Cracking the Code: Learning Short A Word Families

English Language Arts Grades Kindergarten 6:45 Video
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Lesson Description

Join us on a fun adventure to learn about short 'A' word families! We'll explore how blending sounds helps us read words like 'cat,' 'map,' and 'hat.' Get ready to read and play!

Video Resource

Short A Word Families - Learning to Read for Kids!

Miacademy Learning Channel

Duration: 6:45
Watch on YouTube

Key Concepts

  • Phoneme blending
  • CVC words (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant)
  • Word families (based on shared rime)

Learning Objectives

  • Students will be able to blend individual sounds to form CVC words with the short 'a' sound.
  • Students will be able to identify words belonging to the 'ad', 'at', 'ag', 'an', and 'ap' word families.
  • Students will be able to read simple CVC words with short 'a' with prompting.

Educator Instructions

  • Introduction (5 mins)
    Begin by watching the Miacademy Learning Channel video "Short A Word Families - Learning to Read for Kids!". Engage students by asking them what letter the lesson will focus on (A) and what sound it makes (/a/). Briefly discuss what a 'word family' is (words that share the same ending sounds).
  • Exploring the 'ap' Family (10 mins)
    Revisit the video's 'ap' family example. Write 'ap' on the board. Ask students to suggest letters to put in front of 'ap' to make words. As they suggest letters, write the words (e.g., map, cap, nap). Sound out each word together, emphasizing the blending of sounds. Have the students make the sound with you: /m/, /a/, /p/ - map.
  • Discovering Other 'A' Families (15 mins)
    Introduce the other 'A' word families: 'ad', 'at', 'ag', and 'an'. For each family, write the ending on the board. Brainstorm words together as a class. Use picture cards to support understanding (e.g., a picture of a bag for the word 'bag'). Write the words on the board and practice sounding them out together. Have the students make the sound with you for each word.
  • Word Family Sorting Game (10 mins)
    Prepare cards with pictures of words from the five 'A' families. Have students work individually or in small groups to sort the cards into the correct word family category (ad, at, ag, an, ap). Circulate and provide support as needed. Have the students sound out each word.
  • Wrap-up (5 mins)
    Review the five 'A' word families. Ask students to give an example word from each family. Emphasize the importance of blending sounds to read words. Encourage students to continue practicing reading 'A' family words at home.

Interactive Exercises

  • 'A' Word Family Hunt
    Hide picture cards of 'A' family words around the classroom. Have students find the cards and place them in the correct word family group on the board.
  • Blending Sounds with Movement
    Use physical actions to represent each sound in a CVC word. For example, for the word 'cat', students could tap their head for /k/, clap their hands for /a/, and stomp their feet for /t/. Then, they blend the movements together to say the whole word.

Discussion Questions

  • What sound does the letter 'A' make in these words?
  • What do all the words in a word family have in common?
  • Can you think of any other words that belong in these word families?

Skills Developed

  • Phonemic awareness
  • Decoding skills
  • Vocabulary building

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1:

Which word belongs to the 'at' family?

Correct Answer: Cat

Question 2:

What sound does the letter A make in 'cat'?

Correct Answer: /ă/

Question 3:

Which word rhymes with 'map'?

Correct Answer: Cap

Question 4:

Which word belongs to the 'an' family?

Correct Answer: Fan

Question 5:

Which of these words has a short A sound?

Correct Answer: Cat

Question 6:

Which word belongs to the 'ad' family?

Correct Answer: Sad

Question 7:

Which word belongs to the 'ag' family?

Correct Answer: Bag

Question 8:

I see a ____ on the table.

Correct Answer: Pan

Question 9:

The opposite of good is ____.

Correct Answer: Bad

Question 10:

Which of these has 3 sounds?

Correct Answer: At

Fill in the Blank Questions

Question 1:

C _ T says cat.

Correct Answer: A

Question 2:

M _ P says map.

Correct Answer: A

Question 3:

B _ G says bag.

Correct Answer: A

Question 4:

S _ D says sad.

Correct Answer: A

Question 5:

F _ N says fan.

Correct Answer: A

Question 6:

If you are tired, you can take a n_p

Correct Answer: a

Question 7:

The opposite of happy is s_d

Correct Answer: a

Question 8:

A _ is the first letter of the alphabet.

Correct Answer: A

Question 9:

Don't f_ll down!

Correct Answer: a

Question 10:

You use this to cook in the oven: p_n

Correct Answer: a

Educational Standards

K.2.PWS.4:Students will blend letter sounds to decode simple Vowel/Consonant (VC) and Consonant/Vowel/Consonant (CVC) words (e.g., VC words = at, in, up; CVC words = pat, hen, lot). K.2.PA.6:Students will blend phonemes to form one-syllable spoken words with 2-4 phonemes (e.g., /f/ /l/ /a/ /t/= flat). K.2.F.3:Students will begin to develop a sight word vocabulary by decoding and reading regularly- and irregularly-spelled words in isolation and context with increasing automaticity. K.2.PA.5:Students will blend and segment onset and rime in one-syllable spoken words (e.g., blending: /j/ + og = jog; segmenting: cat = /c/+ at).

Teaching Materials

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