State and Model the Objective
The children will shout out spouts and read and write words with the -ou vowel combination, such as out, pout, snout, shout, scout, and spout.

Literacy Activities

Make spouts 

• Tell the children that a spout is the opening in a bottle that lets water come out. 
• Write spout and out on the board and point out that both have the -ou vowel combination.
• Teach the children how to cut the tops off water bottles (about 2-3 inches below the lid) to make spouts.

Pretend to go out to shout out a spout

• Help the children to make a list of -ou words (e.g., sprout, pout, out, spout, snout, scout, shout, about).
• Place a string or a piece of tape on the floor and pretend that one side is “inside” and one side is “outside.”
• Let a few children stand “outside” and shout -ou words from the list out their spouts when you say, "Shout out the spout!”
• Have the children who are not out (“inside”) pout, since they can’t shout until they go out.
• Invite the children to trade places and do the activity again.

Make water spout out of a spout

• Explain that spout is also an action that happens when liquid squirts out of an opening in a bottle or container.
• Squeeze a water bottle with a little water in it to show how water can spout or spurt out.
• Let the children take turns making water spout out of a spout.

Scout for spouts

• Scatter spouts about the room or area.
• Let the children scout for spouts.
• Have the children write the word spout on the spouts they find.

Identify, blend and manipulate sounds

• With word-blending cards (included below), have the children make new words by changing the initial consonant(s):
  • snout → shout; pout → spout; sprout → spout; shout → out; scout → spout

Read target words and patterns in texts 

• Engage the children in reading the Shout Out a Spout target text (see below) as a group.
• Read the text again, fading support.
• Invite the children to take turns circling the -ou in words in the text.
• Repeat with the texts What Can You Do With a Spout? and Pout When You Can’t Go Out.

Write about the activity using target words and patterns

• Display -ou words: spout, pout, out, snout, scout, shout, sprout, and about.
• Let the children include -ou words as they write about what they did when they played with the spouts.