Phonemic Blending and Segmentation | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA GK:S3:C13:L67

Phonemic Blending and Segmentation

In this Lesson

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Daily Learning Targets

  • Opening A: I can identify the name and sound for consonants and vowels. (RF.K.3)
    • I can identify the name of each uppercase letter.
    • I can identify the name of each lowercase letter.
    • I can look at each consonant and say its sound.
    • I can identify the short sound for each vowel.
  • Work Time A: I can identify the initial, final, and middle sounds in CVC words. (RF.K.2d)
    • I can listen to a single-syllable word and pronounce the initial phoneme (sound) in the word.
    • I can listen to a single-syllable word and pronounce the final phoneme (sound) in the word.
    • I can listen to a single-syllable word and pronounce the middle vowel phoneme (sound) in the word.

Ongoing Assessment

  • Observe students during the Opening. Determine whether they are making the letter-sound correspondences for each consonant and vowel.
  • Observe students during Work Time. Determine whether they can hear and produce the initial, final, and middle phonemes in CVC words.
  • Record students' progress on the Snapshot Assessment.

Agenda

Agenda

1. Opening (5 minutes)

A. Letter-Sound Chant

2. Work Time (10-15 minutes)

A. Phonemic Blending and Segmentation

3. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes)

A. Reflecting on Learning

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

In Advance

  • Prepare the Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student).
  • Review the thumb-tapping technique for Phonemic Blending and Segmentation (see Teaching Notes).
  • Gather materials for differentiated small group instruction (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher).

Vocabulary

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

  • segment (L)

Materials

  • Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student)

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Letter-Sound Chant

  • (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: "Today we will do a Letter-Sound Chant with ALL of the letters."

2. Teacher models the Letter-Sound Chant for "a": "'a,' alligator, /a/," and repeats.

3. Teacher asks students to join in the Letter-Sound Chant for "a": "'a,' alligator, /a/."

4. Continue the Letter-Sound Chant for all letters in alphabetical order.

5. Teacher says: "Great job! Knowing the sounds for letters will help us become better readers." 
  • Remind students of the sounds for each letter and refer to the Articulatory Gestures chart as needed.
  • Consider drawing students' attention again at the end of the chant to the vowel phoneme /a/; this will be used explicitly in Work Time A.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Phonemic Blending and Segmentation

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

"Now let's read each word, sound by sound. Tap the sounds out to see what is found. When we say the sounds, we will tap. We'll know the beginning, middle, and end in a snap."

  • Begin the Phonemic Blending and Segmentation instructional practice:

1. Teacher says: "We know that letters make the sounds we hear in words. Hearing each sound in a word helps us figure out the letters that spell the word. Today you are going to be sound inspectors as we listen for the sounds we hear in words."

2. Teacher says: "cat" and invites students to repeat.

3. Students repeat: "cat."

4. Teacher says: "Now I will say the word again and segment (break apart) the sounds I hear in the word: 'cat,' /c/ /a/ /t/."

5. Students repeat: /c//a//t/.

6. Repeat steps 2-5 with the following words: "bat," "gap," "sag," "mad."

7. Teacher says: "Great job, sound inspectors! Now we are going to tap our thumb and finger for each sound we hear. So as you say each sound, you will tap your thumb and finger together like this."

8. Teacher models thumb tapping-technique with word "cat." (See Teaching Notes for explanation.)

9. Repeat step 8 with the following words: "map," "wag," "pad," "sat," "lag."

10. Teacher says: "Now you will get to be super sound inspectors as I ask you to listen for a beginning, middle, or ending sound in each word. If I say 'bat,' the beginning sound would be /b/. The middle sound would be /a/, and the ending sound would be /t/. Now let's try it together."

11. Teacher says: "We know that every word has to have at least one vowel in it. When we listen for the sounds we hear in the words, let's see if we can figure out which vowel it has."

12. Teacher asks:

"What vowel sound did we hear in 'bat'?" (/a/)

13. Teacher pronounces the next word: "zap."

14. Teacher and students segment the word, using the thumb-tapping technique: /z//a//p/.

15. Teacher asks:

"What is the beginning sound?" (/z/)

"What is the middle sound?" (/a/)

"What do we know about that sound?" (It is a vowel.)

