letter j

Letter J j

Objectives:

Watch the video clip below to hear the sound of /j/

Let us review the letter sounds we have done so far.

/s/, /a/,/t/, /i/, /p/, /n/, /c/, /k/, /e/, /h/, /r/, /m/, /d/, / g/, /o/, /u/, /l/, /f/, /b/, /ai/

Lesson Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

Activity:

Show students a mystery bag with objects that begin with "j" (e.g., jam, jump rope, jelly, juice box, jack).
Let students pull out each item and guess the beginning sound.
Ask:
- "What do these words have in common?"
- "Can you make the sound that begins each of these words?"

STEM Link: Observation and sorting (Classifying items based on the sound they begin with)

Activity: Mouth Formation Practice + Sound Hunt

Use a mirror: Have students observe how their mouths move when saying /j/.
Compare with other similar sounds (e.g., /ch/, /sh/)
Play a “J Sound Hunt” around the classroom: find items or pictures that begin with the /j/ sound.

STEM Link: Use a mirror as a tool to study facial movement and sound production (early biology: body parts—mouth, lips, tongue)

Teacher-led mini-lesson:

Show the uppercase and lowercase Jj on the board.
Model writing the letter and have students write it in the air, on desks, or in sand trays.
Blend /j/ with other phonemes:
- j + am = jam
- j + et = jet
- Use a blending board or flashcards to demonstrate.

Sight Words: Teach and review: jump, just, joy, jelly
Use these in oral sentences and have students repeat.

Activity 1:

Word Play:
- Change beginning sounds:
  - jam → ram, ham, yam
  - jet → pet, net, get
- Use a "Word Wheel" with the ending “-et” or “-am” to rotate beginning sounds.

Activity 2 (STEM Integration):

Jelly Jump STEM Challenge:
- In groups, build a “jelly jumper”—a simple springy lever using craft sticks, rubber bands, and a spoon to launch a small jelly candy.
- Measure and record how far the jelly flies (introduces measurement and data collection).
- Complete blogsite activity orally and independently

Tier	Activity	Evaluation Criteria
Tier 1 (Basic)	Match pictures to the correct “j” words (e.g., juice, jam, jet)	Correctly matches 3–5 words and pictures
Tier 2 (Intermediate)	Blend and write “j” words from given sounds (e.g., j + et)	Accurately blends and writes 3 or more “j” words
Tier 3 (Advanced)	Substitute beginning sounds to form 4 new rhyming words from one base word	Substitutes beginning consonants correctly and identifies rhyming patterns

Level	Support/Challenge
Below Grade Level	Use picture cues, hand-over-hand writing support, and audio prompts for sound recognition.
On Grade Level	Work on blending and segmenting tasks with magnetic letters and word cards.
Above Grade Level	Encourage writing simple sentences using “j” words and sight words (e.g., I just jump for joy.) and extend the STEM task by charting results.