Rationale: This lesson helps students identify /m/ the phoneme represented by M. This is done through teaching students using the idea of smelling something good and responding with the noise. Students will learn to recognize /m/ in spoken words by learning a sound analogy (mmmmmm) and the letter symbol M, practice finding /m/ in words, and apply phoneme awareness with /m/ in phonetic cues.

 

Materials: Primary paper with picture of child with a plate next to or on it. Dr. Seuss’s ABC (Random House 1963). Word cards with Mad, Man, Mat, Milk, Moon, Mouse and Loud, assessment worksheet (link at bottom)

 

Procedures: 1. Say: Today we’re learning how to say the letter M’s sound. You make this sound by putting your lips together and humming. Its like when you smell something that makes your mouth water and your tummy happy you say “Mmmmm” So everyone take a deep smell and rub your belly then say “Mmmm”.  (And do it with them)

 

2. Say: Let’s see if you can find M in a word. If I say a word with an M sound, rub your belly and make an M sound. (Show example) Then let students try as you say words that have M and words that don’t.

 

3.Say:  Let’s try a tongue tickler! Minnie Mouse makes movies with Mickey. Minnie wanted to be an actress so she started by getting roles in movies with Mickey Mouse. Now she has become so famous that she even has her own shows. But still, Minnie Mouse makes movies with Mickey. Here’s our tickler one more time. “Minnie Mouse makes movies with Mickey” Everybody say it three times with me.

Now turn to a partner and try to say our tickler.

One more time everyone, but this time stretch out the /m/ at the beginning of the words. “Mmminnie Mmmouse Mmmakes Mmmovies with Mmmmickey” Good! Now what would happen if we cut off the M’s like a piece of a cinnamon roll and they stood by themselves? Let’s try! “/m/ innie   /m/ ouse  /m/ akes  /m/ oives with   /m/ ickey.”

 

4. [Have students take out primary paper and pencil]. We use the letter M to spell /m/. An m looks like if you dropped your cinnamon roll icing on a roll. It goes down one side into the middle and then down the other side. Let’s write it. Start at the sidewalk, then go up to the rooftop, to the fence, back up to the rooftop and all the way back down to the sidewalk. A lowercase m is very similar. You start at the sidewalk then stop at the fence, make a small hump and another hump just like the Capital M and then go all the way back down to the sidewalk. [Have the students copy this on their paper and check each student before they go on to copy more].

 

5. Say: Let’s look at an alphabet book. Dr. Seuss tells us about the Mice in his world. Read this page and draw out /m/. Ask the children to think of any other words that start with M.

 

6. Show Mad and model how to decide if it is mad or rad. The M tells me to rub my belly and hum, /m/, so this word is mmm-ad. You try some: MAN: man or tan, MAT: cat or mat, MILK: silk or milk, MOON: moon or soon, MOUSE: house or mouse, FEET: feet or meet

7. for assessment, have them come and do the same exercise just done with new words while the rest of the class colors a worksheet where they only color words/pictures with M.

 

 

Reference: Sarah Jane Brock, Fishing Frenzy. 
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/voyages/brockel.html.l

Assessment worksheet: https://files.liveworksheets.com/def_files/2020/4/22/4220253418081/4220253418081001.jpg