State and Model the Objective
Tell the children that they will pick a perfect pretend pet as they listen for words that begin with the /p/ sound, such as pick, puppy, pony, and penguin. 

Literacy Activities
Pick a perfect pet 

• Show the children an animal picture and have the children say the name of the animal. 
• Ask the children, “Is a ___ (e.g., puppy) a pet that starts with /p/?” 
  • If the animal begins with /p/, have the child say, “Pick a pet! Pick a pet! Pick a ___!” 
  • If the animal does not begin with the /p/ sound, have the child put it in a separate pile.
• Go back through the pile of /p/ pets with the children and have them say, “A ___ (e.g., pig) makes a perfect pet!” as you point to each picture.

More Practice
Identify words that start with the target letter 

• Hang the pictures of the animals that were picked as pets on a whiteboard for the children to see.
• Have the children help you create names that start with the /p/ sound for each pet  (e.g., Polly the Parrot) and write the name under the corresponding picture.
• After you write the name, read it aloud with the children, emphasizing the /p/ sound (e.g., /p/ /p/ Polly the /p/ /p/ Parrot).

What does your pet do?

• Shuffle all of the /p/ pet pictures and put them in a pile in your hand.
• Let the children take turns picking from the pile, turning the card over and showing it to the other children.
• Have the children do an action that starts with /p/ that the pet they picked would do, such as:
  • Prance (skip) like a pony
  • Paddle like a penguin (lay on the floor and flap and kick like you’re swimming with hands at sides)
  • Pant like a puppy (tongue sticking out, breathing heavily)
  • Peck like a parrot
  • Pat paws (clap) like a panda
• Go through the cards as many times as desired.
• Variation: Have the children do the action while music is playing then pause until they get another instruction.