State the Objective

Tell the children that they will drum, strum, and hum and that they will read and write words that end with um, such as hum, gum, drum, glum, and strum.

Literacy Activities

Introduce target words

• Show the children the target words.
• Read the words with the children.

Drum and strum

• Read the Drum and Hum target text (see below) with the children.
• Give the children a container to use as a drum (e.g., paper cup, food container, cardboard box) and invite the children to drum and hum.
• Give the children a container with rubber bands strung across the opening (like a banjo) and let them strum and hum.
• Read the Drum and Chew Gum target text (see below) with the children.
• Have the children pretend to chew gum while they strum or drum and ask the children if they can chew gum and hum at the same time.
• Have the children write -um words (e.g., hum, gum, drum, glum, strum).

Read -um words

• Explain that glum means to be sad.
• Have the children read the -um word cards (see below) and act them out.
• Have the children write -um words (hum, gum, drum, glum, strum) from dictation.

Write -um words

• Have the children sit in a circle and take turns passing the paper drum (see below) around.
• When a child gets the drum, have the child say a word that ends in um and write the word on the paper drum.

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): hum→ gum; drum→ glum; sum→ slum
  • Change the vowel: hum→ hem; glum→ glam; slum→ slim
  • Change the ending consonant: hum→ hug; gum→ gut; sum→ sun