State the Objective

Tell the children that they will fill tops with drops and that they will read and write short vowel words such as tip, top, spill, drop, off, stop, and fill.

Literacy Activities

Introduce target words

Read the target words with the children: tip, top, spill, drop, off, stop, and fill.

Drip drops in a top

• Read the Lots of Ways to Drip a Drop target text (see below) with the children.
• Give each child a bottle top and a dropper or a straw. 
• Let the children fill a top with drops by letting water drip out of a wet rag or off a wet stick. 

Fill a top with drops

• Read the Tops and Drops target text (see below) with the children.
• Give each child a bottle top and let them label the top.
• Have the children use droppers to fill up a top and spill the water into a cup.

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: tip → dip, top → mop, rag → bag
• Change the vowel: top → tap, drop→ drip, rag→ rug
• Change the ending consonant: tip → tin, rag → rat

Write sentences using target words and phrases

• Tell the children to write short sentences about filling a top with drops.
  • Let’s fill a ___ (top) with drops.
  • Let drips drop from a wet ___ (rag).
  • Drop and ___ (drip) drops in tops.
  • Do not let the drops ___ (spill).
  • If you ___(tip) the top, drops will spill.