ECE 358 Phonological Awareness (PA) Activity

Name: Courtney Alexander

Title of Activity & #: Shooting for Syllables (P.A Activity #2)
Concept on the PA Continuum: Syllables
Group size: 1-6 students Approximate time: 15 minutes
Grade level: Kindergarten
TEK: 110.11-(b): (2B)
110.11
b. Knowledge and skills
(2) Reading/Beginning Reading Skills/Phonological
Awareness. Students display phonological awareness.
Students are expected to:
(B) Identify syllables in spoken words
(Found at: http://tea.texas.gov/curriculum/teks/ )
Objective:
The child will clap, robot talk, or use his/her hand under the chin to count
the individual syllables of the words spoken by the teacher.
The child will underhand toss a small ball into the basket that corresponds
to the correct number of syllables in the word said by the teacher.
The child will say another word with the same number of syllables as the
word the teacher provided.
Vocabulary: Syllable, basket, spaceship, blackbird, earring, railroad, cartoon,
slipper, rocket, magnet, garden, broccoli, dishwasher, octopus, ponytail,
helicopter
Source: http://blog.maketaketeach.com/8-great-ideas-for-teachingsegmenting-and-blending/#_
Materials:
Several small, softball sized foam balls. There should be at least one ball
for each basket involved.
Several medium sized baskets or containers of some type. The number of
baskets needed is dependent upon the greatest number of syllables that
the teacher is planning on using. These baskets need to be labeled with
numbers (1, 2, 3) and pictures of the numbers.
A list of words and/or names with different numbers of syllables to read off
to students during the activity.
(http://www.readingfirst.virginia.edu/prof_dev/phonemic_awareness/multi_
syllables.html )
Optional: pictures of each word used during the activity for a
comprehension reference.

Internet access and projection capabilities.

YouTube video cued up to this video that teaches students different ways
to determine the number of syllables in a word:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvcgVRULaWw
Post-It notes to document each students performance.
A poster board to record examples of words with 1, 2, and 3 syllables that
the students provide.

Anticipatory Set:
The teacher will introduce the activity by playing introductory video
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvcgVRULaWw) that talks about what a
syllable is and several different ways to identify the number of syllables in a word.
Before playing the video, remind students to pay attention to what the definition
of a syllable is. Also, remind them to look out for different ways to find how many
syllables a word has. After the video, ask the following before activity questions:
What is a syllable?
What are some different ways that you can find out how many syllables
are in a word?
How many syllables are in your name? How do you know?
Input or Modeling:
Say a word out loud.
Clap the syllables, robot talk the syllables, or use your hand underneath
your chin to count the syllables as the word is said again.
After determining the number of syllables, toss a ball (underhand style) in
the basket that is labeled with the correct amount of syllables (Example: 1,
2, 3). Stand out six feet away from the basket to do this.
Repeat this process for at least two more words and ask the class for help
determining the number of syllables in those words.
Guided Practice:
Students will be asked to sit in line on the floor of the classroom, where
everyone can still see the baskets and each person taking their turn.
Going down the line, the teacher will say a word out loud to a particular
student.
The student will stand up and repeat the word back to the teacher.
Then, the student will clap the syllables, robot talk the syllables, or use
their hand underneath their chin to count the syllables in the word.
After the student determines the number of syllables, they will toss the ball
underhanded into the basket with the number that corresponds to their
answer. They will stand about six feet away from the basket.
The student will explain which method they used to count the syllables
and demonstrate it again for the rest of the students.
During questions:

 Which method did you use to count the syllables?

What is another word that has the same number of syllables?

Each student will repeat the same process above and have several turns
to practice.

Check for Understanding:

The child will clap, robot talk, or use his/her hand under the chin to
count the individual syllables of the words spoken by the teacherThis objective will be assessed through informal observation. If the
students perform their methods at the correct times, then they have
mastered this objective. The teacher will document anything that stands
out on a Post-It note for analysis later on.
The child will underhand toss a small ball into the basket that
corresponds to the correct number of syllables in the word said by
the teacher.
The teacher will assess this objective through informal observation as
well. If students toss their ball into the correct basket, then they have
mastered this objective. As stated before, the teacher will document
anything of note on an individual Post-It note, for each child.
The child will say another word with the same number of syllables as
the word the teacher provided.
The teacher will assess this objective through discussion with students. If
they provide another word that matches the same number of syllables,
then they have mastered this objective. The teacher will document their
examples on a poster board, with the initials of each student that came up
with it, next to the example.
Present your activity to a small group of children. How did they respond?
Would you make any changes to your activity or plan?
The children enjoyed this activity much more than activities I have done with
them in the past. I think this is because there were opportunities for them to
move around and constantly be actively involved in the activity. They especially
loved clapping out the syllables, using robot talk, and tossing the balls into the
baskets. I think that without these extra activities, the concept of a syllable would
have been less interesting to them. If I was to make any changes to my activity, I
would add nonsense words for the children to determine the number of syllables
of and I would also have pictures of the words for students to reference in case
they do not understand what a word I say means. I think that would help them in
building vocabulary and applying their syllable identification skills beyond words
they already know. Also, I would have the other children check each others
answers, so that they will not just be standing in line or sitting while someone
else is having a turn.