• Students listen to a set of words and identify which words begin with the same sound (e.g., ball, bat, sun).

• Differentiation: For students with speech or language delays, provide picture cards to support understanding. For advanced learners, increase difficulty by asking them to identify ending or medial sounds.

Activity 2: Clap the Sounds

• Students clap or tap each sound in a spoken word (e.g., /c/ /a/ /t/).

• Differentiation: Use fewer sounds for children who need more support (e.g., 2-sound words) and gradually increase. For students needing tactile input, let them tap blocks or counters for each sound.

At-Home Activity: “I Spy with Sounds” – Play a sound-based version of I Spy. For example: “I spy something that starts with /m/.”

• Explanation: This activity helps children tune their ears to the beginning sounds of words in a fun, everyday context. For children with exceptionalities, parents can show the object as a visual clue. For advanced learners, families can expand the game to include ending or middle sounds.

Website: Reading Rockets – Phonemic Awareness

• Explanation: This site offers families practical games and tips to develop their listening skills. It supports young learners with and without exceptionalities by offering playful, low-pressure ways to practice sound awareness.

• Create a hopscotch grid with letters. Students jump to the square that matches the beginning sound of a word you say.

• Differentiation: Use fewer letters for children who need support, or add digraphs/blends for advanced learners.

Activity 2: Build-a-Word with Magnetic Letters

• Students use magnetic letters to form words after hearing them aloud.

• Differentiation: Offer visual word cards for students who need extra support. For advanced learners, challenge them with word families or irregular words.

At-Home Activity: Alphabet Soup Game

• Write letters on slips of paper, place in a bowl, and have children pull one to say the sound and a word that begins with it.

• How it helps: Reinforces sound-letter connections. For children with exceptionalities, families can provide visuals or limit them to a few letters; advanced learners can make whole words.

Family Website: Starfall

• Interactive games help children connect letters to sounds. Supports struggling learners with visuals and sound prompts while giving advanced students extension activities.

Provide a set of picture cards and word cards; students match them together.

• Differentiation: Students who need extra support use visuals, gestures, or real objects, while advanced learners are encouraged to create sentences or use the words in discussion.

Activity 2: Story Word Hunt

• During a read-aloud, pause to identify and discuss new words. Students hold up a card or symbol when they hear a target word.

• Differentiation: Use visuals or gestures for children with language delays. Encourage advanced learners to use the new words in their own sentences.

At-Home Activity: Word of the Day Jar

• Families pick a new word each day, talk about it, and use it in different sentences at dinner or bedtime.

• How it helps: Expands vocabulary in meaningful contexts. Students with language delays benefit from pictures or gestures, while advanced learners can add synonyms.

Family Website: Building Your Child's Vocabulary | Colorín Colorado

Share new words with your child to help build their vocabulary, reassuring them about the positive long-term effects.

• Teacher reads a short passage, and students repeat after, mimicking the pace and expression.

• Differentiation: For struggling readers, use shorter sentences with more repetition. Advanced students can try partner reading instead of echoing.

Activity 2: Reader’s Theater

• Students perform a short script, practicing expression and fluency.

• Differentiation: Provide highlighted scripts for students who need extra support. Challenge advanced students by assigning them narrator roles or multiple parts.

At-Home Activity: Family Read-Aloud Night

• Parents and children take turns reading lines or pages aloud, focusing on expression and pacing.

• How it helps: Models fluent reading. Students with exceptionalities can echo short sentences, while stronger readers can lead.

Family Website: PBS KIDS Read! | PBS KIDS for Parents

• Offers several reading activities and games for kids.

Activity 1: Story Retelling with Props

• After a read-aloud, students use puppets, pictures, or objects to retell the story in sequence.

• Differentiation: For students who struggle, provide sequencing cards. Advanced learners can be asked to retell from a different character’s perspective.

Activity 2: Question-of-the-Day Board

• Post comprehension questions (who, what, where, when, why, how) after story time. Students answer using drawings, words, or oral responses.

• Differentiation: Provide visual prompts for students needing support. Challenge advanced learners with higher-order thinking questions (e.g., Why do you think the character made that choice?).

At-Home Activity: Story Drawing

• After reading, children draw a picture of their favorite part or character and share why.

• How it helps: Builds recall and understanding. Students with exceptionalities use visuals to express comprehension, while advanced learners can add written captions.

Family Website: Reading 101: Self-Paced Learning Modules

• Provides families with strategies to ask questions and build understanding at home. Adaptable for both beginning and advanced readers.