Description

This activity can be used as a center, in a small group, or one-on-one tutoring to practice identifying words with the short a /ă/ vowel sound. It comes with 2 sizes of the mats and the pictures, as well as a version of the pictures with the correct word labels and a version without word labels on the pictures.

What does this activity support?

This activity helps students build phonemic awareness by listening for and identifying the short a /ă/ vowel sound in spoken words. It also helps support phonics by connecting the short a vowel sound to the grapheme in words. It supports oral language development by having students name different objects aloud and explain their thinking. It also supports vocabulary development by identifying image meaning and discussing alternate word choices. Students are also having to sort and classify based on sounds, which are early analytical skills. Finally, students will also be practicing collaboration and social-emotional skills through turn-taking, agreeing/disagreeing respectfully, conversational listening, and reaching a shared decision.

Standards:

K.RF.2, K.RF.3, K.SL.1, K.L.4