Buzz like a Bee with Z

Emergent Literacy Design

Morgan Dunn

 

Rationale: This lesson will help children identify /z/, the phoneme represented by Z. Students will learn to recognize /z/ in spoken words by learning a meaningful representation (buzzing sound) and the letter symbol Z, practice finding /z/ in words, and apply phoneme awareness with /z/ in phonetic cue reading by distinguishing rhyming words from beginning letters.

Materials: Primary paper and pencil; chart with “The zebra zoomed around Zach in the zoo;” drawing paper and crayons; Dr. Seuss’s On Beyond Zebra! (Random House, 1955); word cards with ZAP, ZOOM, BONE, ZERO, TIP, MEAL; assessment worksheet identifying pictures with /z/ (URL below)

 

Procedures:

 

1. Say: Our written language is like a secret code. The hard part is learning what each letter letters stand for— our mouth moves as we say words. Today we're going to work on learning how the mouth moves for /z/. We spell /z/ with letter Z. Z looks like a zig-zag that a bee might make and sounds like a bee buzzing.

 

2. We’re going to pretend to buzz like a bee, /z/, /z/, /z/. [Pretend to buzz/fly around like a bee] Do you notice how you clench your teeth close and your tongue goes to the top of your mouth? Then you blow air out through your teeth and it feels like your tongue is buzzing just like a bee!

 

3. Let me show you how to find /z/ in the word buzz. I'm going to out buzz in slow motion and listen for bee. Bbb-u-u-zz. Okay, now a little slower: Bbb-u-u-u-zzzzzzz. There it is! I feel my tongue buzzing like a bee

 

4. Okay, now let’s try a tongue twister: “The zebra zoomed around Zach in the zoo.” Let’s say it all together. Let’s say it again but this time stretch out the /z/ at the beginning of our words. The zzzzzebra zzzzoomed around Zzzzach in the zzzzooo. Okay, let’s try it again but this time try and break off the /z/ from the rest of the word. The /z/ebra /z/oomed around /z/ach in the /z/oo.

 

5. [Students will take a piece of primary paper and pencil] Now we’re going to practice writing Z for /z/. Z looks like a bee zig-zag. Start right below rooftop and make a short line along the rooftop. Then make a line going backwards down to the sidewalk so it’s diagonal. Then one more line along the sidewalk. Okay, let me see; now let’s draw nine more just like it! 

 

6. [Call on students and ask how they know] Do you hear /z/ in boo or zoo? Zoom or room? Zebra or dog? Let’s see if we can feel our tongue buzz in some words. Buzz like a bee if you hear /z/: the, zany, zoo, was, full, of, zebras.

 

7.  Say: “Okay, now we’re going to look at an alphabet book. Dr. Seuss tells us about an alphabet with a bunch of words with /z/!" Read some pages, drawing out /z/. Ask children if they can think of other words with /z/. Ask them to make up a silly creature that begins with /z/ like a zooter-zop-zilcho or zim-zeeter-zoon. Then have each student write their silly name with invented spelling and draw a picture of their silly creature. Display their work.

 

8. Show ZAP and model how to determine if it is zap or tap:  the Z tells my tongue to buzz like a bee, /z/ so this word is zzzzap, zap.  Now you try some: ZOOM, room or zoom? BONE, zone or bone?  ZERO, hero or zero? TIP, zip or tip? MEAL, meal or zeal?

 

9. For assessment, distribute the worksheet. Students are to complete the partial spellings and color the pictures that begin with Z. Call students individually to read the phonetic cue words from step #8

 

Reference:

Phonemic Awareness in Young Children:  A Classroom Curriculum, by Adams, Foorman, Lundberg & Beeler.  Brooks Publishing Co., P.O. Box 10624, Baltimore MD 21285

 

Assessment worksheet: http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/z-begins2.htm