Pop the Popcorn with “P”
Emergent Literacy Design
Rationale: This lesson is designed to help students identify the phoneme /p/, represented by the grapheme “P.” I have chosen to use the example of popcorn popping to help students associate the sound with the grapheme. This illustration will allow students to learn to identify the /p/ they hear in certain words, and I will also allow them to practice identifying words that rhyme based on the phoneme at the end of the word “pop.”
Materials: Primary paper; pencils; card with a picture of popcorn popping and the letter “P;” handheld mirror; Dr. Seuss ABC (Random House, 1963); word cards with the words pop, top, mop, hop, pet, pick, play; worksheet to identify pictures that include the sound /p/.
Procedures:
Say: Each letter in our alphabet makes a different sound, and it can be tricky to figure out which letters make each sound. We can learn those sounds by noticing how our mouths move whenever we say a certain letter. Today we will talk about the letter “P.”
Show the students the picture card of popcorn popping. Ask the students to think about a time they have popped popcorn at home and the sound the popcorn makes in the microwave. (/p/). Let them practice their popping sounds by saying /p/ repeatedly and gesturing their hands to open and close quickly, as if “popping.”
Allow each student to hold a handheld mirror. Say: Pop your popcorn while watching how your mouth moves in the mirror. See how your lips meet and press inside your mouth before your mouth opens? Now let’s learn how to find the letter “p” in the word “mop.” Let’s stretch out the word like this: Mmm- ooo- p. Do you hear the popping sound? Now stretch out the word again, but this time watch yourself in the mirror. (Repeat stretching, and make sure all students understand that the /p/ phoneme is at the end of the word).
Introduce a tongue tickler to the students: “Please pass Pam the purple peppers.” Have the students repeat the tickler three times quickly. Then have them slow it down and add emphasis to each /p/ phoneme they hear. Say: Now let’s stretch out that /p/ like we did with the word “mop.” Each time you hear the sound /p/, stretch it out and use our popping hand motion we learned earlier. “Ppp-lease pppass Ppp-am the ppp-ur-ppp-le ppp-eas” Then have students repeat the tongue tickler, this time breaking the sound off from the word: “ /p/ lease /p/ ass /p/ am the /p/ ur /p/ le /p/ eas.
Pass out primary paper and say: The sound /p/ is spelled with the letter “P.” Let’s first practice writing a lowercase p. Start with making a little “o” at the fence. Circle down to the sidewalk but be careful not to go lower than that! Now bring your circle around the rest of way and close it at the fence. On the left side of your “o” make a straight line that goes all the way to the ditch. (Observe everyone to make sure they are doing this correctly). Once I tell you to, write 10 more “Ps” for extra practice.
Ask students to determine if they hear /p/ in cup or bowl? Pet or wet? Paper or marker? Lip or mouth? Hop or hot? Say: See if you notice the mouth moving for /p/ in some words. Pop your popcorn with our hand motion every time you hear the sound /p/. “Polly plays piano in pretty pink pants.”
Say: Now let’s look at some silly “P” words that Dr. Seuss uses in an alphabet book. Read page with /p/. Say: Now you all come up with three words that begin with “P.” Have them invent spelling and draw pictures of the objects.
Show students PET and model how to tell if it is pet or wet. Tell them to listen for the popcorn sound at the beginning of the word. Give them a few more to try out. PLAY- play or clay? PAN- pan or fan? POSE- pose or nose?
Assessment- Hand out the worksheet with pictures, and have the students fill in partial spelling while coloring any pictures that start contain /p/.
Resources:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/caravans/nicklesel.htm
Rachel Smith- Pop Your Gum with P- http://rs4179.wixsite.com/mysite/pop-your-gum-with-p
http://www.kidzone.ws/prek_wrksht/learning-letters/p.htm
