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Rationale:

This lesson teaches children about the long vowel correspondence oo=/U/. In order to be able to read, children must learn to recognize the spellings that map out word pronunciations. In this lesson, children must learn to recognize, spell, and read words containing the spelling oo=/U/. They will learn a meaningful representation (Gus saying “BOOM!” when Auburn scores touchdowns), they will spell and read words containing this spelling in a letterbox lesson, and read a decodable book that focuses on the correspondence oo=/U/.

 

Materials:

Graphic image of Gus saying “BOOM”; cover-up critter, whiteboard or smartboard Elkonin boxes for modeling and individual Elkonin boxes for each student; letter manipulatives for each child and magnetic or smartboard letters for teacher: d, f, h, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u; list of spelling words on poster or whiteboard to read: moo, food, hut, tool, mood, cool, spoon, swoop drools, snooze: decodable text: Pig on the Loose and assessment worksheet.

 

Procedures:

 

1. Say: In order to become to become expert readers we need to learn the code that tells us how to pronounce words. We have already learned to read short vowel words with u=/u/, like hut, and today we are going to learn about long U and the double o signal that is used to make U say its name, /U/. When I say /U/ I think of Gus saying “BOOM!” when Auburn scores a touchdown [show graphic image].

 

2. Say: Before we learn about the spelling of /U/, we need to listen for it in some words. When I listen /U/ in words, I hear u say its name /U/ and my lips pucker up and make an oval shape like this [make vocal gesture for /U/]. I’ll show you first: loose. I heard u say its name and I felt my lips pucker up to make the oval shape [make lips pucker up to make oval shape and point at them]. There is a long U in loose. Now I’m going to see if it is in cake. Hmm, I didn’t hear u say its name and my lips didn’t make the puckered oval shape. Now you try. If you hear /U/ say, “BOOM!”. If you don’t hear /U/ say “NOPE!” Is it in noodle, foam, smooth, buckle, mouse, farm, gloom, zoom? [Have children respond after each word.]

 

3. Say: Now let’s look at the spelling of /U/ that we’ll learn today. One way to spell /U/ is with the double o signal that tells you to say U’s name. [Write oo on the board.] What if I want to spell the word bloom? “The flowers look so pretty when they bloom!” In this sentence bloom means growing flowers. To spell bloom in letterboxes, first I need to know how many phonemes I have in the word so I stretch it out and count: /b//l//U//m/. [Count on your fingers each time you say another phoneme]. I need 4 boxes. I heard that /U/ just before the /m/ so I’m going to put the double oo in the third box! The word starts with /b/, that’s easy; I need a b. Now it gets a little tricky so I’m going to say it slowly /b//l//U//m/. I think I heard /l/ so I’ll put a l right after the b. Now we have /b//l//U/ and I only have one empty box; what’s missing? [Point to the letters in the boxes when stretching out the word /b//l//U//m/]. Oh! The one missing is /m/=m.             

 

4. Say:  Now I’m going to have you spell some words in letterboxes. You’ll start out easy with two boxes for moo, like what a cow says. “The cow mooed loudly when the car drove by.” What should go in the first box? [Respond to children’s answers]. What goes in the second box? I’ll check your answers while I walk around the room. [Observe progress]. You’ll need three letterboxes for the next word. Listen for the beginning sound that goes in the first box. Then listen for the /U/ and don’t forget to put the letter after the /U/ to finish the word! Here’s the word: food; I am so hungry, I need some food; food. [Allow children to spell words]. Time to check your work. Watch how I spell it in my letterboxes on the board: f-oo-d and see if you’ve spelled it the same way. [Stretch out /f//U//d/ while compiling letterboxes.] Try another with three boxes: tool; I need a tool to fix this swing. [Have a volunteer spell it in the letterbox on the front board for children to check their work. Repeat this step for each new word.] Next word. Listen to see if this word has /U/ in it before you spell it. Hut; she was living alone in a hut. Did you need the double o? Why not? Right, because we don’t hear u say its name! We spell it with our short vowel u. [Volunteer spells it on the front board.] Now let’s try a word with four phonemes: spoon; I need a spoon to eat my soup. Let’s try a challenge! You will need five letterboxes for this final word. Drools; the dog drools watching his food being put in is bowl. Remember to stretch it out to get this tough word. [Allow children to spell the remaining words providing sentences for each word: cool, mood, swoop, snooze]

 

5. Say: Now I am going to let you read the words you’ve spelled, but first I’ll show you how I would read a tough word. [Display a poster with drools on the top and model reading the word.] First, I see the double o; that’s my signal that the vowel will say its name. I’m going to use a cover-up critter to get the first part. [Uncover and blend sequentially before the vowel, then blend with the vowel.] /d//r/= /dr/. Now I’m going to blend that with /U/ = /drU/. I still have two letters that are missing: /l/ and /s/ = /drUls/. Drools, that’s it! Now it’s your turn! [Show the words moo, food, hut, tool, spoon, drools, the additional words cool, mood, swoop, and snooze, and the pseudoword koop. Have children read words in unison. Afterwards, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn.]

 

6. Say: You’ve done a great job reading words with our new spelling for /U/: oo. Now we are going to read a book called Pig on the Loose. This is the story of Tim and Jan whose parents are going on a trip. Their Aunt Sue has come to stay with them, and she likes to play tricks like making blue soup! Tim and Jan want to trick their Aunt sue by telling them they have a new puppy who is pink then showing her their pet pig! But wait, where is he? He has gone missing! Let’s pair up and take turns reading Pig on the Loose to find out if they find their pet pig! [Children pair up and take turns reading alternate pages while the teacher walks around the room monitoring progress. After individual paired reading, the class rereads Pig on the Loose aloud together and stops between page turns to discuss the plot.]

 

7. Say: That was a fun story. Did Tim and Jan trick their Aunt Sue? No, she thought they were trying to fool her. Did they find their pet pig slim? Right their dad found him by the steps! Before we finish up our lesson about one way to spell /U/=oo, I want to see if you can solve a reading problem. On this worksheet, there are some small reading passages. Your job is to read the passages and answer the questions with the long u word that makes the most sense with the short reading passage. First try reading all of the words in the box, then choose the word that fits best in the space. Reread your answers to see if they make sense! [Collect worksheets to evaluate individual child progress.]

 

Resources:

Sydney Hall, Learning OO with Choo Choo: http://slh0043.wixsite.com/misshallswebsite/beginning-reading

Murray, G. (2004) Pig on the Loose. Reading Genie: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/bookindex.html

Assessment Worksheet: http://www.funfonix.com/worksheets/book4_page32.php