- Between the Lions alphabet chart
- highlighter marker
- letter card “Oo”
- word card on
- on
MA Standards:
Foundational Skills/RF.PK.MA.1.d: Recognize and name some uppercase letters of the alphabet and the lowercase letters in one’s own name.
Head Start Outcomes:
Literacy Knowledge/Alphabet Knowledge: Recognizes that the letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be individually named.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 7: Develop familiarity with the forms of alphabet letters, awareness of print, and letter forms.
Learn About Letters Together: Target Letter (“Oo”) and Word (on)
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Letter Formation, Letter Recognition, Word Recognition
Educator Prep: Print out the Between the Lions alphabet chart or create an alphabet chart on chart paper.
Use the “Target Letter and Word” routine to introduce children to the letter “Oo” and the word on.
Target Letter and Word Routine
Introduce children to the target letter “Oo” by showing them the letter in context of the target word on.
- Hold up the target word card. Point to the letters as you say the word.
- Talk about the meaning of the word.
- Point to the first letter of the word as you say the name of the letter aloud. Highlight the letter in a different color.
- Cover the letter following the first letter on the word card. Focus children’s attention on the letter "o." Ask children what they notice about the shape of the letter.
- Ask, Does it have straight lines? Curved lines? Both straight and curved lines?
- Hold up the letter card. Talk about the difference between the lowercase and uppercase letters. Have children find the letter on an alphabet chart.
- You may want to introduce children to the sound the letter makes.
Educator Tip: Use this opportunity to introduce the various meanings of the word on. You can first introduce the word as a word that indicates where something is (preposition). Place a book on a table and say, The book is on the table. Then say, In the book Bear Snores On, the word means something different. It describes how long the bear snores (adverb). He snores on and on.