Sounder /A/ Phonics Lesson Plan

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Goal: Students will understand phonics to support decoding words.
Objective: Students will successfully identify the CVC words with the sounder (short) /a/.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B Associate the long and short sounds with the common
spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
Materials: Pocket chart, picture cards, red and blue letter cards
Procedures:
 Introduce the lesson’s focus: sounder /a/
o “Today we are going to talk about the vowel ‘a.’ ‘A’ can make two sounds, the
namer and the sounder. Namer /a/ says its name as in cape. (When saying ‘cape’
emphasize the /a/ sound) Sounder /a/ says /a/ (as in cat). In our lesson today, we
are talking about sounder /a/. Listen for sounder and namer /a/ as I say these
pictures. Cat. Map. Cave. Ram. Bake. Van. Rat. Wag. Cape. Cab. Bat. Tape.” (As
you say each word, place the corresponding picture in the pocket chart; right now,
pictures can be placed in the order they were said.)
o “Did you notice that some of the words had namer /a/ and some of the words had
sounder /a/? Let’s go back through them and sort them into two categories:
namer /a/ and sounder /a/. The sounder /a/ words will get put in the pocket chart
because we are working on sounder /a/ today.” (Cat, map, ram, van, rat, wag,
cab, bat should be the sounders)
 Place each sounder /a/ picture on the far left side of the pocket chart in a vertical line, like
they are stacked on each other—see Appendix A for an example of the pocket chart
 Use red and blue letters to spell out the word next to each picture—red letters are vowels
and blue letters are consonants; the different colors help students identify patterns, in this
lesson, they should find CVC patterns (Vowels are sounders when there is a CVC or VC
pattern—when vowel is followed by a consonant)
o “I’m going to place all the sounder /a/ pictures in the pocket chart like this. (Put
pictures in pocket chart) Now I’m going to spell out the words next to the
pictures.”
 Build words next to the pictures—as building each word, say the letters out loud (For
example, C-A-T spells cat)
o “What do you notice about all of our words? (Each word has a CVC pattern/all
the vowels are in the same column) Yeah, that’s right. Take a look at this middle
column. The vowels are the red letters. All the vowels are lined up in the same
place. All of these words follow a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern. (Point to
letters to identify the consonants and vowels) We call these a CVC pattern. These
are CVC words. So what does this tell us about sounder vowels? It tells us that
 anytime there is a consonant after a vowel, the vowel is a sounder. When there is
a CVC or VC pattern, the vowel is a sounder. Repeat after me; “Sounder /a/, says
/a/.”
 Read all the words in the chart
o “Let’s read all the words in our chart. I will say it first, then you say it after me.”
(Read through all the words in this manner)
 Conclude the lesson
o “Today, we talked about sounder /a/. Whenever you see a CVC, you know that the
vowel says its sound. When I say ‘Go,’ it is time to line up for gym. As you are
leaving, I am going to ask you what sounder /a/ says. You may not go to gym until
you can tell me what sounder /a/ says. Go.”
 As students are leaving, ask them what sounder /a/ says.
Accommodations:
If some students are not ready to work with sounders and namers at the phonics level—that is,
looking at the letters and words—students could work with sounders and namers at the phonemic
awareness level where students listen to the sounds of the vowels. Some students may be more
successful simply listening to identify sounders and namers instead of looking at the words and
letter patterns. Although this does not specifically target the phonics objectives of this lesson,
phonemic awareness and phonics are closely related. Additionally, students who are beginning to
learn phonics will need repeated practice to master concepts. All students will need to practice by
completing multiple activities and reteaching. Students should have the opportunity to engage in
activities dealing with sounder /a/ multiple times.
Assessment: Informal, formative assessment—The verbal exit ticket at the conclusion of the
lesson will serve as the assessment. Use a checklist to mark students who say sounder /a/
correctly.
Appendix A: Example of Pocket Chart
 Additional Activities for Small Groups
1.) Sounder /A/ Song and Highlight
Pull students who need additional practice with sounder /a/ into a small group. For this activity,
introduce students to a new song. Before beginning this lesson with the small group, write the
song on a piece of chart paper so it is large enough for everyone to see. Tell students we will sing
the song to the tune of ‘Ba Ba Black Sheep.’ This song refers to sounder /a/ as short /a/; make a
revision so that it says sounder /a/. Using congruent terminology will help students be less
confused. First, sing the song while students listen. Next, sing the song two times with students.
After singing the song with students, tell students that you will sing the song one more time.
When students hear a word with a sounder /a/, they should clap their hands signaling you to stop.
As students identify sounder /a/ words, use highlight tape to highlight the words on the chart
paper.
 2.) Word Sort
Pull students who need additional practice with sounder /a/ into a small group. Each student will
receive a baggie of sounder and namer /a/ words. Give the students a chart to sort the words unto.
Ask students to sort the word into the appropriate columns. If students need help reading the
words, ask them what they think the vowel will say and help them sound the word out. Correct
any mispronunciations or misconceptions in thinking. When students have finished sorting the
words, check their work. Have students read all the words in the sounder /a/ column. Remind
students that ‘a’ is a sounder when there is a CVC or VC pattern. See the image below for an
example of the word sort; this example uses the terminology short/long vowels—it would need
to be adapted to say sounder/namer.
 3.) Writing CVC Words with Sounder /A/
This activity builds on the word sort activity. Have students complete the word sort activity the
day before using this small group lesson. Pull students who need more practice with sounder /a/
into a small group. Students will write the sounder /a/ words in a sand tray. Students’ word list
will include the sounder /a/ words from the previous word sort activity. While writing in the
sand, students should have index cards with the words written on them. This ensures students
will learn correct spellings. By writing these words, students will gain familiarity with the
CVC/VC pattern. To add variation to this activity, students could write with finger paint.
 4.) Red and Blue Letters
Pull students who need more practice with sounder /a/ into a small group and give them
individual cups with red and blue letters. Students will practice constructing words in the CVC or
VC pattern. For this activity, the only vowel available will be ‘a’ because this allows students to
specifically focus on sounder /a/. This activity emphasizes sounder vowels by focusing on the
CVC/VC pattern which indicates a vowel is a sounder. Before letting students construct words
on their own, model how to do this activity by constructing a few words together. After students
have built a word, they should read it. Monitor students to ensure that they are correctly reading
the vowel by using the sounder /a/ sound. It is acceptable if students construct ‘make-believe’
words. Their words should still be readable and should be pronounced according to the
consonant sounds and sounder /a/ sounds. See below for an image of students working with red
and blue letters to make words.