State the Objective

Tell the children that they will act out a story about a mom, kid, cat, and dog taking a nap and that they will read and write short-vowel words, such as dog, kid, nap, cat, mom, bug, and rat.

Literacy Activities

Introduce target words

• Show the children the short-vowel target words.
• Read the words with the children.

Read about taking a nap

• Read the Stack Up to Nap target text (see below) with the children.
• Read The Napping House, by Audrey Wood, to the children (optional).
• Have the children read the short-vowel word cards (see below).

Stack up words

• Let the children stack objects (e.g., picture cards (see below), word cards (see below), or stuffed toys) on top of each other as they read the Stack Up to Nap target text (see below).
• Have the children write the words dog, cat, kid, mom, rat, and bug on small pieces of paper.
• Ask the children to stack up the words and slip one out to see if the stack will fall.

Identify, blend, and manipulate sounds

• With word-building cards (see below), have the children make new words by changing a consonant or the vowel.
  • Change the beginning consonant: bed→ fed; bug→ dug; dog→ log
  • Change the vowel: cat→ cut; bug→ bag; dog→ dig
  • Change the ending consonant: mom→ mop; dog→ dot; bug→ but

Identify vowel sounds

• Say short-vowel target words (e.g., dog, kid, nap, cat, mom, bug, rat), stretching out your arms and lengthening the vowel (e.g., Kid. k-iiiiiii-d. Kid.).
• Ask the children what vowel they hear.
• Have the children identify the sounds in the words and write the words.