State the Objective

Tell the children that they will pretend to play in the rain and that they will read and write long-a words with the ai spelling, such as rain, pail, pain, wait, wail, stair, and drain.

Literacy Activities

Introduce target words

• Display a list of long-a target words.
• Read the words with the children.

Play in the rain

• Read the It is Raining target text (see below) with the children.
• Have the children write long-a target words (e.g., rain, pail, pain, wait, wail, stair, drain) on pieces of paper.
• Have the children crumple the pieces of paper into small balls and fill a bucket with them.
• Tell the children to throw the fake water droplets into the air and pretend it’s raining.
• Help the children write a sentence about rain (e.g., it is raining; too much rain can be a pain; drops of rain fill our pail).

Read and write long-a words

• Have the children take turns reading the long-a word cards (see below) aloud.
• Have the children write long-a words from dictation (e.g., rain, pail, pain, wait, wail, stair, drain).

Contrast the number of letters and sounds

• List long-a target words (e.g., rain, pail, pain, wait, wail, stair, drain).
• Remind the children that the ai in words like rain, pail, and wait makes the long-a sound.
• Write a long-a word (e.g., rain) and ask:
  • How many letters does it have? (e.g., four: r + a + i + n)
  • How many sounds does it have? (e.g., three: r + ā + n)