ELA GK:S4:C24:L124

Chaining

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 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.
I can change the final phoneme (sound) in a spoken single-syllable word to make a new word.
I can change the initial phoneme (sound) in a spoken single-syllable word to make a new word.

Work Time A: I can read and spell CVCe words with the phonemes (sounds) /p/, /ō/, /k/, /j/, /n/, /t/, /ū/, and /d/.

I can map graphemes (letters) for consonant phonemes (sounds) in words I see or read.
I can map graphemes (letters) for vowel phonemes (sounds) in words I see or read.
I can identify the long sound for each common vowel grapheme.
I can identify the one letter that is different in two similarly spelled words.
I can identify the one sound that is different in two similarly spelled words.
I can read two words that are spelled with some of the same letters.

Ongoing Assessment

Observe students during Opening A. Determine whether they can hear and produce the initial, final, and middle phonemes in CVC and CVCe words.
Observe students during Work Time A. Determine whether they can read and spell CVCe words.
Record students' progress on the Snapshot Assessment.

Agenda

Agenda
1. Opening (5 minutes) A. Phonemic Blending and Segmentation: Phoneme Substitution 2. Work Time (10 minutes) A. Chaining: "joke," "poke," "pope," "cope," "cone," "tone," "tune," "dune," "dude" 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).
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, blend, substitute, decode (L)

Materials

Sound board (drawn on the board, or enlarged and laminated for teacher use)
Sound boards (laminated or in a clear plastic sleeve; one per student)
Whiteboard markers (one per student)
Whiteboard erasers (one per student)
Articulatory Gestures chart
Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Opening

Opening	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Phonemic Blending and Segmentation: Phoneme Substitution (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”): “We can say a new word by changing one sound. Replace /s/ with /r/, turning ‘sound’ into ‘round.’ We can change sounds at the beginning, the middle, or end. Then say our new word. Remember to blend!” Begin the Phonemic Blending and Segmentation instructional practice: 1. Teacher asks: “How many sounds do we hear in the word ‘hope’? Let’s tap it out.” (Students follow, tapping out word.) “So how many sounds?” (three) “Right! And if I change /h/ to /r/, and what word did I make?” (“rope”) 2. Teacher says: “Let’s play and make some real and silly words by changing just one sound.” 3. Teacher says: “cone,” and students repeat. 4. Teacher asks: “What is the first sound in ‘cone’?” (/k/) “Right. What if I change the /k/ to /t/? What word would that be?” (“tone”) 5. Teacher says: “Let’s try another one: ‘lane,’” and students repeat. 6. Teacher says: “Let’s tap it out to identify each sound: /l/ /ā/ /n/.” 7. Teacher asks: “What’s the last sound in ‘lane’?” (/n/) 8. Teacher says: “Right! Now let’s change /n/ to /p/.” 9. Teacher asks: “What silly word would that be?” (“lape”) 10. Repeat the process outlined in steps 2–9 with “rode” to “vode,” then “june” to “dune.”	Use the Articulatory Gestures chart as needed to support students’ ability to differentiate sounds. Consider modeling the position of each phoneme using a large sound board (drawn on board or laminated and displayed). This provides support for students who need help visualizing the position of the phoneme being changed relative to the other two in the word. Alternatively, consider modeling the position of each phoneme using the finger- or arm-tapping technique. Example: When saying “hope” in step 1, tap each phoneme and identify that the /h/ (the index finger) is in first position. Hold up the index finger and explain that this is the only sound that will change; the other two (/ō//p/) will remain the same. Tap /r/ with the index finger and continue with /ō/ and /p/ on the middle and ring fingers in turn, explaining that the other two sounds did not change. This is another way to support students who need help visualizing the position of the phoneme being changed. Blend the sounds together to pronounce the new word: “rope.” Offering the option of nonsense words provides students the opportunity to demonstrate the ability to manipulate phonemes without relying on knowledge of familiar words.

