State the Objective

Tell the children that they will learn about short-o words such as dot, got, and stop as they hop, jog, and trot on dots.

Literacy Activities

Get a job to make a lot of dots

• Display words with the short-o sound (e.g., dot, trot, got, jog, hop, lot, stop, job).
• Help the children read the list of short-o (/ŏ/) words.
• Show a piece of paper with a dot.
• Tell the children that you got a job to make a dot.
• Tell the children that their job is to make a lot of dots, not just one dot.
• Let the children make a lot of dots on a piece of paper.
• Have the children write the word dot on the paper.

Hop, jog, trot, and stop on dots

• Write the word STOP on a paper and help the children read it.
• Lay multiple dots on the floor, placing the word stop at the end.
• Let the children hop from dot to dot.
• Have the children say “dot” each time they hop and “stop” when they get to STOP.
• Show the children how to jog and let them jog to the dots.
• Teach the children how to trot (prance like a horse) from dot to dot.

Read about hopping on dots

• Read the I Got to Hop to a Dot target text (see below) with the children.
• Help the children write the words hop, dot, jog, stop, and trot from dictation.
• Have the children write “I got to hop on a dot,” supporting as needed.