Overview
The children will play a board game called Run to the Sun and will read and write words that end  with -un, such as run, sun, fun, and bun.

Literacy Activities
Run to the Sun 

• Divide children into small groups and give each group a game board and some sun cards (both found below).
• Give each of the children an -un game piece (found below) and have them put their initials on it.
• Demonstrate and explain the rules of the game:
  • Put the sun cards in a pile face down 
  • Take turns drawing a sun card and follow its direction (e.g., go 1 space, go 2 spaces).
  • If a child lands on a space next to a letter, have him or her read the word created by the letter and their -un piece (e.g., f→un reads fun).
• When children reach the sun at the end of the game, have them say, “A run to the sun is fun!”

Spin to find -un words

• Take turns spinning the spinner (found below) and reading the word it lands on.
• Identify whether the words end with -un or not.

More Practice
Identify, blend, and manipulate sounds

• Use the word-building cards (found below) to make different words by changing either the beginning or ending consonants or the middle vowel. 
  • Change the beginning consonant: run→ sun, sun→ bun, fun→ run
  • Change the vowel: fun→ fin, run→ ran, bun→ bin
  • Change the ending consonant: bun→ bud, fun→ fur, run→ rub
• For each of the words that the children make, have them produce the sounds for each letter and then blend those sounds back into the word.

Read target words in a text 

• Read the Run to the Sun target text (found below) to the children. 
• Engage the children in reading the text with you.
• Read the text again with the children, fading support.

Write about this activity using target words and phrases

• Play Pass the Sun with the children: 
  • Draw a giant sun on the board 
  • Have the children take turns passing the picture of the sun (found below).
  • When a child gets the sun, have them say a word that ends in -un.
  • Write each new word inside the giant sun on the board. 
• Repeat the game, but have the children who get the paper sun write their word on it before passing it on.    
• Let the children use the large sun as a word wall and write a sentence about the sun.