Kirsten Schneider

Phylicia Kelly
Dr. Eastman
EDUC 301
November 8, 2010
Reading Strategy Lesson Plan
Lesson: Sound Boxes- Phoneme-grapheme correspondences

Length: 20-30 minutes

Source: Reading Rockets: http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/elkonin_boxes

Age or Grade Level Intended: College students/1st grade

Academic Standard(s):
English/ Language Arts:
• 1.1.4 Phonemic Awareness: Distinguish beginning, middle, and ending sounds in single-
syllable words (words with only one vowel sound).
• 1.1.6 Recognize that vowels' sounds can be represented by different letters.

Performance Objectives:
• Given a set of sound boxes and marker chips, the students will segment the beginning,
middle, and ending sounds in 5 single-syllable words.
• Given a note card with 6 words written on it and a set of sound boxes with marker chips,
the students will practice segmenting the individual sounds in the 6 words.
• After segmenting these individual sounds in these 6 words, the students will recognize
that certain vowel and consonant sounds can be represented by different letters.

Assessment:
• To check to see that the students know how to segment the individual sounds, we could
walk around the room and use a student checklist of names to mark off those who do not
understand.
• To check that the students understand the newly learned vowel and consonant spelling
patterns with different letters, we could have individual conferences with the students to
see if they could recognize other words with these spelling patterns.

Advanced Preparation by the Teacher:

Introduction/Motivation:
Explain sound boxes (elkonin boxes) to the class. Sound boxes can be used in the lower
elementary grades to help students recognize the individual sounds that they hear and which
letters correlate with that specific sound. This helps students to develop their reading abilities
because it is important to learn sound-symbol correspondences in order to be able to recognize
new words. Ask the class, “How would you segment the individual sounds in the word night?”
Listen for answers. (Bloom: Knowledge; Gardner: Verbal/Linguistic) Answer: /n/ /igh/ /t/.
Tell the class that typically when a student is asked to write the letters that correspond with these
sounds, they would write it this way: /n/ /i/ /t/. We use the sound boxes to make sure that they
are hearing the individual sounds in a word. Then, once they recognize the sounds, we need to
teach them the letters that go with those sounds. For this word, we would teach them the igh
spelling pattern that correlates with the long /i/ sound in the word night. Then, when they read
new words, such as high, flight, and sight, they will be able to recognize that newly learned
spelling pattern that connects with that individual sound.

Theory: To help students build phonemic awareness (hearing the individual sounds in
words), which will in turn help to develop reading abilities.

