Objective

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to identify and practice phonetic sounds using playdough.

Materials and Prep

• Playdough in various colors
• A clean surface or table for working with playdough

No prior knowledge or preparation is required for this lesson.

Activities

• Create letter shapes: Show the student how to roll playdough into long snakes and shape them into different letters. Encourage the student to try making letters on their own.
• Letter sound matching: Say a letter sound aloud and ask the student to find the playdough letter shape that matches the sound. Repeat with different letter sounds.
• Phonetic word building: Use playdough to create small balls or shapes. Write down simple phonetic words (e.g., cat, dog, sun) and ask the student to use the playdough to build the word by placing the corresponding sound balls on top of each other.
• Sound exploration: Encourage the student to experiment with playdough and make different sounds by squishing, squeezing, or patting it. Ask the student to describe the sounds they hear.

Talking Points

• "Today, we are going to have fun with playdough and learn about sounds!"
• "Let's start by making letter shapes with playdough. Can you roll the playdough into a snake and shape it into the letter 'A'?"
• "Now, I'm going to say a sound like 'mmm' and you need to find the playdough letter that makes that sound. Can you find the letter 'M'?"
• "Great job! Now, let's use the playdough to build words. I'll say a word like 'cat' and you need to use the playdough to build the word by stacking the letter sounds together."
• "Wow, you're doing amazing! Playdough can also make different sounds. Can you squish the playdough and tell me what sound it makes? Is it soft or loud?"