Illustration of student using a magnifying glass
Art by Kenneth Anderson
Poetry Kit,

_an You _rack the _ode?

Students will build words by adding initial consonant sounds to comprehend a poem.

By Kenn Nesbitt
From the May/June 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students read words with r-controlled vowels to comprehend a poem.

Common Core Standards
  • RF.1.2 Phonological/phonemic awareness RF.1.3 Decoding RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text RL.1.10 Read poetry SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative discussions with peers and adults SL.1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud
TEKS Standards
  • English Language Arts
    (2) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking—beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell. The student is expected to: (B) demonstrate and apply phonetic knowledge by: (i) decoding words in isolation and in context by applying common letter sound correspondences. (9) Multiple genres: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts—genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts. The student is expected to: (B) discuss rhyme, rhythm, repetition, and alliteration in a variety of poems.

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I found a P, an L, and C.
They ___ooked just ___ike a ___lue.
I ___annot read this ___oem.
I __ould use some help from you.

So, ___lease ___ut P or L or C
in ___lace of all the blanks.
Then we ___an read the ___oem today
and I ___an tell you thanks.

Go back and add the missing letters! Then read the poem again.

More About the Article

English Language Arts Focus 

Poetry: Craft and Structure

Comprehension

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Whole group

Pairings and Text Connections

  • From the Storyworks 1 archive: “Sam the Yam" (September 2022); "Mud Bath" (October/November 2022); "Pig in a Wig" (September 2023); "Zap That Hat" (September 2024); "Get In Bed, Ted" (October/November 2024)
  • Suggested books: The Alphabet’s Alphabet by Chris Harris; Take Away the A by Michael Escoffier

Suggested Reading Focus

Phonemic awareness/initial consonant sounds (20 minutes)

  • Initial Sound Substitution: Teachers will state the first word and students will repeat. Direct students to change the first sound in the word and then state the altered word.

cat → change /k/ to /p/ → pat

pad → change /p/ to /l/ → lad 

lug → change /l/ to /p/ → pug 

cod → change /k/ to /p/ → pod 

pit → change /p/ to /l/ → lit 

lot → change /l/ to /k/ → cot 

  • Initial Sound Deletion: Students will listen to the stated words, repeat, and delete or "erase" the beginning consonant sound.

 

coat delete /k/ → oat

link delete /l/ → ink

page delete /p/ → age

late delete /l/ → ate

pit delete /p/ → it

 

  • Sound Isolation: Students will hear a word, state the word, and state the initial consonant sound in the word.

clue → /k/

look → /l/

poem → /p/

could → /k/

like → /l/

please → /p/

Text-to-Speech