EMERGENT LITERACY

MUNCHING ON M

Rationale:

The goal of this lesson plan is to teach students the phoneme /m/ and the grapheme m in order to promote growth in students’ reading abilities. The students will be presented with a comparison of /m/ to the sound one makes when rubbing his or her belly and saying “mmm that is yummy”. As a result, students will gain a greater skill set for identifying /m/ in various words. In addition, students will practice further recognition of /m/ when listening and reading (with assistance) multiple words containing the letter m as well as learning how to write the letter.

Materials:

Paper or electronic copy of “Munching in M” handout pages 1, 3 and 4
Printed out copy for each individual student of page 2 and 5
Primary paper
Red paddle and blue paddle
#2 pencil
Large white board or butcher paper
Projector (optional)
Monkey’s Miserable Monday by Valerie Garfield.

Procedures:

Present the letter “m” to the student by showing the image of the letter along with the connected hand gesture on the “Munching with M” handout (page 1). Follow by demonstrating the hand gesture (rubbing one’s tummy while saying mmm) and having the students repeat it back to you. Remind the students, “whenever you think you hear the “mmm” sound make sure to rub your tummy, so I know you are following along”. It could be beneficial to review how to properly produce the sound of “m” for those who are having trouble by stating, “press your lips together and draw them back while carefully vibrating your breath and releasing towards your lips.”
Practice with a few simple words. “Let’s try a few examples. Here is the word ‘map’ (project page 2 of “Munching on M” handout on the board or write the word on the board and pass out an individual copy to each student). I’m going to sss-ttt-rrr-eee-ttt-ccc-hhh out this word then I want you to try.” As you stretch out the word in front of your students (mmm-aaa-ppp) use your finger to follow along on the board. Next, have the students repeat stretching out the word and following along with their finger on their own handout. In order to ensure the students could hear /m/, ask “At what part of the word did you hear the “mmm” sound (make hand gesture)? The beginning, middle, or end?” (the stretching of the word may need to be repeated). Repeat the same sequence with a word having /m/ in the middle such as “bump” as well as one with /m/ at the end such as “swim”.
State, "Let's try a tongue twister [write on board]. Mike the monkey munched on mangos. Everybody say it three times together. Now say it again, and this time, stretch the /m/ at the beginning of each word. MMMike the mmmonkey mmmunched on mmmangos. Try it again and this time break it off the word: /m/ ike the /m/ onkey /m/ unched on /m/ angos".
In order to test the student’s understanding on the connection between the letter m and the phoneme /m/ have the students determine out of two rhyming words which one contains the phoneme /m/. State, “I am going to give you two very similar words and I want you to tell me which one makes the ‘mmm’ sound that we have been practicing by holding up either your red paddle or your blue paddle. If you think the answer is the first word I say hold up the red paddle. If you think the answer is the second word I say hold up the blue paddle. (It may be beneficial to color code the directions on the board or occasionally remind your students so they do not become confused) Remember you can use our hand gesture {demonstrate} to help you determine your answer.” Use copy of “Munching on M” handout page 3 and recite each set to the students. For instance, the first pair is mop and top. State “do you hear /m/ in mop or top?” Allow time for students to respond by holding on of their paddles up. Review each word by demonstrating the hand gesture at the time of the “mmm” sound and have the students follow along with you. Continue with the rest of the pairs.
Next, the students will practice with the phoneme /m/ in the book Monkey’s Miserable Monday. Give students a booktalk “Monkey is in a very bad mood because he wakes up late and is going to miss the school bus. He can’t find any matching socks, he spills his milk at breakfast, and even slips and falls running out to catch the bus. Will Monkey get to the bus in time? We will have to finish reading the book to find out.” Read the book aloud to the class and ask questions pertaining to /m/ along the way (questions and additional directions listed on “Munching on M” handout on page 4).
Work on learning to write the letter. Say, “Now that we have practiced the sound of the letter “m” let’s learn how to write it too!” If a white board is available, then draw out a primary paper outline on the board and demonstrate the steps while talking through it with the students. “You are going to start at the fence, go down to the sidewalk, make a jump back up to the fence and leap back down to the sidewalk. One more jump… jump up and leap down then you’re all done!” Have students practice writing lowercase “m” and walk around assisting any students if needed. After everyone has practiced a few times, have one or two volunteers come to the board and demonstrate their “m” to the class. Taking a break from the sound of m and focusing on writing the letter allows you to ensure that they have retained the information reviewed in steps 1-4 when completing the step 6 assessment.
Have students complete an individual assessment. Pass out an individual sheet to each student, read directions aloud, and assist in saying what the pictures resemble if needed (page 5 of “Munching on M”).

References:

Z Zips Up the Alphabet by Samantha O'Neill

Resources:

Monkey's Miserable Monday by Valerie Garfield

Garfield, Valerie, and James Young. Monkey's Miserable Monday. Scholastic, 2001.

Handouts created by Madelyn Lewis

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