Overview
The children will exercise with energy as they practice saying the /e/ sound in words that start with the letter E, such as exercise, energy, egg, and envelope.

Literacy Activity
Exercise with Ed

• Dress like an exercise instructor (optional) and wear a nametag that says “Ed."
• Make a barbell using a paper towel tube (or a wrapping paper tube or rolled paper) and the letters E and e on black paper circles attached to each side of the tube as weights.
• Tell the children they will exercise by hopping, jumping, or skipping across the room to get a picture out of an envelope.
• Have the children decide whether the picture they have pulled from the envelope begins with the /e/ sound.
  • If the picture shows a word that starts with E, have the children attach the picture to the end of the barbell.
  • If the picture does not show a word that starts with E, have the children discard the picture.
• Let the children lift the barbell up and down while saying, “/e/, /e/, exercise with energy.”
• Repeat the activity with the word cards provided. 
• Write the uppercase E and lowercase e on the whiteboard, then have the children exercise their arms by writing the letters E and e in the air with their finger while saying the /e/ sound.

More Practice
Read target words in a text

• Read the Exercise with Energy target text to the children, and explain that the word exert means to make an effort.
• Have the children say the /e/ sound as they find and underline the letters E and e throughout the text.
• Read the text again and have the children pretend to exercise every time they hear a word that starts with the /e/ sound.

Write the target letter

• Distribute the picture of Ed and direct the children to circle every uppercase letter E with red and every lowercase letter e with blue.
• Have the children write the letters E and e around a picture of Ed.