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Phonemic Blending and Segmentation: Phoneme Substitution

(Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”):

“We can say a new word by changing one sound. Replace /s/ with /r/, turning ‘sound’ into ‘round.’ We can change sounds at the beginning, the middle, or end. Then say our new word. Remember to blend!”

Begin the Phonemic Blending and Segmentation instructional practice:

1. Teacher asks:

“How many sounds do we hear in the word ‘hope’? Let’s tap it out.” (Students follow, tapping out word.)

“So how many sounds?” (three)

“Right! And if I change /h/ to /r/, and what word did I make?” (“rope”)

2. Teacher says: “Let’s play and make some real and silly words by changing just one sound.”

3. Teacher says: “cone,” and students repeat.

4. Teacher asks:

“What is the first sound in ‘cone’?” (/k/)

“Right. What if I change the /k/ to /t/? What word would that be?” (“tone”)

5. Teacher says: “Let’s try another one: ‘lane,’” and students repeat.

6. Teacher says: “Let’s tap it out to identify each sound: /l/ /ā/ /n/.”

7. Teacher asks:

“What’s the last sound in ‘lane’?” (/n/)

8. Teacher says: “Right! Now let’s change /n/ to /p/.”

9. Teacher asks:

“What silly word would that be?” (“lape”)

10. Repeat the process outlined in steps 2–9 with “rode” to “vode,” then “june” to “dune.”

Use the Articulatory Gestures chart as needed to support students’ ability to differentiate sounds.
Consider modeling the position of each phoneme using a large sound board (drawn on board or laminated and displayed). This provides support for students who need help visualizing the position of the phoneme being changed relative to the other two in the word.
Alternatively, consider modeling the position of each phoneme using the finger- or arm-tapping technique. Example:

When saying “hope” in step 1, tap each phoneme and identify that the /h/ (the index finger) is in first position. Hold up the index finger and explain that this is the only sound that will change; the other two (/ō//p/) will remain the same. Tap /r/ with the index finger and continue with /ō/ and /p/ on the middle and ring fingers in turn, explaining that the other two sounds did not change. This is another way to support students who need help visualizing the position of the phoneme being changed. Blend the sounds together to pronounce the new word: “rope.”

Offering the option of nonsense words provides students the opportunity to demonstrate the ability to manipulate phonemes without relying on knowledge of familiar words.

