#2017. Learning Short a and Long a sounds

Reading/Writing, level: Elementary
Posted Sat Nov 18 17:26:51 PST 2000 by Lisa Kosak (LMKOSAK@AOL.COM).
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA USA
Activity Time: 1 hour
Concepts Taught: learning short and long a sounds

OBJECTIVES:
1. The learner will recognize the difference between the short a sound and the long a sound.
2. The learner will compile a list of words containing short a and long a sounds.
3. The learner will write a sentence using one word that contains a short a sound and a long a sound.
4. The learner will design a picture that relates to the sentence they wrote.
MATERIALS:
Slobodkina, E. (1940). Caps for Sale. Addison-Wesley
Environmental text containing pictures such as:
- Apples, paper, candles, stuffed animals, hat, and other words that contain a short and long A sound.
Other books containing short and long a sounds
Dictionary

PROCEDURES
The teacher will first read Caps for Sale to the students. The teacher will tell each student to listen to the words carefully. The teacher will emphasize the short a and long a sounds in the words while reading the stories. After the stories are read, the teacher will ask students if they noticed any differences in the words being emphasized. After asking for differences and discussing the story, the teacher will talk about more words that have the short and long a sound. The teacher will provide environmental print to the class and post them in the front of the room. This may include pictures of objects that contain the short a and long a sounds. The students will then return to their seats. When at their seats, the students will divide their paper in half, and compile a list of words that have the long a and short a sounds in them. The teacher will remind students that short a and long a sounds do not just come at the beginning of the word, but also in the middle and end so look for words that have an A in them, decode the word, and put it in the proper category. The teacher should provide dictionaries and other text for students to decode and place in the proper categories. After twenty minutes of looking up words in other textbooks, dictionaries, and looking around the room, students will come together and make one list on the board. The teacher will write this list and call on each student to add one or two words that have short a and long a sounds to the list. After the list is compiled on the board, the students will be handed a piece of blank paper. The students will pick one word from both the short a and the long a list. After they have chosen their word, they will write a sentence using the word of their choice. When they have written their sentence, they will draw a picture relating it to the sentence.

EVALUATION
The students will be given a short quiz on the short a and long a sounds. The teacher will give this quiz orally. The students will be called individually to the back of the room. This is where the students will have to tell the teacher which word has the short or long a sound. For example: Does the word apple have a short or long a sound? Apple? The students response should be short a sound. There will be 10 total questions and all the words will be from the list that was compiled on the board. The students will receive points if the word they chose for their sentence was used properly. The students will also receive extra points if they drew a picture and it related to their sentence.