State and Model the Objective

Tell the children that they will read and write stories about a witch that will use short-a words such as fat, hat, bat, cat, black, splat, and dash.

Literacy Activities

Introduce the target words

• Show the children words from the text.
• Point out that all the words have the short-a sound.
• Help the children read the words.
• Optional: show the children how a bat can flap in this video.

Read A Witch’s Flat Hat 

• Read A Witch’s Flat Hat target text (see below) with children and fade support.
• Have the children find words in the poem that have the short-a sound.
• Show how the poem is in the shape of a hat and let the children draw a witch’s hat.
• Have the children write short-a words to dictation on the hats they draw (e.g., at, flap, bat, hat, black, rat, bat, cat).

Make a witch’s hat

• Have the children make witches’ hats out of black paper triangles stapled to headbands.
• Give the children use chalk to write hat on their hats.
• Use the hats as props for the next activity.

Re-enact the story

• Label the pictures of the bat, cat, and rat (see below) and assign them as roles for re-enacting the story.
• Have the bat, cat, and rat run and jump on the hat.
• Let a witch wave a pretend broom at the cat, rat, and bat, tell them to “scat,” and smack the hat flat.

Identify, blend, and manipulate sounds

• Have the children blend individual sounds into words by clapping once for each sound, and then a fourth time to say the whole word (e.g., /b/ /a/ /t/ = /bat/). ​​​
• Point out that all the words have the /a/ vowel sound.

Write about the activity using target words

• Have the children take turns passing the flat hat.
• As the children receive the hat, have them say a new word that ends in -at.
• Write each new word on the board.
• Repeat the game, this time having the children write each word on or around the paper hat.
• Allow the children to write a sentence about a hat using the words written on the hat (e.g., “I see a cat on a hat”).