go and hoe a row

State and model the objective

Tell the children they will pretend to hoe a row in a garden and they will read and write words spelled with different long o spellings: go, so, no, row, low, grow, sow, hoe, toe, coat, road, boat.

Practice the skill within an activity

• Go to sow seeds
  • Have the children use the hoe graphic (see below) to pretend to hoe a row in a garden (explain that hoe means to dig in the dirt using a tool called a hoe).
  • Allow the children to pretend to hoe a row with their toe.
  • Let the children pretend to sow seeds (explain that sow means to plant seeds) in the rows that they hoed using the seed word cards (see below).
  • Have the children read the word on each card as they sow the seeds in the garden.
  • Instruct the children to gather the word cards and sort them according to spelling pattern: –o (i.e., no, so, go), –ow (i.e., row, grow, low, sow), –oe (i.e., hoe, toe), –oa (i.e., road, coat, boat).
  • Emphasize that the words are spelled with different long o spellings, but they are pronounced the same.
• Tell the crow to go away
  • Say, “Oh no! Here comes a crow. Crows like to eat seeds.”
  • Have the children write “Go away crow!” under the scarecrow graphic (see below).
  • Point out the words and objects on the graphic with different long o spellings (i.e., go, crow, coat).
  • Let the children hold up the scarecrow and pretend to shoo away crows from the rows of seeds.
  • Tape the Growing Flowers graphic (see below) to the table, following the directions on the graphic.
  • Invite the children to slowly unfold the paper flowers to make them grow.

Apply the skill

• Read target words in texts
  • Engage the children in reading the target text Go and Hoe a Row (see below).
  • Have the children make a chart listing the words from the text with long o spellings: –o (i.e., no, go), –ow (i.e., row, sow, crow, slowly, grow, low), –oe (i.e., hoe, toe).
  • Emphasize that these words are all pronounced with a long o sound, but are spelled with different patterns.
  • Read the text again fading support.
• Write about the activity using target words/patterns
  • Make a word wall of words from the activity with long o spellings: –o (i.e., no, so, go), –ow (i.e., row, grow, sow, slow, low, crow), –oe (i.e., hoe, toe), –oa (i.e., road, coat, boat)
  • Let the children write about working in the garden using words from the word wall (e.g., I can hoe a row and sow seeds. I can tell a crow to go away. I can watch a flower grow).