the shad.' That doesn't make sense."

6. Teacher asks:

"What word do you think the author meant to write there?" ("shade")

"How should we change it to make it say shade?" (add "e" to the end)

7. Teacher repeats steps 5-6 with one or two more words from the poem.

8. Teacher asks:

"What problem did the author create for us as readers by not using the magic 'e' in these words?" (left them closed, so we were reading them with a short vowel sound)

9. Teacher says: "When authors write, they need to use rules that let us know what sound we should make when we read the words. She didn't do that, so it was hard for us to read it."

10. Teacher says: "Let's help her out."

11. Teacher either distributes the poem "A Moment in Time," whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers (optional) and invites students to add the magic "e" to words to help the poem make sense, or invites students to make the changes on the enlarged poem.

12. Teacher and students read the poem together after the changes are made.

13. Teacher says: "Now we can understand what the author was trying to communicate. We said the right words this time because now we have the pattern that shows us the right vowel sound to make."
  • The words "slides" and "scares" are both CVCe basewords with suffixes. Draw students' attention to this and remind them that the "e" comes at the end of the baseword, before the suffix "-s."

B. Reading and Writing Words: One- and Two-Syllable Words: Closed, Open, and Magic "e"

  • Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "The More We Get Together":

"Now it's time to read and spell words, read and spell words, read and spell words. Now it's time to read and spell words using the patterns we know."

  • Introduce the Reading and Writing Words activity:

1. Teacher says: "Now you will partner up and practice reading and writing more long and short vowel words using the closed, open, and magic 'e' syllable types."

2. Teacher shows students the Word Cards page.

3. Teacher models with a student volunteer:

      • Teacher distributes a whiteboard, whiteboard marker, and whiteboard eraser to the volunteer partner.
      • Teacher reads a word from the Word Cards page (not showing it to the student).
      • The student writes the word on his or her whiteboard and says whether it is the open, closed, or magic "e" syllable type.
      • Teacher and student check the spelling.
      • Teacher and student switch roles.

4. Teacher distributes whiteboards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers (if not already distributed) and Word Cards page to each set of partners.
  • As described in the Teaching Notes above, if time does not allow for this activity to be done in the whole group lesson, it is provided as one of the suggested activities for Word Work during Independent Work Rotations.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning: How Do You Get to Be Proficient or Really Good at Something?

  • Remind students of the conversation from Lesson 1 about what it means to be proficient or really good at something.
  • Invite students to reflect on the question. Ask:

"How do you get proficient or really good at something?"

  • Consider providing a familiar context, such as dancing, playing an instrument, singing, or other relevant context.
    • Example: Ask:

"How does someone get really good at playing the piano?" (they take lessons, practice a lot; they listen to piano players who are really good; they talk to other people who play the piano and share what they're learning...)
  • Consider recording students' ideas on chart paper to revisit at the end of the cycle.

Independent Work Rotations

Suggested Plan: This first cycle provides time for students to practice what it means to work independently. A brief introduction is made to materials, and expectations for work habits and social interactions are established.

Note: Three suggestions for independent activities are given. Consider using any or all of these. For example, you may want to have all students working on the same activity or you may want to have two or three activities happening simultaneously for a set time, and then rotate students through. By Cycle 2, students are expected to be engaged in purposeful independent rotation work while one group meets with the teacher for differentiated small group instruction. Refer to Independent and Small Group Work Guidance document for more information.

Independent Reading:

  • Students spend time looking at their own individual book(s).

Word Work:

  • Students read the poem "A Moment in Time" to themselves or with a partner and continue to correct CVCe spelling as needed.
  • Students do the Reading and Spelling activity from Work Time B with a partner.
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Copies of the poem "A Moment in Time" (one per student or pair)
    • Word Cards page (one per pair)
    •  Whiteboards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers (one of each per pair)

Responding to Text:

  • Students read the poem "A Moment in Time" to themselves and illustrate it.

Or:

  • Students draw a picture representing something they (or perhaps someone they admire) are proficient or "good at." They label and/or write about the qualities that "show" proficiency. Example:
    • "The piano player took a lot of lessons and practiced at home. She listened to other really good piano players. She also tried making up her own songs on the piano."
  • These can be displayed in the classroom.
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Copies of the poem "A Moment in Time" (one per student)
    • Blank paper and writing utensil (one per student)
    • Drawing supplies

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