ELA GK:S2:C5:L29

Feel the Beats

Like what you see?

Order printed materials, teacher guides and more.

How to order

Help us improve!

Tell us how the curriculum is working in your classroom and send us corrections or suggestions for improving it.

Leave feedback

Daily Learning Targets

Opening A: I can identify the name and sound for the letters "a," "t," "h," "p," "c," "n," "m," "r," "s," and "v." (RF.K.3)

I can identify the name of each uppercase letter.
I can look at each consonant and say its sound.

Work Time A: I can feel and count the syllables (beats) in the words of a poem. (RF.K.2)

I can count the syllables in a spoken word.
I can segment (break apart) and pronounce separate syllables in a spoken word.
I can blend separate syllables to form a spoken word.

Ongoing Assessment

Observe students during Work Time A.

Determine whether they can identify the number of syllables in spoken words.
Also determine whether they can pronounce each individual syllable, blend them, and segment them.

Record students' progress on the Snapshot Assessment.

Agenda

Agenda
1. Opening (5 minutes) A. Letter-Sound Chant: "a," "t," "h," "p," "c," "n," "m," "r," "s," and "v" 2. Work Time (10-15 minutes) A. Feel the Beats 3. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes) A. Reflecting on Learning 4. Differentiated Small Group Instruction and Rotations (40-45 minutes)

In Advance

Prepare:

Enlarged poem: "Victor the Sleepy Vulture (can be handwritten on chart paper, displayed electronically, or enlarged as a photocopy)
Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student)

Vocabulary

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

beat, blend, syllable (L)
sighed, slithery (T)

Materials

Enlarged poem: "Victor the Sleepy Vulture" (to display; from Lesson 26)
Large pointer (optional; for teacher to point to words in poem as the class recites)
Articulatory Gestures chart (from Lesson 26)
Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student)

Opening

Opening	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Letter-Sound Chant: "a," "t," "h," "p," "c," "n," "m," "r," "s," and "v" (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"): "Now let's say the alphabet, letter by letter. Here is the letter, here is the sound. When we chant together, we sound great. Listen up to the sounds we make!" Begin the Letter-Sound Chant instructional practice: 1. Teacher says: "I remember in our poem that we touched our noses when we heard the words 'vulture' and 'snake,' and that we used those words to help us learn about the letters 'v' and 's.'" 2. Teacher asks: "Do you think those are good words to help us remember the sounds that 'v' and 's' make?" (Yes!) 3. Teacher says: "Great! Then let's practice the keywords we know with our Letter-Sound Chant!" 4. Teacher models the Letter-Sound Chant for "s": "'s,' snake, /s/," and repeats. 5. Teacher asks students to join in the Letter-Sound Chant for "s": "'s,' snake, /s/," and repeats. 6. Repeat steps 2-3 with remaining letters: "a," "t," "h," "p," "c," "n," "m," "r," and "v." 7. Teacher says: "Great job! When we learn new letters, we learn a keyword to help us unlock the sound. Knowing the sounds for letters helps us become better readers."	Remind students that the /s/ sound starts with the tongue resting close to the roof of the mouth. Remind students that the /v/ sound starts when the top teeth come over the bottom lip.

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Letter-Sound Chant: "a," "t," "h," "p," "c," "n," "m," "r," "s," and "v"

(Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"):

"Now let's say the alphabet, letter by letter. Here is the letter, here is the sound. When we chant together, we sound great. Listen up to the sounds we make!"

Begin the Letter-Sound Chant instructional practice:

1. Teacher says: "I remember in our poem that we touched our noses when we heard the words 'vulture' and 'snake,' and that we used those words to help us learn about the letters 'v' and 's.'"

2. Teacher asks:

"Do you think those are good words to help us remember the sounds that 'v' and 's' make?" (Yes!)

3. Teacher says: "Great! Then let's practice the keywords we know with our Letter-Sound Chant!"

4. Teacher models the Letter-Sound Chant for "s": "'s,' snake, /s/," and repeats.

5. Teacher asks students to join in the Letter-Sound Chant for "s": "'s,' snake, /s/," and repeats.

6. Repeat steps 2-3 with remaining letters: "a," "t," "h," "p," "c," "n," "m," "r," and "v."

7. Teacher says: "Great job! When we learn new letters, we learn a keyword to help us unlock the sound. Knowing the sounds for letters helps us become better readers."

