Overview
The children will look for nuts as they read and write words ending with -ut such as nut, hut, shut, but and cut.

Literacy Activities
Put a nut in a hut

• Read the book Nuts to You! to the children, pointing out words that end in -ut (optional). 
• Teach the children the Find a Nut song and sing it with them a few times.
• Have children walk around the classroom singing the song while looking for a nut.
• When they find a nut, have them sit in a circle around the hut and sing the song again, replacing the word find with found.
• Have the children take turns reading the word written on their nut.
• If the word ends with -ut they can put their nut in the hut as everyone says, “Put the ___ (e.g., cut) nut in the hut!”  
• If the word does not end with -ut, have the child shut the hut as everyone chants, “Shut the hut!”  
• Repeat the activity if desired. 

More Practice
Identify, blend and manipulate sounds 

• Let the children make a target word (e.g. nut) from letter cards and then let them make different words by changing either of the consonants or the vowel. 
  • Change the beginning sound(s): nut → hut; nut → but; hut → cut 
  • Change the vowel sound(s): but → bat; hut → hit; nut → net
  • Change the ending sound(s): but → bun; cut → cup; nut → nun
• For each of the words 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 

• Have the children underline the words that end in -ut in The Nut Hut target text.
• Read The Nut Hut text to the children, explaining that strut means to walk proudly. 
• Engage the children in reading the text simultaneously with you. 
• Read The Nut Hut text again, fading support. 

Write about the activity using target words and phrases

• Display target words on a word wall (i.e., nut, hut, shut). 
• Refer the children to the word wall and have them write a sentence or two expressing ideas from a lesson activity or target text (e.g., I put my nut in the hut).