Step-by-Step Plan:
1. Tell the students that we are going to practice how to use sound boxes with them. Hand
out the sheet of sound boxes and marker chips.
2. Explain directions: After I say the word out loud, I want you to repeat it out loud. Then,
as a group, we will segment the word into its individual sounds by moving a marker chip
into a box each time we hear a new sound.
3. Tell the students that their word is hat. Repeat the word out loud. The students say the
word hat. (Bloom: Knowledge; Gardner: Verbal/Linguistic, Visual/Spatial)
4. Now, tell the students to move the marker chips as they say the sounds out loud.
(Bloom: Knowledge; Gardner: Visual/Spatial, Bodily Kinesthetic) The students
should segment the word like this: /h/ /a/ /t/.
5. Ask the students, “How many sounds are in this word?” Listen for answers. (Bloom:
Knowledge; Gardner: Visual/Spatial, Verbal/Linguistic) Answer: 3 sounds.
6. Ask the students, “What letters would you write in each box for each of these 3 sounds?”
Listen for answers. (Bloom: Knowledge; Gardner: Verbal/Linguistic) Answer: h a t.
7. Tell our class, a teacher could use this as a teachable moment depending on the answers
you receive. If the student is not able to say/write the correct letters that correspond with
these sounds, they still need help in learning the sounds of the alphabet.
8. Now, give the students another word. Tell them that their new word is sheep. Repeat the
word out loud. The students should say the word sheep. (Bloom: Knowledge;
Gardner: Verbal/Linguistic, Visual/Spatial)
9. Now, tell the students to move their marker chips as they say the sounds out loud.
(Bloom: Knowledge; Gardner: Bodily Kinesthetic, Visual/Spatial) The students
should segment the word like this: /sh/ /ee/ /p/.
 10. Ask the students, “How many sounds are in this word?” Listen for answers. (Bloom:
Knowledge; Gardner: Verbal/Linguistic, Visual/Spatial) Answer: 3 sounds
11. Ask the students, “What letters would you write in each box for each of these 3 sounds?”
Remind the students that they are acting as 1st graders. Listen for answers. (Bloom:
Knowledge; Gardner: Verbal/Linguistic) Answer: sh ee p, but assuming that these
students are younger, they would probably say s e p.
12. Tell our class, this is where the teachable moment comes in: Explain to your 1st graders
the 2 spelling patterns that are used in this word. Sh makes the /sh/ sound in the word
sheep, and the double ee makes a long e sound in the word. If you teach this consonant
digraph and/or the long vowel rule, the students will be able to read more words that
follow these rules. Sound boxes are a great tool to use because they first focus on the
individual sounds, and then there is also enough space to write the corresponding letters
so that the students have a visual of how it works.
13. Now it is time for the college students to practice. Tell everyone to split into partners.
Explain that they are going to practice on their own (one student will act as the teacher
and one student will act as the child).
14. Pass out an index card with 6 words on it. Tell the teacher in the group to read the words
out loud (do not show the student the cards). Tell them to remind their student to repeat
the word out loud; then, have the student use the marker chips to segment the words;
finally, have the student write the correct sounds in the correct boxes. (Draw more sound
boxes if needed.)
15. Tell our class that they need to point out what they would teach the students if they were
really working on segmenting these words. Example: For the word broom, one would
teach the double oo or the br blend.
16. Then, tell the groups to switch roles so that both partners can practice being the teacher
and the student.
17. Walk around the room to make sure that everyone understands their task.

Overview: We use two examples that our class will get to practice using sound boxes to
see how they work.

Closure:
After everyone has had time to practice, bring the class back together to discuss. Review
how to segment each of the words: March, read, wish, made, broom, led. Explain the teachable
moments, such as the ch and ar in March. Ask the students, “What problems did you have with
this activity?” Listen for answers. (Bloom: Evaluation; Gardner: Verbal/Linguistic) Ask the
students, “What went well with this activity?” Listen for answers. (Bloom: Evaluation;
Gardner: Verbal/Linguistic) Ask the class if they have any questions about how to use Sound
Boxes in a classroom.

Enrichments/Adaptations:

Girl with ADHD: When it is time to hand out papers, I will let the girl distribute them to the
class. Before moving on with the second part of the lesson, I would allow this student a chance
to get up and walk to get a drink so that she can move around for a bit.
Boy with Visual Impairment: Since this student is not able to see the front board from the back
of the room, I would have this student sit closer to the front. When using the sound boxes, I
would make them larger on one sheet of paper and be sure to have several sheets prepared for
this student.

Girl with Listening Comprehension Disability: This student has a hard time completing tasks
when there are many steps explained at once. For this student, I could explain the directions for
using sound boxes one at a time. First, I would tell the student to repeat the word. Then, move a
marker chip into the first box for the first sound, then the second, and the third. Finally, I would
explain the new spelling patterns and how it works in one word before I incorporate others.

Self-Reflection:
1. Did the students understand why we use sound boxes as a teacher?
2. Did the students understand that there is more than one way that a teacher could
incorporate sound boxes in a classroom?
3. Were the students able to recognize how we (teachers) would create teachable moments
for certain words and spelling patterns?
4. During the assessment, were the students able to correctly segment the words?
5. How could we improve this lesson? What could be better?