Remind students that the /s/ sound starts with the tongue resting close to the roof of the mouth.
Remind students that the /v/ sound starts when the top teeth come over the bottom lip.

Work Time

Work Time	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Feel the Beats (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"): "Let's count the syllables, beat by beat. Tap your fingers and drum in your seat. When we hear a syllable, we will tap. Try it out with rat-a-tat-tat." Begin the Feel the Beats instructional practice: 1. Teacher reads the Enlarged poem: "Victor the Sleepy Vulture" once, pointing to each word as he or she reads it (with a finger or pointer) with expression. 2. While reading, teacher draws students' attention to the rhythm and beats by tapping each beat under the word. 3. Teacher says: "There's a wonderful rhythm and beat in this poem! Let's see if we can feel it in our bodies and mouths." 4. Teacher models how to tap together the index and middle fingers of the right hand against the same two fingers of the left and allows students to practice. 5. Teacher says: "As we read the poem together, let's tap the beats on our fingers." 6. Teacher leads students in reading the poem aloud slowly while tapping the beats. 7. Teacher rereads the first two lines while tapping: "Victor the Sleepy Vulture sat in a very tall tree. Enjoying the view and all he could see.'' 8. Teacher invites students to say the word "vulture" aloud, holding up a finger every time they hear a beat. 9. Teacher asks: "How many beats are in the word 'vulture'?" (two) 10. Teacher says: "That's right. There are two beats in the word 'vulture.' There is a special name for the beats we hear in words. We call these beats 'syllables.'" 11. Teacher asks: "What is the first syllable we hear in the word 'vulture'?" ("vul") "What is the second syllable we hear in the word 'vulture'?" ("ture") 12. Repeat steps 8-11 with the words: "sat," "sleepy," "see," and "Victor." 13. Teacher says: "So we noticed that some words have one syllable, like the word 'sat,' and some words have more than one. The word 'vulture' has two syllables: 'vul' and 'ture.' Each syllable is one beat." 14. Teacher says: "Now let's play a game: I'll say each syllable in a word, and you blend them together to say the word they make." 15. Teacher says: "Vic-tor." 16. Students say: "Victor." 17. Repeat steps 15-16 with two or three more multisyllabic words from the poem.	It can be challenging for young students to differentiate the number of beats in a spoken word from the number of printed words on a page. Many students expect that the finger will move on after each beat when pointing to words in a text. In this lesson, tapping each beat in a word with two or more syllables directly under the word lays the groundwork for understanding the difference between "beats" (syllables) and words. For students who have difficulty managing the timing and coordination involved in physically marking each beat in spoken words: Allow them to recite it slowly instead. Consider substituting the tapping of the fingers with marching in place or gently slapping a knee with one hand for students who need a more gross motor method.

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Feel the Beats

(Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"):

"Let's count the syllables, beat by beat. Tap your fingers and drum in your seat. When we hear a syllable, we will tap. Try it out with rat-a-tat-tat."

Begin the Feel the Beats instructional practice:

1. Teacher reads the Enlarged poem: "Victor the Sleepy Vulture" once, pointing to each word as he or she reads it (with a finger or pointer) with expression.

2. While reading, teacher draws students' attention to the rhythm and beats by tapping each beat under the word.

3. Teacher says: "There's a wonderful rhythm and beat in this poem! Let's see if we can feel it in our bodies and mouths."

4. Teacher models how to tap together the index and middle fingers of the right hand against the same two fingers of the left and allows students to practice.

5. Teacher says: "As we read the poem together, let's tap the beats on our fingers."

6. Teacher leads students in reading the poem aloud slowly while tapping the beats.

7. Teacher rereads the first two lines while tapping: "Victor the Sleepy Vulture sat in a very tall tree. Enjoying the view and all he could see.''

8. Teacher invites students to say the word "vulture" aloud, holding up a finger every time they hear a beat.

9. Teacher asks:

"How many beats are in the word 'vulture'?" (two)

10. Teacher says: "That's right. There are two beats in the word 'vulture.' There is a special name for the beats we hear in words. We call these beats 'syllables.'"

