Lesson Plan - Phonics: Final Consonant Letter/Sound Lesson
Sarah M. Davis
I. Preparation
· Grade Level: Kindergarten
· Prerequisites
o Automaticity in letter-naming fluency for full alphabet, both upper and lower case
o The ability to isolate initial consonant sound
o The ability to isolate medial vowel sound in CVC words
o The ability to isolate final consonant sound
o Knowledge of the most common phoneme for each consonant grapheme
o Knowledge of the most common phoneme for common consonant digraphs
o Knowledge of the most common phoneme for common vowel digraphs
· Standard (Benchmark)
o LA.K.1.4.1: The student will recognize and recall the one to one correspondence between most letters and sounds.
o LA.K.1.3.1: The student will identify initial, final, and medial phonemes in CVC words (e.g., sat).
· Objective
1. The student will be able to write the letter representing the last sound in CVC words.
· Materials
o Pocket chart
o Alphabet cards
o Letter-Sound triangle boards (see Appendix B)
o Picture cards
o Counter chips
o Pencils
o Final Sound worksheets (see Appendix A)
o Alphabet Chart
o Teacher basket (to receive student work)
o Decodable books (for independent reading at end)
o Table group baskets (to hold decodable books)
II. Lesson Content
· Introduction (10 min)
o The lesson starts by priming the students’ background knowledge of CVC words and letter-sound correspondence for consonants. The teacher will gather the students to the carpet area of the class, sitting in front of a pocket chart. In the pocket chart, there will be a CVC word. The teacher will lead the students in a review of phoneme isolation by stretching the sounds in the word. The teacher says, “I want you all to think about how we listen to each sound in a word by itself sometimes. Let’s look at this word ‘bat’. /b/ /a/ /t/. What is the first sound in the word /b/ /a/ /t/?” The teacher will take a few volunteers to identify the first, medial, and final sounds in the CVC word. When implementing this component of the lesson, the teacher should informally assess the students’ readiness to identify final consonant sound/letter correspondence.
o The teacher will then explain that today they will all be focusing primarily on the last sound in words. The teacher says, “Today we will be working on the last sound in a word. Which sound are we working on today class?” [Students say ‘the last sound’.] Next, the teacher will change out the last letter in the CVC word on the pocket chart with a different letter and call on a few students to read the new word and say the final consonant sound in the word. The teacher will give corrective feedback, as needed during this exercise. For example, if the last letter in ‘bat’ is changed from a T to a G, and a student states that the new word is ‘back’, the teacher says, “Let’s look at that word again. /b/ /a/ /g/. What letter is on the end?” Student says G. What sound does G make?” Student says /g/. “So what word do we have now when we say /b/ /a/ /g/?” Student says /bag/.
· Modeling (10 min)
o The teacher will demonstrate how to perform the guided practice activity that will follow, while the whole group is still at the carpet area. The teacher says, “In a moment, you will all work with your table groups [groups of four students] doing an activity. In this activity, you will be looking for the last sound in words. You will each have a triangle, like this (show triangle). You will take turns picking up a picture card from the deck. You will say the word that the picture represents and look at your triangle for the letter for the last sound in that picture. Which sound are we looking for class? [Students say ‘the last sound.’] That’s right, the last sound.”
“Watch as I show you how this game is played. (Teacher draws a card from the top of the deck.) This card shows a ball. The last sound in the word ball is /l/, so I need to look at my triangle for the letter that makes the sound /l/. What letter makes the sound /l/? [Students say L.] That’s right; now I need to see if the L is on my triangle. It is! So I put a chip on my L.”
“Let’s do a few practice rounds.” The teacher calls on a few students to play with the teacher’s board and game cards. If any students identify the initial consonant sound instead of the final sound, the teacher will immediately pause the exercise and correct the error by saying, “Remember we’re listening for the last sound in the word. Let’s say this one slowly all together. (Example: /hip/) What’s that last sound? Where is that sound on my triangle?”
