State the Objective
Tell the children that they will help a mouse munch on the letter M as they recognize and name the uppercase letter M and the lowercase letter m.

Literacy Activities
Learn about the letter M

• Write the uppercase letter M and the lowercase letter m on a whiteboard and name the letters.
• Tell the children that M makes the /m/ sound.
• Have the children write the M and m in the air with their fingers.
• Read the book Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley, emphasizing the letter M (optional).

Find M for the munching mouse

• Make the mouse puppet according to the directions (see below).
• Scatter the small letter cards (see below) face-down on the floor.
• Show the children the mouse puppet and explain that it is a munching mouse.
• Tell the children to find the letter Ms in the mess of letters and feed them to the munching mouse. 
• Have the children sort through the letters to find the uppercase M and lowercase m letter cards.
  • If the children find an M, have them feed it to the munching mouse and say, “Munch, munch, munch M. Munch, munch, munch M.”
  • If they find a letter that is not an M, have them set it in a discard pile.

  • Pretend to feed the mouse foods that start with /m/ (e.g., marshmallows, macaroni, muffins).

     

Identify the target letter

• Hold up one of each large letter card (see below) and have the children point to the letter that the mouse likes to munch (either M or m).
• Have one child go out of the room with the Munching Mouse puppet.
• While the child is out of the room, hide the uppercase letter M.
• When the child comes back in, have him or her help the Munching Mouse search for the hidden M.
• Have the other children chant “Munch, munch, munch” softly if the child is far from the M and loudly if the child is close.
• Repeat with the lowercase m letter card.