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Streak of the Week

Beginning Reading Design

by

Halley DeLidle

 

 

Rationale: This lesson teaches children about the long vowel correspondences ee = /E/ and ea = /E/. In order to be able to read, children must learn to recognize the spellings that map word pronunciations. In this lesson children will learn to recognize, spell, and read words containing the spellings ee and ea. They will learn a meaningful representation (Child riding a roller coaster), they will spell and read words containing this spelling in a Letterbox lesson, and read a decodable book that focuses on the correspondences ee = /E/ and ea = /E/.

 

Materials: Graphic image of child on a roller coaster; cover-up critter; whiteboard, Elkonin boxes for modeling and individual Elkonin boxes for each student; letter manipulatives for teacher and  each child; list of spelling words on poster or whiteboard to read; decodable text: The Bee and The Flea, and assessment worksheet. LBL word list: 2-[sea], 3-[pick, tree, lean], 4-[prep, clock, plane, sleep], 5-[grand, stunt, streak].

 

Procedures:

1. Say: We have already learned to read short vowel words with e, like net, and today

we are going to learn about long E. The spellings that make e say /E/ are e-e and e-a.

When I say /E/, I think of riding a roller coaster and yelling “WEEEEEEEE!” and lifting my arms up high all the way down the roller coaster. [show graphic image].

 

2. Say: Before we learn about the spelling of /E/, we need to listen for it in some words. When I

listen for /E/ in words, I hear e say its name and my lips feel like I am smiling with my teeth showing. [Make vocal gesture for /E/.] I’ll show you first: greet. I heard e say its name and I felt my lips make a toothy smile [smile with teeth showing and point at both sides of your mouth being pulled back]. There is a long E in greet. Let’s see if we hear /E/ in bless. Hmm, I didn’t hear e say its name and my cheeks don’t pull back into a smile. Now you try. If you hear /E/ point to your cheeks pulled back in a toothy smile. If you don’t hear /E/ say, “Oh, no.” Is it in flea, cheese, pet, toe, paint, or sneeze? [Have children point to their cheeks when they feel /E/ say its name.]

 

3. Say: Now let’s look at the spelling of /E/ that we’ll learn today. One way to spell /E/ is with a double ee. [Write ee on the board.] What if I want to spell the word steed? “I was in search of a trusty steed for the race.” Steed means a strong, reliable horse in this sentence. To spell steed in letterboxes, first I need to know how many phonemes I have in the word so I stretch it out and count: /s//t//E//d/. I need 4 boxes. The word starts with /s/, that’s easy; I need an s. Now it gets a little tricky so I’m going to say it slowly, /s//t//E//d/. I think I heard /t/, so I’ll put a t right after the s. Now, I heard the /E/, and I end with /d/.  

   We can also spell /E/ with ea. [Write ea on the board.] “The boy pleaded with his mother for the new action figure. In this sentence, The boy was asking his mom for a toy. To spell plead, let’s see how many phonemes I have so I know how many letterboxes I need: /p//l//E//d/. I need 4 again. Plead starts with /p/, so I’ll put p in my first box. Next, let me sound it out slowly, /p//l//E//d/. I heard light saber /l/, put an l in the second box. Now, ea says /E/. Finally, plead ends with /d/.

 

4. Say: Now you will practice spelling some words in letterboxes. LBL word list: 2-[sea], 3-[pick, tree, lean], 4-[prep, clock, plane, sleep], 5-[grand, stunt, streak​]. You’ll start out easy with two boxes for sea. The sea is another word for the ocean. What should go in the first box? [Respond to children’s answers]. What goes in the second box? I’ll check your spelling while I walk around the room. [Observe progress.] Now let’s try three phonemes. Listen for the beginning sound that goes in the first box. Then listen for /E/. Here’s the word: tree, “I love sitting under the shade of a big tree.” [Allow children to spell words.] Time to check your work. Watch how I spell it in my letterboxes on the board: t – r – e – e and see if you have spelled it the same way. Try another with three boxes: lean; “The boy wants to look cool, so he will lean against the wall.” [Have volunteer spell it in the letterbox on the board for children to check their work. Repeat this step for each new word.] Now let’s try 4 phonemes: sleep; "I like getting a full eight hours of sleep every night." One more then we’re done with spelling, and this time you need five boxes: streak; "This class is on a streak of good behavior." Remember to stretch it out to get this tough word. Include review words such as pickplane, clock, prep, grand, and stunt. 

 

5. Say: Now let’s read the words we just spelled, but first, I want to show you how I would read a tough word. [Display poster with steep and pleat on the top and model reading the word.] First, I see there’s a double e; that’s my signal that the vowel will say its name. It must say /E/. I’m going to use a cover-up to get the first part. [Uncover and blend sequentially before the vowel, then blend with the vowel.] /s//t/ = /st/. Now I’m going to blend that with /E/ = /stE/. Now all I need is the end, /p/ = /stEp/. Steep; that’s it. Our other word is pleat. I see the ea; that tells me it says /E/. Let’s do the same thing and use our cover-up. /p//l/ = /pl/. Blend /pl/ with /E/ = /plE/. We end with /t/. Put that all together to say pleat. Now it’s your turn, everyone together. [Have children read words in unison. Afterwards, call on individuals to read one word on the list.]

 

6. Say: You’ve done a great job and reading words with our new spellings. Now we are going to read a book called The Bee and the Flea. It’s about Lee the flea who lives on a sheep. Lee liked to eat the sweet nectar from flowers like Bea the bee. Lee decided he want to be a bee. Bea said he would take Lee to the queen to see if Lee could live in the hive. Let’s read together in groups of three to see if Lee gets to live in the bee hive. [Children read alternate pages while the teacher walks around the room monitoring progress. After the groups finish, students come together to read as a class to talk before you turn so everyone understands the plot.]

 

7. Say: Who is glad Lee got to live with the bees? He will be happy getting to eat the sweet honey with his friends. Before we finish up with our lesson about ee and ea saying /E/, I want to see how you can identify long E words. On these worksheets, your directions are to find the word with lond and silent e, and the second one you are to match the word to the picture on the cupcake. How do we know when a word has long E? [Accept either ee/ea spelling or when the letter says the name.] Then turn your worksheet into the basket.

 

Resources:

Ryan, Cheryl. Rankin, Catalina, illusThe Bee and the Flea. 

http://printables.scholastic.com/shop/prcontent/Petes-Rule-Long-e-Sound/9780439553902-024

http://printables.scholastic.com/shop/prcontent/The-Sweet-Treat-Rule-Long-e-Sound/9780439553902-025

Spelling Word Game 

Comprehension Stories 

Lesson for Parents 

Stephanie Pollack, "Say Cheese With /E/" 

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