Practice the short /a/ sound with your class. To get it down, they read a short poem that supplies many examples of words that include the short /a/ sound. Once they are finished reading, learners answer three reading comprehension questions.

Concepts

the short /a/ sound, phonics, spelling patterns, spelling, the /schwa/ sound

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

english language arts

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• As you read, have learners circle each word that includes the short /a/ sound
• Practice reading the poem out loud as a class or in small groups
• Require individuals to highlight or underline the lines of text that gave them the answers to the reading questions

Classroom Considerations

• The poem includes examples of both the short /a/ sound and the schwa /a/ sound

Pros

• Provides handwriting lines to support young writers
• The poem contains plenty of examples of words that include the short /a/ sound

Cons

• Answers are not provided, but should be easy to determine

Common Core

RL.1.1 RI.1.1 RF.1.2.a RF.1.4.a