"What is the ending sound?" (/p/)

16. Repeat steps 13-15 with the following words: "tag," "lad," "rat," "bag."

17. Teacher says: "Great job, sound inspectors! Breaking apart words into their sounds helps us be better spellers because we can hear every sound in the word, then write the letter for that sound."
  • The fine motor skills required for tapping finger to thumb might be challenging for some students. If so, consider using the arm to "tap": Extend the left arm and use the right hand to tap the first sound at the shoulder, the middle sound at the elbow, and the final sound at the wrist.
  • Alternatively, students who may have difficulty with the dexterity needed for the thumb task may also tap the thumb on the opposite hand.
  • Depending on how much support your students need to become comfortable with hearing the sounds in words, consider skipping steps 4-7 and going right to the segmentation of the words using the thumb- (or arm-) tapping technique.
  • Some of the words used in this lesson begin with consonants that are continuants, meaning the sound is made and moved to the next without stopping the airflow. It is generally easier for students to segment and blend with continuants. Some of the words (examples: "pad," "bat," "zap") start with stop consonants. These are generally more challenging for students. Consider guiding students to make each sound carefully and note how the breath stops after the first sound and how the mouth moves from the first sound to the next.
  • Use the Articulatory Gestures chart as needed to distinguish between any similar sounds.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting 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:

"How do we know the middle sound in a word?" (Listen for each sound, use thumb-tapping to identify the middle sound.)

"How will that help us with reading and writing?" (Responses will vary.)
  • For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Examples:
    • "When I listened for the beginning sound, I _____."
    • "When I see the letter 'a,' I know it says _____."

Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher

Suggested Plan: Teacher works with the Pre-Alphabetic and Partial Alphabetic groups. At this point in the year, the teacher may be ready to meet with three rather than just two groups per day. If so, the teacher should work with students in the Full and Consolidated Alphabetic phases at least once per week. The teacher may choose to guide students through the suggested independent activity or refer to the possible practice activities.

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: Initial and Final Sound Hunt.
    • Teacher guides students as they segment words using the thumb-tapping technique and identify the initial or final sound in a word.
    • Teacher reviews sounds with Keyword Letter Cards: /a/, /t/, /n/, /m/, /g/, /p/, /d/, /r/.
    • Teacher says the word "mat" and asks:

"What is the first sound in the word 'mat'?"

    • Teacher supports students as they thumb-tap the word "mat."
    • Students identify the first sound and the Keyword Letter Cards and place it in the first box in the sound board.
    • Teacher says the word "mat" again and asks:

"What is the final sound in the word 'mat'?"

    • Teacher supports students as they thumb-tap the word "mat."
    • Students identify the final sound and the Keyword Letter Cards and place it in the last box in the sound board.
    • Students clear their sound boards.
    • Repeat with the following words: "map," "mad," "pad," "tag," "rag," "gap," "tap."
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Keyword Letter Cards: "a," "t," "n," "m," "g," "p," "d," "r" (one set per student)
    • Sound board (either laminated or placed in a transparent sleeve; one per student)

Partial Alphabetic:

  • Practice activity: Sound Hunt.
  • Teacher guides students as they segment words using the thumb-tapping technique and identify the initial, middle, or final sound in a word. Refer to the Keyword Letter Cards introduced in lessons in Modules 1 and 2 as needed.
    • Teacher says the word "mat" and asks:

"What is the first sound in the word 'mat'?"

    • Teacher supports students as they thumb-tap the word "mat."
    • Students identify the first sound and write the letter(s) in the first box in the sound board.
    • Students erase their sound boards.
    • Teacher says the word "map" and asks:

"What is the final sound in the word 'map'?"

    • Teacher supports students as they thumb-tap the word "map."
    • Students identify the final sound and write the letters in the last box in the sound board.
    • Teacher repeats the process asking students to identify the initial, middle, or final sound, thumb-tap to segment and isolate the sound, and record the position of the sound on the sound board with the appropriate letter(s). Suggested words: "map," "mad," "pad," "tag," "rag," "gap," "tap."
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Sound board (either laminated or placed in a transparent sleeve; one per student)
    • White board marker and white board eraser (one per student)

Full and Consolidated Alphabetic:

  • Independent Practice activity: Sound Hunt and Sort.
    • Students cut apart each pair of pictures. Pairs include:
      • "man/mug," "sheep/shirt," "cat/map," "watch/peach," "fish/brush," "ram/drum," "crab/bat"
    • Students say the name of each picture in a pair of pictures and determine whether they share the same beginning, middle, or ending sound.
    • Students sort each pair into the appropriate column on the Sort sheet.
  • Conference with students about Accountable Independent Reading.
  • Choose a lesson from the K-2 Differentiation Packets to extend the students' learning. (Refer to the students' assessment data and the Assessment Conversion chart to determine an appropriate lesson or group of lessons.)
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Sound Hunt and Sort: Picture Pairs
    • Sound Hunt and Sort sheet
    • Scissors and glue sticks (one per student)

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