Rationale

This lesson teaches children about the long vowel correspondence ay= /A/. 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 spelling ay. They will learn a meaningful representation (opening mouth wide and acting like they are going down a slide saying “yay!”), they will spell and read words containing this spelling in a Letterbox lesson, and read a decodable book that focuses on the correspondence ay.

 

Materials

1. Image of a slide on flip chart 

2. Whiteboard and marker

3. Letterboxes for each child

4. Letter tiles a, y, s, p, t, c, and l for each child.

5. Decodable book The Train Trip for each group of two.

6. Pencils for each child

7. Worksheet for each child

8. Paper and pencil for running records

9. Cover-up critters for class and one for teacher

 

Procedures

1. Say: "In order 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 a, like cat, and today we are going to learn more about long A and about when a and y are paired together at the end of the sentence it says /A/. When I say /A/, I think of going down a slide with my hands in the air saying 'Yay!'" [show image].

 

2. Say: "Before we learn about the spelling of /A/, we need to listen for it in some words. When I listen for /A/ in words, I hear a say its name /A/ and my mouth is open and I am breathing out the sound like this [Make vocal gesture /A/.] There is a long A in pay. Now I am going to see if it is in pet. Hmm, I did not hear a say its name, and my mouth did not open wide. Now you try. If you hear /A/, 'Yay!' like you’re going down a slide. If you do not hear /A/ say, “That’s not it.” Is it in maid, apple, plate, stop, cup, play?" [Have student open their mouth wide when they feel /A/ say its name.]

 

3. Say: "Now, let’s look at the spelling of /A/ that we will learn today. One way to spell /A/ if with the letters a and y that act as a letter family because they are right next to each other. This spelling of /A/ always appears at the end of a word that tells me to say A’s name. [Write ay on the board.] These two letters together make A say its name and they will always appear together, which is why I refer to them as a letter family. What if I want to spell that word spray? “I spray the sunscreen, so I do not get a sunburn.” To spell spray in letterboxes, first I need to know how many phonemes I have in the word so I stretch it out and count: /s/ /p/ /r/ /A/. I need 4 boxes. I heard that /A/ at the very end of the word, so I am going to put my ay in the 4th box. The word starts with /s/, that’s easy; I need an s. Now it gets a little tricky so I am going to say it slowly, /s/ /p/ /r/ /A/. I think I heard /p/ so I will put a p right after the s. One more before the /A/, hmmm… /s/ /p/ /r/ /A/, I think I heard a growling /r/ so I will need an r. Look at that! We just spelled out the word spray!"

 

4. Say: "Now, I am going to have you spell words in letterboxes. You will start easy with two boxes for pay. You pay with money when you buy something like food or clothes. 'When we eat lunch at McDonald’s, we almost forgot to pay!' What should go in the first box? [Respond to student answers.] What goes in the second box? Did you remember to put both a and y in the same box? I am going to walk around and check your spelling. [Observe progress]. You will need three letterboxes for the next word. Listen for the beginning sound that goes in the first box. Then listen for /A/ and do not forget about putting our letter family together. Here is the word: stay. I had to stay home because I was sick; stay. [Allow children to spell words]. Time to check your work. Watch how I spell it in my letterboxes on the board: s-t-a-y and see if you have spelled it the same way. Try another with three boxes: clay. I made a pot out of clay. [Have a volunteer spell it in the letterbox on the front board for children to check their work. Repeat this step for a new word.] Listen to see if this word has /A/ in it before you spell it: hat:  It was cold outside, so I put on my hat. Did you need that letter family? Why not? That’s right because we do not hear a say its name. We spell it with our short vowel a. [Volunteer spells it on the front board]. Now let’s try 4 phonemes: today; We are learning about long A today. One more then we are done with spelling, and this time you need five boxes: sunray; When I looked at the cloudy sky, I saw a sunray break through the clouds. Remember to stretch it out to get this tough word."

 

5. Say: "Now I am going to let you read the words you have spelled, but first I’ll show you how I would read a tough word. [Display poster with spray on the top and model reading the word]. First I see that there is an ay at the end of the word; that is my signal that A will say its name. I am going to use a cover-up to get the first part. [Uncover and blend sequentially before the vowel, then blend with the vowel]. /s/ /p/= /sp/ + /r/= /spr/. Now, I am going to blend that with /A/ = /sprA/. Spray; that’s it. Now it is your turn, everyone, together." [Have students read words in unison. Afterward, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn.]

 

6. Say: "You have done such a great job with reading words with our new spelling for /A/:  ay. Now, we are going to read a book called The Train Trip. This story is about Tim traveling on a train to go play with his friends Nate and Jan. Tim wakes up from a nap and is very confused about where he is. The train had stopped! At least Tim had his pet to play with. What happens to Tim and what is his pet? Let’s pair up and take turns reading The Train Trip to find out what happens." [Children pair up and take turns reading alternate pages each while teacher walks around the room monitoring progress. After individual paired reading, the class rereads The Train Trip aloud together and stops between page turns to discuss the plot.]

 

7. Say: "That was a fun story. What was Tim’s pet? Right! It was a snake that he tried to scare his friends with. Before we finish up with our lesson about one way to spell /A/=ay, I want to see if you can match the right word to the picture. Your job is to first look at the picture, and then look up at the word box and find the word that matches the picture best. This worksheet also covers our last lesson of ai= /A/ as well, so I need to use your big, smart brain to think back to that lesson."

 

Resources

Ai and ay worksheet:

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/ai-ay-long-a-sound-worksheets-6321886

The Train Trip, Geniebooks:

https://www.geniebooks.net/

AAA! Rollercoaster A! By Miranda Chambliss:

https://mkc0040.wixsite.com/mirandachambliss/beginning-reading-design

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