﻿ Sassy Sally Sees a Scary Snake

Sassy Sally Sees a Scary Snake


Emergent Literacy

Presley Hawkins

Rationale: This lesson will help children identify the /s/ sound. The letter that represents the phoneme /s/ is S. Students will learn to recognize the /s/ sound in spoken words, how to determine if words have the /s/ sound or do not have the /s/ sound, and be able to write an upper case S and lower case s. Students need to know this phoneme to be able to speak, write, and understand the English language.



·        Primary Paper

·        Pencil

·        Letter S

·        Picture card with a snake in the shape of an S

·        Card with the tongue tickler: "Sassy Sally Sees a Snake"

·        "S" worksheet

·        My "S" Sound Box book



1.Say: For us to be able to read, write, and understand words, we first have to learn what letters stand for. We have to learn to match the letter with the correct sound. Sounds tell us to move our mouth a certain way. Today, we are going to learn the /s/ sound. The /s/ sound is represented with the letter S. [Show the picture of the snake] To say /s/, your mouth should slightly open with your teeth together and you should blow air out your mouth. It sounds like the noise a snake makes (/ssss/).

2.Say: Now lets pretend to be a snake. We are going to go /s/,/s/,/s/ while moving our hand like a snake sliding on the ground. [Show them the hand movement] Let me hear you all make the snake sound.

3.Say: Now we are going to listen to some words and try to listen for the /s/ sound in them. Let me show you how to find the /s/ in fist. I am going to say fist very slow and listen for /s/. Ff-ii-ssss-tt. Ok slower: f-f-f-i-i-i-s-s-s-s-t-t. I heard it! I felt my teeth coming together and slightly pushing air out of my mouth. I heard the /s/ in fist when I said it.

4.Say: Now, we are going to try a tongue tickler. [Hold up the tongue tickler card]. Our tongue tickler is "Sassy Sally Sees a Scary Snake." Now say that 3 times while moving your hand like a snake each time you hear /s/. Now I am going to point to the words and I want you to /s/ sound at the beginning of the words that I point to. "Ssssassy Sssssally ssssaw a ssssnkeaky ssssnake." Very good. Now try it again, but this time break the /s/ sound off the word: "/S/assy /S/ally /s/aw a /s/neaky /s/nake."

5.Now students should take out their primary paper. Say: We use the letter S to represent /s/. An uppercase S looks like a big daddy snake, but lowercase s looks like a tiny, baby snake. First we are going to write the lowercase s. Form a tiny c at the top of the fence and then swing back to make a backwards c and end up on the sidewalk. [I will demonstrate this] Once I come around and give you a check mark then write 5 more just like you did the first time. Now, we are going to write the uppercase S. It looks the same, just bigger. So start you c at the rooftop and bring it down to the fence then swing back to make the backwards c starting at the fence and going to the sidewalk. I will walk around and give you a check once you have written is correct and then I want you to write it 5 more times.

6.Do you hear /s/ in sad or mad? run or sit? fat or soon? Say: Lets see if you can spot the /s/ sound in some words. I want you to wiggle your hand like a sname when you her /s/ in these words: fast, house, desk, school, glass, past, spring

7.Read My "s" Sound Box by Jane Belk Moncure

Booktalk: A little boy has a sound box and fills it with all kinds of toys and objects. All of the objects begin with the letter "s." Lets read it to find out what all kinds of fun things he puts in his sound box! Every time you hear the /s/ sound, quietly wiggle your hand like a snake.

8.Show SAG and model how to decide if it is sag or rag: Say; The S tells me to wiggle my hand like snake and put my teeth together and lightly push air outward of my mouth making /s/, so this word is sss-aa-g, sag and not rag. Now you try some: SAT; sat or fat? SICK: lick or sick? STOP: mop or stop? SWIM: swim or tim?

9.For assessment: I will hand out the following worksheet. Students are to color each item that begins with an S.



·        Shepherd, Kasey. Ss, Sss, Sneaky Snake. http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/awakenings/shepherdkel.htm

·        Moncure, Jane. My "S" Sound Box. Child's World. 2000.


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