State and Model the Objective
Tell the children that they will turn a letter A into an acrobat as they recognize and name the letter A and listen for the short-a sound.

Literacy Activities
Give an A ticket to see acrobats. 

• Write and name the letter A  and have the children write A in the air while saying the /a/ sound (as in "cat"). 
• Explain that an acrobat is someone who does tricks like somersaults or tightrope walking, etc. 
• Scatter the letter cards (see below) around the room. 
• Tell the children that they can find letter A cards to use as  tickets to an acrobat show. 
• Have the children search the room for letter A tickets. 
• Let the children place their A tickets on a picture of an acrobat (see below) to get into the show. 
• Show the children a video of acrobats performing or make a doll perform tricks; have the children admire (cheer for) the acrobats . 
• Write the words admire and acrobat and read them aloud; have the children find the letter A and say /a/.

Turn an A into an acrobat. 

• Give the children letter-A cards. 
• Have the children take turns pretending that their A letter card is an acrobat by making it do flips and tricks.
• Let the children admire (cheer for) the acrobat that is performing. 

Write the letter A 

• Let the children trace the As on the letter-writing practice page (see below), then have them write As on their own while say /a/ for each A. 
• Let the children admire each other's As.