Be Brave in a Cave

Read and write words with the long a-silent-e vowel pattern.

• brave
• cave
• save
• wave
• name
• same
• tame
• wake
• sake

• Bear graphic
• Box to use as a cave
• Word cards
• Be Brave in a Cave target text 
• Blake Can Wave target text 
• Word blending cards

Overview
The children will pretend to be brave as they go in a cave as they read and write words with the long-a-silent-e pattern, such as brave, cave, save, wave, name, tame, and same.
 
Literacy Activities
Be brave in a cave

• Show the children the bear graphic and explain that bears live in caves.
• Read the Be Brave in a Cave target text with the children.
• Invite the children to act out the story:
  • Wave at a pretend friend named Dave.
  • Promise to save Dave if he needs help in the cave.
  • Pretend to be brave and go in a cave to save Dave.
  • Wave at the picture of the bear.
  • Walk out of the cave.

Put word cards in the cave

• Have the children write words spelled with the long-a-silent-e pattern (e.g., cave, save, same, tame, wake, take) on small pieces of paper.
• Show the children the bear graphic in a cave (box).
• Tell the children that they will find words with the long-a-silent-e pattern to put in his cave.
• Have the children read the word cards.
• Let the children put the words in the cave.
• Find some words that are the same.

Wave to friends with the same name

• Let the children pretend to have new names.
• Give several children the same pretend names.
• Have the children pick pretend names and write their names on a nametag.
  • Boys’ names: Lane, Jake, Chase, Jace, Dave, Blake, Drake
  • Girls’ names: Kaye, Kate, Cate, Gale, Jade, Jane
• Have the children wave to friends with the same name.
• Have the children wave to friends with names that are not the same.

More Practice
Read target words in texts

• Engage the children in reading the Blake Can Wave target text as a group.
• Have the children make a list of the words with the long-a-silent-e pattern.
• Read the text again, fading support.

Write target words and patterns

• Let each child write words from dictation: brave, cave, save, wave, name, same, tame, wake.
• Let the children write about what they did using any of the target words (e.g., I waved at a friend with the same name. I was brave and went in a cave.)

Identify, blend, and manipulate sounds

• With word blending cards, have the children make new words by changing the beginning or ending sound:
  • Beginning sound: cave → wave; same → name; wake → bake
  • Ending sound: cave → cake; save → safe; take → tame

1. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B: Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
2. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.C: Know final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds.