Phonemic Awareness Activity

Phonemic Awareness Activity: Blending Baseball

Taken from:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/instructor/playsounds.
htm

Recognizing individual sounds and blending words is often a difficult task for
students to grasp. By practicing blending words and sounding out words
students will obtain a new understanding. Blend baseball is a fun way for
students to gain knowledge of the sounds of words. By sounding out words
and completing activities as a team a student can be determined to answer
correctly and really pay attention when it is there turn at bat. Words used in
games of blend baseball may be weekly spelling test words or words that
have sounds that were focused on that week. There may also be challenge
words that may be more difficult then the words students are currently
working with. These challenge words may add one extra syllable or a sound
that may be introduced in the upcoming weeks.

This method can be very effective because it lets students show their
knowledge of words and sounds in order to win a game. Students may
support each other and help one another. This method may be used with
many grade levels however I believe that this activity will work best for first
graders.

Rationale and Illinois Learning Standards:

This activity relates to the following standards by the recognition of sounds

and blending these sounds into words. Also, the use of helpful hints such as
rhyming words allows the student to associate similar sounds in words. Some
of the Illinois Learning Standards that are meant are as follows:

CC.K.R.F.2 Phonological Awareness: Demonstrate understanding of

spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

CC.K.R.F.2.a Phonological Awareness: Recognize and produce rhyming

words.

CC.K.R.F.2.b Phonological Awareness: Count, pronounce, blend, and

segment syllables in spoken words.

CC.K.R.F.2.c Phonological Awareness: Blend and segment onsets and

rimes of single-syllable spoken words.

CC.K.R.F.2.e Phonological Awareness: Add or substitute individual

sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
 Phonemic Awareness Activity

Each of the above standards are met through the game of blend baseball by
having the students blend the words in order to move to the next base and
by having the pitcher break the word apart into syllables and sounds. Also,
when a student is having trouble a rhyming word can be used, by doing so
students learn how to make new words by simply changing a letter.

Application for students with disabilities:

Any type of student including students with disabilities may play blend
baseball. Some adaptations for the game may include:
o Giving students 3 strikes (chances) to blend the sounds together to
form a word.
o Clues may be given for example if the word is bat a teacher could give
clues like it rhymes with “mat”.
o Have students bat with a buddy that may give them the clues or
rhyming words so that the students can work together to help out one
another.

Specific Applications: Blend Baseball

This activity would be best used in a kindergarten classroom. When

practicing the different sounds that are blended together to make words
setting up a game up baseball is a great way to get students engaged and
excited about learning. The teacher should set up bases, a home plate and a
pitcher’s mound that will act as a baseball diamond in the classroom. One
team will be in the field and another team will be at bat. Students in the field
will pick words out of a bucket and the pitcher (a designated student of the
teacher) will speak each sound of the word individually. The batter will then
blend the word back to the team in the field. If the batter blends the word
correctly he/she may advance to first base. If the student can also use the
word correctly in a sentence, he/she may advance to second base. The
inning continues until the batting team makes two outs (for time reasons we
will play with two outs rather than three), the teams will then switch
positions and the game will continue. Students with disabilities may receive
strikes or multiple chances to blend the word or they can receive a clue from
their team such as a rhyming word or a definition or the word.

Words that may be “pitched” to the batting team can include spelling words
or words with the sounds that have been practiced throughout the week.
Words from one week should include onto the next allowing there to be more
and more words to choose from each week and reinforce words that the
students have already practiced. Some example words that can be potential
pitches include:
o Cat presented on the card as /c/ /a/ /t/
 Phonemic Awareness Activity

o Mat  /m/ /a/ /t/

o Sun  /s/ /u/ /n/
o Act  /a/ /c/ /t/
o Bin  /b/ /i/ /n/

Some challenge words that can be used in case of a tie:

o Pout  /p/ /ou/ /t/
o Plant  /p/ /l/ /a/ /n/ t/
o Chair  /ch/ /ai/ /r/