Lesson 1
a /ă/
The grapheme A spells /ă/
At this point, A is being introduced only as short /ă/. A can also represent other sounds, such as long /ā/ in A_E words (Lesson 54).
Today's plan
about 15 min- Step 1Warm up our ears (blend & segment)2 min
- Steps 2 & 3Look & Say / Listen & Spell4 min
- Step 4Blending drill3 min
- Step 5New concept + read/spell6 min
Warm Up Our Ears
Say the sounds; students blend them into a word. Then say a word; students break it apart.
Blend it (teacher says sounds → you say word)
Break it (I say word → you say sounds)
New Concept
Today we learn the letter A and the short sound /ă/ like in apple.
Highlighted words are the ones to show and practice reading — tap one to hear it.
This is the letter A. A is a vowel. You know the name of this letter already, "a." This is the long vowel sound. Today we are going to read words with the short vowel sound. The short vowel A spells /ă/ like in the beginning of the word . The letter A can come in the middle of a word, such as the words and . The letter A can also come at the beginning of a word, such as the words and .
Letter formation: A
Review A: Start at the top. Slant down to the bottom (right to left). Hop back to the top. Slant down to the bottom the other way (left to right). Up to the middle. Straight line across the middle.
Letter formation: a
Introduce a: Begin at the middle line. Start at the top. Curve all the way around. Straight line down to the bottom.
How our mouth moves
To make the short A /ă/ sound, open your mouth wide like this…(model). Be sure your voice is on. Like all vowels, /ă/ is a continuous sound that can be stretched out (use continuous hand motion). Watch me /ă/. You try /ă/.
Sound wall
Add grapheme card 'a' to the vowel valley under the /ă/ picture card.
Open the digital sound wall →