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Lesson 4

t /t/

The grapheme T spells /t/

The phoneme /t/ is an unvoiced stop sound. When modeling, be careful not to add a schwa or short /ŭ/ at the end (i.e., /t/, not /tuh/).

Today's plan

about 15 min
  1. Step 1Warm up our ears (blend & segment)2 min
  2. Steps 2 & 3Look & Say / Listen & Spell4 min
  3. Step 4Blending drill3 min
  4. Step 5New concept + read/spell6 min
Step 1

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)

/m/ · /ă/ · /t/mat
/s/ · /ă/ · /t/sat
/m/ · /ă/ · /p/map

Break it (I say word → you say sounds)

Steps 2 & 3

Flashcard Drills

Full-screen cards for the class. Tap a card to check the answer, or press Hear the words to hear the example words read aloud.

Step 5

New Concept

Today we learn the letter T and the sound /t/ like in tiger.

Highlighted words are the ones to show and practice reading — tap one to hear it.

This is the letter T. T is a consonant. T spells /t/ like in the beginning of the word . The letter T can come at the end of a word, such as the words and . The letter T can also come at the beginning of a word, such as the words and .

Letter formation: T

Review T: Start at the top. Straight line down. Hop back to the top. Straight line across the top.

Letter formation: t

Introduce t: Start at the top. Straight line down. Hop to the middle and cross the line.

How our mouth moves

To make the /t/ sound, tap your tongue right behind your top, front teeth like this…(model). Keep your voice off when you make the /t/ sound. The /t/ sound is a stop sound that can't be stretched out (use stop hand motion). Watch me /t/. You try /t/. Be sure students do not add a schwa sound.

Sound wall

Add grapheme card 't' to the consonant grid under the /t/ picture card.

Open the digital sound wall →