Uhhh, Wait a Second!!

Procedures:

1. Say: We want to be expert readers right? So, 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 about the short vowel U. When I say /u/ I think about being confused and scratching my head like this caveman who is confused and scratching his head. “Uhhh, wait a second!” (Show graphic of caveman) 

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2. Say: Before we get to learn about the spelling of /u/, we need to listen for this sound in some words. When we say /u/, our mouths are open and our tongue sits at the bottom of our mouths as we make the sound from the back of our throats. (Make a vocal gesture for /u/). I’ll show you first. Run. I heard /u/ sounding confused and I felt my mouth open and my tongue flattens on the bottom of my mouth. There is a short “u” in “run”. Let’s see it if we hear it in the word ran. Hmm, ran. I didn’t hear the confused caveman sound /u/ did you? If you hear /u/ in these next few words I read aloud, I want you to scratch your head just like the confused caveman. Do you hear /u/ in chug or stick? Play or jump? Cup or win? 

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3. Say: Now it’s time to learn the codes that let us know how to pronounce the confusing caveman /u/ words. We can spell /u/ words with the letter “u”, and it can be surrounded by both vowels and consonants/ (Write letter “U” on the whiteboard). What if I want to spell the word truck? “My dad drives a big, blue truck”. To spell truck, I need to know how many phonemes are in this word. So, I have to stretch it out and count: /t/ /r/ /u/ /ck/. Perfect, so we need four letterboxes. I heard the /u/ right before the /k/ so that means I am going to put a U in the third box and a CK in the fourth box. The word starts with /t/, so that means I need to put a T in the first box. I heard a growling /r/ so that means I need an R after the T. So let’s see if we spelled it right, say it with me slowly: /t//r//u//ck/. Yay that’s right! Good job!

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4. Say: Now I’m going to have you spell some words in letterboxes. You’ll start out easy with two boxes. “The bird flew ‘up’ in the tree”; up. What should go in the first box? What goes in the second box? I’ll check your spelling while I walk around the room. (Observe progress). You’ll need three letterboxes for the next word. Remember to listen for the beginning sound that goes in the first box and then listen for the /u/ sound. “I ‘cut’ the paper in half”; cut. (Allow children to spell word) Okay let’s see how you did. Watch how I spell it in my letterboxes on the board: C - U - T. (Allow children to spell word and check to make sure they have the correct number of phonemes and if any digraphs should be included. Model on the board if necessary. Have students spell: fun, rub, drums, truck) 

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5. Say: Now I am going to let you read the words you’ve spelled, but first I’ll show you how I would read a tough word. (Display poster with ‘lump’ on the top and model reading the word). This is how I would know how to read the word without letterboxes. I start by covering up every letter except the /u/ in the middle. Today we learned that /u/ makes the confused caveman sound and it makes me want to scratch my head too. Everyone act like a confused caveman with me. Uhhhh, wait a second! Next, I know that the word starts with the letter L with makes the /l/ sound. After the /u/ sound, I see the letter m, which I know makes the /m/ sound,s o now I have /l//u//m//. Finally, I add the last sound, /p/, that is at the very end of the word. So now we have /l/-/u/-/m/-/p/. (Show words fun, rub, cut, drums, truck, truch (pseudoword) on poster board. Have children read words in unison. Afterward, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn) 

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6. Say: You all have done an incredible job today reading words with our new spelling for /u/: u. Now, we get to read a book called Bud the Sub. Bud is a submarine and loves to travel in the water. Gus, his boss, takes care of him and takes in places by moving his knobs to help him go underneath the water. One day, a tugboat hits a big glacier, and Gus runs Bud to go save all the people on the tugboat. Do you think Bud and Gus save the people on the tugboat?? Let’s read it and find out!! (Children pair up and take turns reading alternate pages each, while the teacher walks around the room monitoring progress. After individual paired reading, the class rereads Bud the Sub aloud together, stopping between page turns to discuss the plot. 

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7. Assessment: Say: That was such a fun story! Were Bud and Gus able to save everybody on the tugboat? Yes! Is Bud the fastest Sub? No, but he is strong and could get the job done. Before we finish up I want to do just one more quick assignment. Let’s do this worksheet on short vowel /u/ words. You are going to read the words in each sentence and find the word that has the short vowel u = /u/ sound. (While student does this, I make a running record and ask them questions about the meanings of words in the text to assess their knowledge of the words) You can always look at the picture for clues, and make sure to reread your answers to make sure they make sense.

Assessment Worksheet

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/NO-PREP-Short-U-Worksheets-CVC-Word-Wor k-2266350

References:

Lexie Moates

https://lmotes0053.wixsite.com/mysite/beginning-reading 

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Samantha Eason: Uhhhh, what? 

https://samanthaeason1999.wixsite.com/mysite/beginning-reading-design

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Anna Grizzard: Uhhh, wait a minute 

https://alg0058.wixsite.com/mysite-2/beginning-reading 

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Reading Genie Site: 

http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/classroom/insights/ 

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