State the Objective

Tell the children that they will grow green grass as they listen for, read, and write the /gr/ blend at the beginning of words.

Literacy Activities

Introduce target words

• Read the target words with the children: grow, grab, grid, grip, green, and grass.
• Lay out the word cards (see below) and have the children pick out words that begin with the /gr/ blend.

Grow green grass

• Show the children the grass seeds and the green grass or photo/video.
• Say, “Isn’t it great how green grass grows? It started as grass seeds and now it is green grass!”
• Let the children spoon dirt into the egg cartons. 
• Point out that the spaces in the egg cartons make a grid.
• Have the children grab a few grass seeds and press them into the dirt.
• Let the children take turns spraying water onto the seeds.
• Comment on how the seeds will grow gradually (or a little at a time).
• Place the egg cartons in a sunny location and have the children observe how the green grass grows.

Write about the activity

• Help the children fill out the Green Grass Graph (see below) by measuring how tall their grass has grown and drawing a picture on the graph.
• Instruct the children to make notes using complete sentences, using as many /gr/ words as possible.