State and Model the Objective
Tell the children they will play with hens and pens as they read and write words that end in -en, such as hen, pen, ten, men, and den.
Literacy Activities
Write with ten pens

• Write hen, pen, and ten. Point out that the words end with -en.
• Give a numbered hen name tag to nine children. Keep the "Hen 10" name tag for yourself.
• Read from the All Hens Got a Pen target text as you pass out a  pen to each of the "hens" (children).
• Hold up a pen as you read the last lines of the text.
• Have the children take turns writing en on a piece of paper as they say, "Hen 1 wrote -en! Hen 2 wrote -en!" etc.
• Ask, “Do you think Hen 10 could write en with ten pens at the same time?"
• Write, holding ten pens in your fist.
• Let each hen try writing with as many pens as they can hold.
• Have each "hen" put their pen in the container labeled "Ten Pens from Ten Hens."
• Each time a pen is placed in the container, have the children count, "A pen from Hen 1, a pen from Hen 2,", etc.

Read target words and patterns

• Read the text A Hen Gave Away Ten Pens.
• Repeat, fading support.
• Have the children circle all the words that end with -en.

Identify, blend and manipulate sounds 

• Write an h on one sticky note and en on another.
• Have the children read the initial sound /h/ and then the -en ending, and finally blend the sounds together to make the word hen.
• Ask the children if they can think of other words that end with -en (e.g., pen, men, den, ten).
• Write the initial sound from their words on a sticky note, put it in front of the -en, and help the children blend the sounds together to make new words.

Write about the activity using target words and patterns

• Let the children write the words from the previous activity to dictation.
• Help the children write two or three simple sentences using their lists (e.g., The hen had a pen. The pen is in the den.).