- highlighter marker
- letter card “Hh”
- word card hill
MA Standards:
English Language Arts/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 (“Hh”) and Word (hill)
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Letter Recognition, Word Recognition
Tell children they are going to learn about the letter “Hh” and the word hill. Use the “Target Letter and Word” Routine to introduce children to the letter and word.
Target Letter and Word Routine
Introduce children to the target letter by showing them the letter in context of the target word, hill.
- Hold up the target word card. Point to the letters as you say the word.
- Talk about the meaning of the word. Explain that a hill is a large, rounded area that is usually higher than everything around it. Ask children, Have you ever seen a hill? What did it look like?
- 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 all of the letters following the first letter on the word card. Focus children’s attention on the letter. Ask what they notice about the shape of the letter.
- 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. Say, The uppercase “H” has all straight lines and the lowercase “h” has straight lines and a curved line. Have children find the letter on an alphabet chart.
- Introduce children to the sound the letter makes. Emphasize the /h/ sound at the beginning of the target word, /h/.
Adaptation: If young children have difficulty saying the /h/ sound, show them how to form the letter with a burst of air from their open mouths. Say the following words and have children repeat them: happy, hug, high, how, here.
Educator Tip: Guided and independent letter, sound, and word practice continues to take place in center activities. It is helpful to set up the literacy center immediately after the direct instruction and repeat instruction before children work in the literacy center identifying letters.
English Language Learners: Children may find this activity difficult since the letter “Hh” is silent in Spanish (as in hermano). Partner them with native English speakers and have them practice emphasizing the /h/ as they repeat saying the words hello, happy, and hug.