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Emergent Literacy Design: Zip your Jacket with Z

Rationale:       This lesson will help children identify /z/, the phoneme represented by Z.  Students will learn to recognize /z/ in spoken words by learning a sound analogy (zipping a jacket) and the letter symbol Z, practice finding /z/ in words, and apply phoneme awareness with /z/ in phonetic cue reading by distinguishing rhyming words from beginning letters.

Materials:       

  • Primary paper

  • Pencils

  • Chart with "The zebra zoomed zig-zag in the zoo."

  • Drawing paper

  • Crayons

  • Dr. Seuss's ABC (Random House, 1963)

  • Word cards with ZOO, ZAP, ZERO, FUZZ, and COZY

  • Assessment worksheet creating pictures with /z/.

Procedures:     1. Say: Our written language is a secret code. The tricky part is learning what letters stand for—the mouth moves we make as we say words. Today we're going to work on spotting the mouth move /z/. We spell /z/ with letter Z. Z looks like a zigzag, and /z/ sounds like zipping a jacket.

2. Let's pretend to zip our jackets, /z/, /z/, /z/. [Pantomime zipping a jacket] Notice where your top teeth are? (Touching lower lip). When we say /z/, we blow air between our top teeth and bottom teeth.

3. Let me show you how to find /z/ in the word zebra. I'm going to stretch zebra out in super slow motion and listen for my zipper. Zzz-e-e-bra. Slower: Zzz-e-e-e-br-a There it was! I felt my top teeth touch my bottom teeth and blow air. Zipper /z/ is in zebra.

4. Let's try a tongue tickler [on chart]. The zebra zoomed zigzag in the zoo. The zebra has been stuck in a cage for hours. Now he is free to run again. Here’s our tickler: "The zebra zoomed zig-zag in the zoo.” Everybody say it three times together. Now say it again, and this time, stretch the /z/ at the beginning of the words. "The zzzzebra zzzzomed zzzzigzzzzag in the zzzoo." Try it again, and this time break it off the word: "the /z/ ebra /z/ oomed /z/ ig /z/ ag in the /z/ oo.

5. [Have students take out primary paper and pencil]. We use letter Z to spell /z/. Capital Z looks like a zigzag. Let's write the lowercase letter z. Start by drawing a straight line for the roof.  Then, draw a slide down to the ground.  Finally, draw the floor in the opposite direction if the slide.  I want to see everybody's z. After I put a smile on it, I want you to make nine more just like it.

6. Call on students to answer and tell how they knew: Do you hear /z/ in Zoo or run? Zigzag or turn? Squid or zebra? Drink or zip? Hear or zoom? Say: Let's see if you can spot the mouth move /z/ in some words. Zip your jacket if you hear /z/: The, zebra, zone, bug, Zen, far, frizz, they, pink, buzz.

7. Say: "Let's look at an alphabet book. Dr. Seuss tells us about many funny creatures starting with all different letters!" Read page 63, drawing out /z/. Ask children if they can think of other words with /z/. Ask them to make up a silly creature name like Zizzer-zazzer-zuzz. Then have each student write their silly name with invented spelling and draw a picture of their creature. Display their work.

8. Show ZOO and model how to decide if it is zoo or boo: The Z tells me to zip my jacket, /z/, so this word is zzz-oo, zoo. You try some: ZAP: zap or map? ZERO: zero or hero? FUZZ: fuzz or must? SIZE: ties or size? COZY: cozy or homey?

9. For assessment, distribute the worksheet. Students draw pictures that begin with Z. Call students individually to read the phonetic cue words from step #8.

Reference: Wallach and Wallach’s Tongue Ticklers: http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/materials/ticklers/

Education.com Sheet: https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/alphabet-practice-z/

Dr. Seuss ABC: https://booksvooks.com/nonscrolablepdf/dr-seusss-abc-pdf-dr-seuss.html?page=71

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