State the Objective

Tell the children that they will hop to the music and that they will read and write short-vowel words, such as hop, tap, spin, jump, and twist.

Literacy Activities

Introduce target words

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

Hop to the music

• Read the Twist and Spin target text (see below) with the children.
• Have each child write a target word (e.g., hop, tap, spin, jump, twist) on a piece of paper.
• Put the papers in a circle, turn on music, and let the children hop from paper to paper.
• When the music stops, have the children take turns reading the word they landed on and performing the action.

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(s): tap → lap; spin→ win; hop→ pop
  • Change the vowel: hop→ hip; tap→ top; spin→ spun
  • Change the ending consonant: spin→ spit; hop→ hot; tap→ tan

Identify vowel sounds

• Say short-vowel target words (e.g., hop, tap, spin, jump, twist), stretching out your arms and lengthening the vowel (e.g., Tap. t-aaaa-p. Tap.).
• Ask the children what vowel they hear.
• Have the children identify the sounds in the words and write the words.