Work Time

Work Time	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Chaining: “joke,” “poke,” “pope,” “cope,” “cone,” “tone,” “tune,” “dune,” “dude” (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”): “Now let’s use some letters to make a word like ‘can.’ Replace the ‘c’ with the letter ‘d’ and now we have ‘Dan.’ We can do it at the beginning, the middle, or the end. Then we’ll read the new word. Remember to blend!” Begin the Chaining instructional practice: 1. Teacher says: “Today we are going to use letters and sound boards to help us make and read words!” 2. Teacher displays sound board. 3. Teacher asks: “Who notices something about the sound board we are using?” (Student volunteer points out the “e” at the end of sound board.) 4. Teacher says: “That’s right. There is an ‘e’ just outside the sound boxes. That means this ‘e’ is in the word, but we don’t hear its sound. That reminds me of two words we wrote in our sentence, ‘The dog lost her rope and bone.’” 5. Teacher asks: “Which two words did we notice that had an ‘e’ that didn’t make a sound?” (“rope,” “bone”) 6. Teacher says: “Right. We said that ‘e’ must be very special because it helped the other vowel say its name. Today we will build and read words with long vowel sounds made by this special ‘e.’” 7. Teacher says: “I am going to say a word, and we will tap out the sounds we hear. Then we will write the letter for each sound in a box on our sound boards. Let’s start with the word ‘joke.’” 8. Teacher asks: “What is the first sound in ‘joke’?” (/j/) “Right! And what letter makes the sound /j/?” (“j”) 9. Teacher says: “Right! So as we say ‘joke,’ I’ll write the letter ‘j’ into the first box. That shows us that the first sound in ‘joke’ is made by the letter ‘j.’” 10. Repeat step 8 with middle sound/letter and final sound/letter. 11. Teacher says: “Great! Now we have the letters to match the sounds we hear in ‘joke.’ Let’s slide our fingers under the word as we say each sound then read the word: /j/ /ō/ /k/, ‘joke.’ Now you will get to make words with your own sound boards and letters.” 12. Teacher writes “joke” on the board to begin a list of chained words 13. Teacher distributes sound boards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers. 14. Teacher invites students to write “joke” on their sound boards as modeled. 15. Teacher says: “Let’s start with changing this word ‘joke’ to ‘poke.’” 16. Teacher asks: “Which sound will change?” (the first sound) 17. Teacher says: “Right! So now change one letter on your sound board to make ‘joke’ into ‘poke.’” 18. Students erase “j” and write “p.” 19. Teacher adds “poke” to the list of chained words. 20. Repeat steps 10–12 with “pope,” “cope,” “cone,” “tone,” “tune,” “dune,” and “dude.” 21. Teacher says: “Wow! Look at all the words we made today! They all have long vowel sounds, like /ō/ or /ū/. Let’s read them together.	Support students as needed to distinguish similar sounds using the Articulatory Gestures chart. Remind students of the thumb-tapping technique used in previous lessons: Tap the first phoneme by using the index thumb, then move to middle finger and thumb for the middle sound, and to the ring finger and thumb for the final sound. After students slide their fingers under the letters to blend and say each new word, consider asking them to identify the vowel in the word and the sound it makes.

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Chaining: “joke,” “poke,” “pope,” “cope,” “cone,” “tone,” “tune,” “dune,” “dude”

(Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”):

“Now let’s use some letters to make a word like ‘can.’ Replace the ‘c’ with the letter ‘d’ and now we have ‘Dan.’ We can do it at the beginning, the middle, or the end. Then we’ll read the new word. Remember to blend!”

Begin the Chaining instructional practice:

1. Teacher says: “Today we are going to use letters and sound boards to help us make and read words!”

2. Teacher displays sound board.

3. Teacher asks:

“Who notices something about the sound board we are using?” (Student volunteer points out the “e” at the end of sound board.)

4. Teacher says: “That’s right. There is an ‘e’ just outside the sound boxes. That means this ‘e’ is in the word, but we don’t hear its sound. That reminds me of two words we wrote in our sentence, ‘The dog lost her rope and bone.’”

5. Teacher asks:

“Which two words did we notice that had an ‘e’ that didn’t make a sound?” (“rope,” “bone”)

6. Teacher says: “Right. We said that ‘e’ must be very special because it helped the other vowel say its name. Today we will build and read words with long vowel sounds made by this special ‘e.’”

7. Teacher says: “I am going to say a word, and we will tap out the sounds we hear. Then we will write the letter for each sound in a box on our sound boards. Let’s start with the word ‘joke.’”

8. Teacher asks:

“What is the first sound in ‘joke’?” (/j/)

“Right! And what letter makes the sound /j/?” (“j”)

9. Teacher says: “Right! So as we say ‘joke,’ I’ll write the letter ‘j’ into the first box. That shows us that the first sound in ‘joke’ is made by the letter ‘j.’”

10. Repeat step 8 with middle sound/letter and final sound/letter.

11. Teacher says: “Great! Now we have the letters to match the sounds we hear in ‘joke.’ Let’s slide our fingers under the word as we say each sound then read the word: /j/ /ō/ /k/, ‘joke.’ Now you will get to make words with your own sound boards and letters.”

