MA Standards:
English Language Arts/Foundational Skills/RF.PK.MA.2.c Identify the initial sound of a spoken word and, with guidance and support, generate several other words that have the same initial sound
Head Start Outcomes:
Language Development/Receptive Language Attends to language during conversations, songs, stories, or other learning experiences.
Literacy Knowledge/Phonological Awareness Identifies and discriminates between sounds and phonemes in language, such as attention to beginning and ending sounds of words and recognition that different words begin or end with the same sound.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 8 Listen to, identify, and manipulate language sounds to develop auditory discrimination and phonemic awareness.
Learn About Letter Sounds Together: Letter Sound (short /u/)
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Phonological Awareness (Beginning Sounds), Listening and Speaking
Review with children the short /u/ sound at the beginning of words. Say the letter sound with children by saying the word up with them. Ask, What sound do you hear at the beginning of the word up? Have children repeat the initial sound.
- Say, Listen carefully. I am going to say some words. Clap when you hear a word that begins with the same sound you hear at the beginning of the word up.
- Emphasize the beginning sound as you say under, around, uncle, water, rain, ugly, umbrella, puddle, and understand.
- Help children who did not identify the words. Say each word again, stopping after each word that does not begin with the short /u/ sound to talk about it.
English Language Learners: The short /u/ sound can present problems for the English language learner. The sound comes from the center of the mouth and the tongue needs to be relaxed. Spend extra time with children to help them pronounce the sound.