Overview
The children will play with an expanding engine as they practice saying the /e/ sound in words beginning with the letter E, such as end, engine, and explode.

Literacy Activities
An expanding engine

• Cut, glue, and fold the engine graphic along the dotted lines to create an expanding engine.
• Have the children help you expand the engine by unfolding the paper.
• While emphasizing the target sound, tell the children that the expanding engine will hold pictures of things that start with the /e/ sound like engine.
• Lay out the E and non-E picture cards and have the children sort the pictures.
• Have the children label each picture by writing the letter E or e on each picture as they make comments such as “envelope starts with E.”
• Let the children put the pictures that start with E in the pockets of the expanding engine.

The excellent engine

• Fill the pockets of the engine from the previous activity with picture cards and E letter cards.
• Comment that the engine is excellent.
• Pull the ends of the train in and out quickly so that the picture and word cards fall out, then comment that the engine exploded!
• Have the children "explode" by crouching down low and then jumping up high.
• Comment that because the engine exploded, maybe it is not such an excellent engine after all.

Extending the train

• Give the children word cards and have them circle the letter E at the beginning of each word that starts with E (support reading as necessary).
• Have the children tape the word cards to the extra train cars.
• Attach the train cars to the engine from the previous activity to extend the train.
• Let the children put an E word at the end of the train.
• Allow the children to drive the excellent engine around the edges of the room.

More Practice
Identify, blend, and manipulate sounds

• Have the children identify the beginning, middle, and ending sounds of words by tapping their head (beginning), their shoulders (middle) and their hips (end) (e.g., met = /m/ tap shoulder, /e/ tap elbow, /t/ tap fingers).
  • red = r  + e  + d
  • set = s + e  + t
  • bed = b  + e  + d
  • pen = p  + e  + n
• With word blending cards, have the children make new words by changing the vowel or either of the consonants:
  • Change the beginning sound: pet → net; red → bed
  • Change the ending sound: let → led; met → men
  • Change the middle sound: set → sat; pen → pan; net → not

Write the target letter

• Help the children write the uppercase letter E and lowercase letter e using the writing practice page.