Emergent Literacy Design: Slither Like a Snake with /s/
Rationale: This lesson will help children identify /s/, which is the phoneme represented by s, se, ss, c, ce and sc. Children will learn to recognize /s/ in spoken words by learning a sound analogy (hissing snake) and the letter symbol s, se, ss, c, ce, and sc, practice finding /s/ in words, and apply phoneme awareness with /s/ in phonetic cue reading by distinguishing rhyming words from beginning letters.
Materials: Primary paper and pencil; a chart with the phrase “Sid’s Sneaky Snake Slithered Smoothly”; drawing paper and crayons, Some Snug Slug (Edwards, 1998); word cards with FIX, SILL, BEAN, SOCK, and HAIR; worksheet that helps students identify pictures that include phoneme /s/ link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/S-Z-Artic-Kit-for-S-Z-Simple-Quick-Articulation-Activities-5095834
Procedures: 1. Our written language is a secret code. The tricky part is learning what letters stand for—the mouth moves as we say words. Today we are going to work on spotting the mouth movement for /s/. We spell /s/ with the phonemes s, se, ss, c, ce, and sc. /S/ looks like a snake, and /s/ sounds like a snake slitering.
2. Let’s pretend to move and slither like a snake, /s/, /s/, /s/. (Pantomime slithering). Notice how when you move on the ground, it makes a /s/ sound?
3. Let me show you how to identify /s/ in the word silly. I am going to stretch out really far like a snake in the sand, and when I do, listen for /s/. Sss-i-i-l-l-y-y. Now, I am going to say it even slower: ssss-i-i-i-l-l-y-y. Did you hear the slither? Mr. Snake must have been stretching since he was slithering so slowly!
4. Now, let’s try a tongue tickler. (chart) Sid has a snake. This snake is very sneaky. Because he is sneaky, he tries to slither slowly. Here is the tickler: “Sid’s Sneaky Snake Slithered Smoothly”. Everyone say it 3 times together. Now, let’s say it again, but this time stretch the /s/ at the beginning of each word. “Sssid’s sssneaky sssnake ssslithered sssmoothly.” Try again, and this time break the /s/ off of each word. /s/ id’s /s/ neaky /s/ nake /s/ lithered /s/ moothly.
5. (Students will take out primary paper and pencil). We use the s, se, ss, c, and ce to spell /s/. /S/ looks like a snake, whether it is lowercase or uppercase. The good thing about writing an “s” is the same as writing an uppercase “S”, because the only difference is that it is a tad bit smaller. Let’s write the lowercase letter “s”. Take your pencil and start at the top. Now, curve your pencil to the left as if you are writing the letter “c”, then curve slightly to the right as if you are writing a backwards “c”, and then back to the left. I want to make sure to see everyone’s “s” so we can see if we need more practice. Then, we will write it ten more times.
6. Call on students to answer and tell how they know: Do you hear /s/ in sad or happy? Hard or easy? Sand or water? Frown or smile? Say: Let’s see if you can spot your mouth move /s/ in some words. Put your hands together and slither if you hear /s/: The, smiling, cat, was, simply, sleepy, after, a, long, Saturday.
7. Now, we are going to look at a book. The author tells us about a slug who is trying to climb a slippery slope, but will the slug stop before he gets to the top? Or, will the sparrow and the spider be able to stop him? Pass out drawing paper and crayons to students. Explain to them that they are going to draw a picture of a silly slug. Explain that “silly” can look many different ways, such as dancing, wearing a crazy hat, or just making a face. Allow them to draw their own version of a silly slug.
8. Show FIX and model how to decide if it is fix or six. The S tells me to slither like a snake, so this word is sss-ix, six. You try some: SILL: sill or bill? BEAN: seen or bean? SOCK: rock or sock? HAIR: share or hair?
9. For the assessment, pass out the worksheets. Students will color the objects that include s, se, ss, c, or ce in them. Call on each student to read the phonetic cue words from above in step 8.
References: BOOK: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060247898/some-smug-slug/
