Procedures: 

 

1. Say: Our written language is a secret code. The tricky part is learning what letters stand for—the mouth moves we make as we say words. Today we're going to work on spotting the mouth move /z/. We spell /z/ with letter Z. Z looks like a zigzag, and /z/ sounds like a bee buzzing by.

 

2. Let's pretend to be a bee, /z/, /z/, /z/. [Pantomime buzzing around like a bee]. Notice where your top teeth are? (Teeth are together). When we say /z/, We place our tongue above our top teeth and turn our voice box on. 

 

3. Let me show you how to find /z/ in the word zebra. I'm going to stretch left out in super slow motion and listen for my little bee. z-z-z-e-bb-ra. Slower: z-z-z-e-bb-ra. There it was! I felt my tongue vibrate and tingle. Buzz /z/ is in zebra. 

 

4. Let's try a tongue tickler. Zed is a bad little zebra. He never listened to his mother. One day it was cold outside, and he didn’t get a jacket like his mother told him to do. Zed decided to go outside and brace the cold like a man. Well little did he know, the cold would get the best of him. Zed’s mother brings him his jacket and Zed zips it up. Here’s our tickler: “Zed the zebra zips his zipper." Everybody say it three times together. Now say it again, and this time, stretch the /z/ at the beginning of the words. “Zzzed the zzzebra zips his zipper." Try it again, and this time break it off the word: "/z/ ed   the  /z/ ebra /z/ips   his  /z/ ipper.

 

5. [Have students take out primary paper and pencil]. We use letter Z to spell /z/. Capital Z looks like a large zigzag. Let's write the lowercase letter z. Make a little 7 and then go back. I want to see everybody's z. After I put a smile on it, I want you to make nine more just like it.

 

6. Call on students to answer and tell how they knew: Do you hear /z/ in zoo or boo? zipper or dipper? zoom or broom? zigzag or drag? Freeze or dream? Say: Let's see if you can spot the mouth move /z/ in some words. Zip your zipper if you hear /z/: The, zebra, freeze, zigzag, sneeze, sink, zombie, blue, trees.

 

7. Say: "Let's look at an alphabet book. Dr. Seuss tells us about a funny creature who calls him self a zuz. " Read page 51, drawing out /z/. Ask children if they can think of other words with /z/. Ask them to make up a silly creature name like Zizzer, Zazzer, Zuz or Zizzy, Zillo, Zit. Then have each student write their silly name with invented spelling and draw a picture of their silly creature. Display their work.

 

8. Show ZIP and model how to decide if it is zip or dip: The Z tells me to zip my jacket/z/, so this word zzz-ip, zip. You try some: ZAG: zag or bag? ZOO: zoo or moo? ZOOM: zoom or doom? ZAP: zap or map? 

 

9. For assessment, distribute the worksheet. Students find all of the letters Z. Students will also practice writing the letter z. Call students individually to read the phonetic cue words from step #8.