State and Model the Objective
Tell the children that they will go on an adventure in an attic and then practice saying the short /a/ sound in words that start with the letter A, such as adventure, astronaut, actor, acrobat, and apple.

Literacy Activities
Go on an adventure in the attic

• Write the uppercase A and lowercase a on the board and tell the children that the letter A sometimes makes the /a/ sound like in the word apple.
• Have the children practice writing the letter in the air while they produce the /a/ sound.
• Hide the picture cards around the room.
• Tell the children they will pretend to go on an adventure in an attic (explain that an attic is a storage room at the top of some houses).
• Allow the children to search for the picture cards that start with the /a/ sound and tape them to the letter A written on the board.
• Repeat the activity using word cards.
• Have the children circle the letter A on the word cards and help them read the words as needed.

More Practice
Identify, blend, and manipulate sounds

• With word blending cards, have the children make new words by changing the vowel or either of the consonants:
  • Change the beginning sound: pat → mat; ran → fan
  • Change the ending sound: man → mat; bat → bag
  • Change the middle sound: sat → set; pan → pen; pat → pot; lag → log

Write the target letter

• Help the children write the uppercase letter A and the lowercase letter a on the writing practice page.
• Allow the children to draw pictures of things that start with the /a/ sound in the space below the letters (e.g., apple, ant, animal).