Overview
The children will stick the letter S to a spider as they recognize and name the uppercase letter S and the lowercase letter s.

Literacy Activities
S spider

• Write the uppercase letter S and the lowercase letter s on a whiteboard, name the letters, and have the children write the S and s in the air with their fingers.
• Read the book Spooky Spider by Mark Shulman and Patti Jennings, emphasizing the letter S (optional).
• Teach the children the Spooky Spider song to the tune of "Frere Jacques."
• Show the children the spider graphic and point out the letter S on the graphic.
• Allow the children to spin the spider graphic while singing the song and point out the spinning letter S.
• Scatter the letter cards around the room, then have the children gather the cards while singing the Spooky Spider song.
• Help the children decide whether or not the letter on each card is an uppercase letter S or a lowercase letter s.
  • If the letter is an S, have the children put it on the S Spider.
  • If the letter is not an S, have them place it in the discard pile.
  • If a child misidentifies a distractor letter as an S or an s, have him or her look at the S and s on the whiteboard and compare them to the letter he or she picked. 

More Practice
Identify the target letter in a text

• Show the children the text of the song Spooky Spider.
• Have the children circle the letter S every time it occurs in the text.
• Read the text slowly, following along with your finger, and have the children write the letter S in the air each time they see the letter S in the text.

Write the target letter

• Have the children draw a large spider on a piece of paper (i.e., draw a circle with four lines on each side for legs).
• Help the children write the letter S on the spider.
• Lead the children in singing the Spooky Spider song.
• Allow the children to spin their spooky spider while singing the song.