State the Objective
Tell the children that they will make the letter U go up and under as they recognize and name the letters U and u.

Literacy Activities
Make U go up

• Write the letters U and u and explain that U can make the short-u (/ŭ/) sound.

• Let the children write Us on small pieces of paper.

   

• Comment that U makes the /ŭ/ sound.
• Have the children slowly move their Us up as you say, “Make the U go uuuuuup!”
• Attach a string to a U and let the children pull the letter up (optional).

Go under an umbrella

• Display an umbrella, or draw an umbrella on a piece of paper (example below). 
• Lift the umbrella; have the children stand on tiptoes and say, “Up, up, up!”
• Have the children go under the raised umbrella and say, “Under!”
• Help the children tape the letter Us from the last activity to the umbrella.

Recognize U in words

• Teach the children the signal for short-u (raise both hands above your head).
• Write a list of words that begin with U (e.g., up, under, upon, umbrella). 
• Have the children find the U in each word and say /ŭ/ while raising their hands.

Find the U in a text

• Read the Under an Umbrella target text (see below).
• Have the children raise both hands when they hear the /ŭ/ sound.
• Reread the text and let the children act the story out. 
• Have the children pretend to hold onto the umbrella and go up, up, up.