11. Teacher asks:

"What is the first syllable we hear in the word 'vulture'?" ("vul")

"What is the second syllable we hear in the word 'vulture'?" ("ture")

12. Repeat steps 8-11 with the words: "sat," "sleepy," "see," and "Victor."

13. Teacher says: "So we noticed that some words have one syllable, like the word 'sat,' and some words have more than one. The word 'vulture' has two syllables: 'vul' and 'ture.' Each syllable is one beat."

14. Teacher says: "Now let's play a game: I'll say each syllable in a word, and you blend them together to say the word they make."

15. Teacher says: "Vic-tor."

16. Students say: "Victor."

17. Repeat steps 15-16 with two or three more multisyllabic words from the poem.

It can be challenging for young students to differentiate the number of beats in a spoken word from the number of printed words on a page. Many students expect that the finger will move on after each beat when pointing to words in a text. In this lesson, tapping each beat in a word with two or more syllables directly under the word lays the groundwork for understanding the difference between "beats" (syllables) and words.
For students who have difficulty managing the timing and coordination involved in physically marking each beat in spoken words: Allow them to recite it slowly instead.
Consider substituting the tapping of the fingers with marching in place or gently slapping a knee with one hand for students who need a more gross motor method.

Closing & Assessments

Closing	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Reflecting on Learning Emphasize that successful learners think about what they've learned and why it's important. Consider using a metaphor, such as a baseball player learning to keep his or her eye on the ball to know exactly when to hit it. Ask: "When we listen to or say a word like 'something,' how can we count the syllables it has?" (Say it, listen for each "beat," and hold up a finger each time a new beat is heard.) "How might that help us with reading or writing?" (Responses will vary.)	For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Example: "When I said the word _____, I _____."

Closing

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning

Emphasize that successful learners think about what they've learned and why it's important. Consider using a metaphor, such as a baseball player learning to keep his or her eye on the ball to know exactly when to hit it.
Ask:

"When we listen to or say a word like 'something,' how can we count the syllables it has?" (Say it, listen for each "beat," and hold up a finger each time a new beat is heard.)

"How might that help us with reading or writing?" (Responses will vary.)

For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Example:

"When I said the word _____, I _____."

Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher

Suggested Plan: Teacher works with the Pre-Alphabetic and Early Partial Alphabetic groups. Teacher may meet briefly with the Late Partial and Early Full Alphabetic groups to get them started on independent work.

Note: Groups not working with the teacher at a given time should be engaged in purposeful independent rotation work. Refer to the Independent and Small Group Work guidance document (see K-2 Skills Resource Manual) for more details.

Pre-Alphabetic:

Practice activity: Teacher guides students as they tap out each beat in the first two lines of the poem: "Victor the Sleepy Vulture" as they recite it. Students work with the teacher to determine the number of syllables (beats) in a specific word. They continue the process with the remaining lines if time allows.

OR:

Suggested Activity Bank activity:

An Activity Bank activity from the Syllable (S) category

Early Partial Alphabetic:

Practice activity: Teacher guides students as they tap out each beat in the first two lines of the poem: "Victor the Sleepy Vulture" as they recite it. Students work with the teacher to determine the number of syllables (beats) in a specific word. They continue the process with the remaining lines if time allows.

OR:

Suggested Activity Bank activity:

An Activity Bank activity from the Syllable (S) category

Late Partial and Early Full Alphabetic:

Independent practice activity: Students practice reciting the poem: "Victor the Sleepy Vulture" and tapping the beats with their fingers a few times. Then they read the poem aloud in their poetry notebooks and indicate the number of syllables under each word. Example:

Under the word "tree," students will make one line, while under the word "vulture," they will make two.

OR:

Suggested Activity Bank activity:

An Activity Bank activity from the Syllable (S) category

Additional Supporting Materials:

Poetry notebooks (from Lesson 26; one per student)

EL Education Curriculum

ELA GK:S2:C5:L29

Feel the Beats

In this Lesson

You are here:

Like what you see?

Help us improve!

Daily Learning Targets

Ongoing Assessment

Agenda

In Advance

Vocabulary

Materials

Opening

Work Time

Closing & Assessments

Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher

Get updates about our new K-5 curriculum as new materials and tools debut.

Help us improve our curriculum.