Implementing activities that support clear learning objectives, preschool teachers and daycare providers can create fun lesson plans that help young children learn the letter U.
Learning Objectives
The students will identify the letter U.
The students make and recognize the short U sound.
The students will learn to trace and write upper and lower case Us.
The students will identify objects that begin with the letter U.
The students will learn the “Umbrellas Go Up and Down” finger play.
The students will listen to books that feature the short U sound.
Letter U Handwriting and Phonetics
In order to introduce the letter U, create a poster board which shows both the upper and lower case letter U. Glue a variety of pictures of objects cut from magazines that begin with the letter U. Discuss the poster board with the children, pointing out the items that begin with the letter U. Demonstrate the short U sound and ask the children to make (repeat) the short U sound. Ask the children to think of objects, names, and places that begin with the letter U.
On a white board or chalk board, draw both an upper and lower case U. Children can practice tracing the letter U in both upper and lower case using letter U worksheets. A letter U worksheet appropriate for preschoolers can be found on the KidZone website. In addition, teachers can direct children to practice making upper and lowercase Us using pencils or crayons on blank sheets of paper.
Cognitive Learning: Letter U Object Sorting
Object sorting is great cognitive learning activity which will help children identify objects that begin with the letter U. For this cognitive learning activity, place objects or pictures of objects which begin with the short U sound in a box, bag or other container. Along with these items, place objects beginning with U or containing the short U sound with other letters of the alphabet. As each object is revealed, children will sort those objects that begin with the letter U or have the short U sound from those that do not. Examples of objects that begin with or contain the short u sound: umbrella, umpire, bug, drum, unhappy, run, duck, under, underline, sun, and bun.
Letter U Finger Play
Teach the children the fingerplay “Umbrellas Go Up and Down”*.
Umbrellas Go Up and Down
Umbrellas go up,
Umbrellas go down, (Point up and down.)
When rain clouds are dark
All over the town.
One raindrop and two, (hold up one finger at a time)
Two raindrops and three,
My up and down umbrella
Is up over me. (fingertips touching over head.)
Four raindrops and five, (hold up one finger at a time)
Six raindrops and seven,
Raindrops are tumbling (raise arms and let fingers fall slowly)
Down from the heaven.
Drip, drip, drip, drip!
I am dry as can be,
My up and down umbrella
Is up over me (fingertips touching over head.)
*Taken from Preschooleducation.com
Preschool Books about the Letter U
Umberto’s Summer Day: The Sound of Short U (Phonics Friends) by Cecilia Minden and Joanne Meier (Aug 2005)
Just Bugs: Learning the Short U Sound (Powerphonics) by Jeff Jones (Jan 2001)
Buddy’s Summer Day: The Sound of Short U (Sounds of Phonics) by Cecilia Minden, Joanne Meier and Bob Ostrom (Aug 2010)
My Short U Words (Targeted Phonics: My First Consonants and Vowels) by Sharon Coan (Jun 1, 2011)
Umbrella by Taro Yashima (Jun 30, 1987)
The Umbrella by Jan Brett (Sep 9, 2004)
Under One Rock: Bugs, Slugs, and Other Ughs (Sharing Nature With Children Book) by Anthony D. Fredericks and Jennifer Dirubbio (Sep 1, 2001)
Alphabet recognition activities will greatly enhance preschoolers’ language learning. The key is to have fun with your daycare job with lesson planning and make each moment of learning fun and creative.
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