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Introduce -s = /s/, -s = /z/ words

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Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: 1
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 8 minutes
Materials: -
Goal: Given a written word ending in -s pronounced /s/ or /z/, the student can say the word ( hats -> "hats", bags -> "bags" ).
Items: hats, pots, cats, shops, bags, logs, bugs, twigs

What to do

  1. Write the word hat on the board. What's this word? If students don't recognize the word, sound it out with them.
  2. Now I'm going to change something. I'm going to add an ending to this word. Add the letter -s to make hats. What word do we have now? Students: hats. Right: hats. This ending (underline s) changes the word to mean more than one. So this means more than one hat.
  3. Write pot on the board and have students read it. Add s to the end, and have them read the new word. If pot (cover up the s) means one pot, how does it change the meaning when I add the s? Right: it means more than one pot. Good.
  4. Write bag on the board and have students read it. Add s to the end and have them read the new word. Did you notice how the s on the end of bags sounds more like /zzz/ than /sss/? Bagzzz. Sometimes the s at the end of a word makes the /sss/ sound, like hats did. Sometimes it makes the /zzz/ sound, like in bags.
  5. Repeat with cats, shops, bags, logs, bugs, twigs.
  6. Watch for students who are not participating, and give them an individual turn by pointing at random to one of the words on the board and asking them to read it.

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