State the Objective
Tell the children that they will feed a hungry hippo while they listen for words that begin with the /h/ sound.

Literacy Activities

Feed a hungry hippo food with the /h/ sound

• Show the children the hippo picture or puppet (see below).
• Tell the children that the hippo is very hungry, but only for foods that start with the /h/ sound.
• Allow the children to choose a picture card (see below). 
• Help them identify what is on the card, emphasizing the /h/ sound. 
• Ask the children, “Is the hippo hungry for ___ (honey)?” 
• Have them answer, “Yes, the hippo is hungry for ___ (honey)!”

• Have the children pretend to feed the card to the hippo.

   

Repeat words with the target sound 

• Ask the children to tell you the /h/ sound things that the hungry hippo ate.
• Repeat each word, emphasizing the /h/ sound (e.g., /h/ /h/ /h/ honey). 
• Invite the children to touch their heads each time they hear the /h/ sound.
• Say words that begin with the /h/ sound (e.g., head, hair, hand, helicopter, hamster).