12. Teacher writes “joke” on the board to begin a list of chained words

13. Teacher distributes sound boards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers.

14. Teacher invites students to write “joke” on their sound boards as modeled.

15. Teacher says: “Let’s start with changing this word ‘joke’ to ‘poke.’”

16. Teacher asks:

“Which sound will change?” (the first sound)

17. Teacher says: “Right! So now change one letter on your sound board to make ‘joke’ into ‘poke.’”

18. Students erase “j” and write “p.”

19. Teacher adds “poke” to the list of chained words.

20. Repeat steps 10–12 with “pope,” “cope,” “cone,” “tone,” “tune,” “dune,” and “dude.”

21. Teacher says: “Wow! Look at all the words we made today! They all have long vowel sounds, like /ō/ or /ū/. Let’s read them together.

Support students as needed to distinguish similar sounds using the Articulatory Gestures chart.
Remind students of the thumb-tapping technique used in previous lessons: Tap the first phoneme by using the index thumb, then move to middle finger and thumb for the middle sound, and to the ring finger and thumb for the final sound.
After students slide their fingers under the letters to blend and say each new word, consider asking them to identify the vowel in the word and the sound it makes.

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: "What makes the vowel say its name or its long sound?" (the "e" at the end) "How might this help us with reading and writing?" (Responses will vary.)	For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Example: "When I say the words 'joke' and 'poke,' I hear _____."

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:

"What makes the vowel say its name or its long sound?" (the "e" at the end)

"How might this help us with reading and writing?" (Responses will vary.)

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

"When I say the words 'joke' and 'poke,' I hear _____."

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: Word Slides.

Students work with teacher to make and decode new words by changing just the initial letter in a word. Suggested words: bop, cop, hop, mop, pop, top.

Teacher says "op" and models thumb-tapping to segment the sounds and identify the two letters.
Teacher shows the Word Slide displaying "-op."
Teacher asks students to identify the letter that would make "-op" to "bop." Students identify the letter using the Keyword Letter Card.
Teacher shows students how to slide letters to reveal "b," making the word "bop."
Repeat this process to make and read the remaining suggested words on the Word Slide.

Consider having students practice letter formation by writing the words on lined paper.

Repeat Word Slides with "-ut" words. Suggested words: but, cut, gut, hut, nut, rut.

Additional Supporting Materials:

Keyword Letter Cards
Word Slide (one per student)
Letter writing paper (optional; one per student)

Partial Alphabetic:

Practice activity: Word Slides.

Students work with teacher to make and decode new words by changing just the initial letter in a word. Suggested words: cope, hope, mope, rope.

Teacher shows the Word Slide displaying "-ope."
Teacher asks students to identify the letter that would make "cope."
Teacher shows students how to slide letters to reveal "c," making the word "cope."
Repeat this process to make and read the remaining suggested words on the Word Slide.

Consider having students practice letter formation by writing the words on lined paper.

Repeat Word Slides with "-une" words. Suggested words: dune, June, tune.

Additional Supporting Materials:

Keyword Letter Cards
Word Slide (one per student)
Letter writing paper (optional; one per student)

Full and Consolidated Alphabetic:

Independent Practice activity: Word Slides.

Students make and decode new words by changing just the initial letter in a word.

Teacher shows the Word Slide displaying "-ope."
Teacher asks students to identify the letter that would make "cope."
Teacher shows students how to slide letters to reveal "c," making the word "cope."
Students repeat this process to make, read, and record the remaining suggested words on the Word Slide.
Consider having students practice letter formation by writing the words on lined paper or writing sentences or a story using some of the words they made.
Repeat Word Slides with "-une" words.

Consider having students try each consonant in the first position. This will result in decodable "nonsense words" such as "fune."
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:

Word Slide (one per student)
Additional writing paper and writing utensils (optional; one per student)

EL Education Curriculum

ELA GK:S4:C24:L124

Chaining

In this Lesson

You are here:

Like what you see?

Help us improve!

Daily Learning Targets

Ongoing Assessment

Agenda

In Advance

Vocabulary

Materials

Materials from Previous Lessons

New 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.