· Guided practice (25 min)
o The teacher has the students return to their table groups where they will receive the Letter-Sound triangle boards, picture cards, and counter chips. They groups of four will engage in the learning game together. The teacher instructs the students to take turns drawing a picture card from the deck and to play until all of the cards have come up. The teacher then tells the students to start a new game when they finish, swapping their Letter-Sound triangle boards with the person next to them.
o The teacher walks around from group to group, listening to them play their game, and informally assesses the students’ performance at the task. If any students seem to be identifying the initial sound rather than the final sound, the teacher will correct the error. In that case, the teacher would say, “I see that the word ‘top’ has the /t/ sound in it, and I’m glad that you could spot that sound. I have a question though: where is the sound /t/ in /top/? Is it at the beginning or end? /t/ /o/ /p/.” The student says that the sound is at the beginning. “Remember, we want to only look for the last sound in this game. What’s the last sound in /top/?” The student says /p/. “That’s right! That’s the sound you want to look for on your board.”
o The teacher will ring a bell to let the students know when the time for this activity is up.
· Independent practice (15 min)
o The teacher will collect the guided practice materials and hand out the worksheets to the students (see Appendix A). The teacher will say to the class, “I’m giving you each a worksheet that I want you to work on by yourselves. That means you work on this without asking your neighbor. If you need any help or have any questions, raise your hand, and I will help you. In this worksheet, you will need to look at the picture and silently think about the word that goes with that picture. Then you will write in your best handwriting the letter for the last sound in the word. If you forget what the letter looks like that you need to write, look at the Alphabet Wall Chart. When you finish, turn your paper into my basket, take a book out of your basket and read independently.”
o The teacher then passes out the pencils and sits with the table group that needs the most one-on-one literacy support.
o As the students finish their work, they put their completed papers in the teacher’s basket and read.
· Assessments
o The teacher will informally assess the classes’ readiness to identify the final consonant sound and connect that sound to the appropriate letter during the introduction warm-up. The teacher will specifically pay attention to the readiness of students that have had difficulties with letter-sounds, noting which sounds give those students particular trouble.
o During guided practice, the students will peer evaluate each other’s performance on the game. The teacher will also walk around, noting any students that are having difficulties.
o The independent practice work will be collected and assessed for mastery (mastery being defined as getting all three responses correct). Any students that do not achieve mastery will receive supplementary practice in a small group with the teacher or teacher’s aid.
· Debriefing
o Once all the students have turned in their worksheets, the teacher has them gather at the carpet area. The teacher holds up a blank copy of the worksheet, and calls on a few volunteers to write the final consonants for each word on the board.
o The teacher then says, “We learned about the last sound in words today and how that sound is represented with a letter. I think you all did a wonderful job finding the last sound in words. Since you did such a great job, I think you shouldn’t stop practicing here in school. I want you to think about the last sound in words when you read at home tonight.”
III. Adaptations & Reflections
· Modifications
o Regarding any ELL students:
§ The teacher will speak clearly, use hand gestures, and facial expressions while speaking.
§ Students who are not proficient enough in English to identify the last sound of English words when viewing a picture (which would be needed during the guided practice activity) would work along with a partner that would scaffold support to the ELL student.
§ Additional attention and support from the teacher will be provided while completing the independent practice activity, as needed.
o Regarding any struggling readers:
§ Those students that have reading difficulty will sit together in a table group. The teacher will sit at that table for much of the guided practice activity and the independent practice activity, giving support as needed.
§ Any of those students that have particular trouble with specific letter-sound correlations will receive additional practice in a more intensive activity. For example, a student that struggles identifying the /g/ final consonant sound will work specifically on that sound, working only with the hard /g/ sound (e.g. tag, bug, jig, etc.) until proficient.
o Regarding struggling writers:
§ Any students that have not developed their motor skills enough to write the final consonant on the independent practice worksheet will have the option to select a letter card to hold up to the paper and write the letter beside the card.
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References
Honig, B., Diamond, L., & Gutlohn, L. (2008). CORE literacy library: Teaching reading sourcebook (2nd ed.). Novato, CA: Arena Press.
Letter Sound Pyramid Student Center Activity. (2008). Florida Center for Reading Research. Retrieved from http://www.fcrr.org/SCASearch/SCA_Search.aspx.
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Appendix A
Final Sounds Worksheet
Write the letter for the last sound of each word.
1) C A ___ 
2) P E ___
3) G U __
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Appendix B
