State and Model the Objective
Tell the children that they will float boats and tote oats to goats and will read and write words with the two different long o spellings -oa and o_e, such as boat, goat, oat, note, and tote.

Literacy Activities
List -oa and o_e words

• Explain that boat and vote both have the long o sound, but they are spelled differently. 
• List words that end with -ote and -oat on a word wall (e.g., oat, boat, coat, float, moat, goat vote, tote, note, wrote). 

Make a boat out of a note

• Let the children write notes using -ote and -oat words from the word wall. 
• Let the children fold the note into a paper boat by following the instructions (found below)

      OR

• Let the children fold a boat using their own ideas.
• Put the boats in a pan of water to see if a boat made out of a note will float.

Make a tote for paper boats

• Let each child make straps on a tote bag by stapling strips of paper or cloth to a plastic or paper bag.
• Put boats made out of notes in the totes. 
• Tell the children they will tote boats and notes in their tote bags.
• Comment on how the word tote can mean a type of bag or to carry something.
• Let all the children have a tote parade where they tote notes and boats in their totes.

Take a pretend trip on a boat with a goat 

• Set the pan of water on the one side of the room and set the picture of a moat (found below) in the middle of the room.
• Tote a boat across the moat and to a pond (pan of water) where the boat can float.
• Tote the pictures of goats (found below) to the boat and put some goats on the boat.
• See if the boat with goats will float.

Give oats to goats

• Put some oats in the boat so the goat can eat oats as he floats in the boat.
• Put some oats in the water to see if the oats will float too.

More Practice
Identify, blend, and manipulate sounds
With word-building cards (found below), have the children make new words by changing the consonant(s):

• Change the beginning consonant(s) of -oat words: oat→ goat, boat→ float, moat→ coat, throat→ gloat
• Change the beginning consonant(s) of -ote words: tote→ note, wrote→ quote, vote→ tote
• Change the ending consonant: oat→ oak, goat→ goal, note→ nope

Read target words in a text 

• Read the target text Will It Float? (found below) as a group. 
• Read the text again, fading support.
• Have the children underline words that end in -oat and -ote.
• Repeat with Tote Oats to Goats (found below).

Write about the activity using target words

• Let the children write -oa words from dictation (e.g., boat, float, goat, coat, oat, moat, bloat, throat).
• Have the children write -ote words from dictation (e.g., vote, note, wrote, tote).
• Engage the children in interactive writing using their list of -oat words. 
• Let the children use their list of -oa and -ote words to complete the sentences below to make a note to put in a tote to then tote to a goat.
  •  "I saw a . . . " (boat float, goat on a boat, note in a tote)
  • "I like to . . ." (give oats to a goat, make paper boats)
  • "I can tote . . ." (a goat to a boat, some oats to a goat)