Activity for Phoneme Isolation

 Activity for Phoneme Isolation (initial sound)

 Going on a /D/ Hunt!!! 

Objective: Support the student in identifying initial sounds in spoken words; Authentic purpose = going on a hunt Materials: objects and pictures representing simple words that begin with target sounds chosen for the student, plus foils

 Examples: one target sound for student is /d/ because Dad and Daniela (sister) 

both begin with /d/ 

Objects: toy     dog toy      dino      doll 

Photos: Dad   Daniela 

Symbols (CVC): doc dot dig 

CVC foils: cat / bat / car / pen, etc.) 

Bin to store items / photos / symbols that match Labels for each target letter (ex: d m k) 

Activity: 

1) Introduce the activity. 

     a) Hold up the target letter (remember: research shows that manipulating the letter plus the sound is more effective)

     b) Chant: “We’re going on a /d/ hunt . . . We’re gonna find some /d/ words. Consider starting with objects, to make the activity concrete during the introduction phase. 

     c) Show possible objects, and help student figure out if they go in the /d/ bin or not. ‘Dog?’ Does it start with /d/? 

     d) Give evaluative feedback. If student says yes for dog, say /d/ /d/ ‘dog’ – it’s a /d/!! Hold up the letter, and put the dog in the /d/ bin 

     e) Give evaluative feedback for errors also. If student says yes for hat, say /d/ /d/ ‘hat’ – not a /d/ - let’s try again. Make it clear that the hat does NOT go in the /d/ bin. Help students develop their inner voice, reminding them to ‘say it in your head.’ 

2) Increase the difficulty 

     a) Now offer the student a choice of several objects or photos or symbols (at least three) 

     b) Chant: “We’re going on a /d/ hunt . . . “ etc. 

     c) Have the student eye gaze or use partner assisted scanning to show which object / photo / symbol begins with /d/ 

     d) Remember to use evaluative feedback! 

3) Introduce a second sound. Remember!! The brain is a pattern detector!! We need to introduce more than one sound so the student has patterns to detect! Now take the student on a hunt for a 2nd sound (ex: /m/ since it’s the first sound in Mom). Repeat the process.

 4) Continue the process, focusing on having fun finding items, and ‘testing’ (showing 4 items or symbols). While you may only practice two sounds the first session, continue this until the student can correctly identify symbols representing about six different sounds. 

5) Extend the activity to shared reading. For example: 

     a) Read a book, and go for a hunt for pictures that represent your target sounds. ‘We’re going on a /m/ hunt. We’re gonna find some /m/ words . . . look through books together to find pictures and words that start with /m/. Remember, this is about extending learning to books. 

     b) Help students make a We Went On a Hunt Book. Sample pages:

 1. We went on a hunt!

 2. We found some /b/ words!

 3. We went on a hunt!

 4. We found some /m/ words!