Super S Lesson Plan Ss
Early Phonics • Kindergarten / Grade 1
Super S Safari Lesson Plan
Target Duration: 35–45 min
Focus: /s/ Sound & Letter Ss
Grade Level Pre-K / K / Grade 1
Phonics Skill Consonant /s/
Blending Focus VC / CVC (sat, sun, sip)
Materials Slides, Sheets, Sand/Tray
Lesson Objectives
1. Phonemic Awareness: Isolate and pronounce the continuous voiceless fricative /s/ without vowel distortion (avoid /suh/).
2. Orthographic Mapping: Form uppercase S and lowercase s using proper stroke formation cues.
3. Sound-Symbol Decoding: Identify initial /s/ in spoken words and blend initial /s/ in early decodable words (sun, sit, sam ).
Phase 1: Warm-Up & Mouth Articulation (8 mins) Auditory & Kinesthetic
The Hissing Snake Anchor: Introduce Sammy the Friendly Snake. Instruct students to smile slightly with teeth gently touching and the tongue tip resting behind top teeth. Gently blow continuous air: /ssssssss/.
Crucial Teaching Tip: Ensure students make a continuous voiceless hissing sound. If students say "suh" , model stopping the sound cleanly without popping the vocal cords. Put fingers on throat to feel "no buzzing".
Phase 2: Explicit Letter Formation (10 mins) Gross to Fine Motor
Uppercase S (Headline to Baseline)
Verbal Chant: "Start below the headline. Curve back up and around to the midline, curve forward and slide down to the baseline, curve back up!"
Lowercase s (Midline to Baseline)
Verbal Chant: "Start below the midline. Curve back up to the dashed line, curve around, slide down to the baseline, curve back up!"
Multi-Sensory Drill: 1) Sky-write in the air with whole arm straight; 2) Finger-trace on desk texture or sensory tray; 3) Whisper the verbal prompt aloud while writing.
Super S Safari Phonics Unit • Teacher Instructional Guide Page 1 of 2
Guided & Independent Practice
Instructional Steps & Assessment
Phases 3 – 5
Phase 3: Sound Hunt & Decodable Blending (12 mins) Phonics Application
Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down Discrimination: Teacher says words aloud. Students show thumbs up if the word begins with /s/ and thumbs down if it does not:
✓ Sun ✗ Moon ✓ Sock ✗ Dog ✓ Sandwich ✓ Six
Continuous Sound Blending Routine:
Model stretching the first sound continuously into the next vowel without stopping: "ssss-aaaa-mmm → Sam" , "ssss-uuu-nnn → sun" , "ssss-iii-ttt → sit" .
Phase 4: Independent Student Activity (10 mins) Super S Practice Worksheet
Distribute the Super S Practice Worksheet . Have students trace uppercase S and lowercase s with proper starting dots. Circulate to check pencil grip and ensure students say the /s/ sound quietly every time their pencil completes a letter.
Phase 5: Exit Ticket & Closure (5 mins) Quick Formative Check
Administer the Super S Exit Ticket . Students independently identify initial /s/ pictures, independently write 1 uppercase and 1 lowercase S, and identify the letter 's' in a simple decodable word.
Targeted Differentiation
Support: Use tactile green starting dots and red stop dots on handwriting lines. Practice drawing snake curves on tabletop with wet sponge or playdough snakes.Extension: Provide decodable sentence strips: "Sam sat on the sand." Have students underline every 's' and illustrate the sentence.
Common Pitfalls & Fixes
Reversals: 'S' written backward (like a Z or backwards curve). Fix: Anchor with "curve like the letter C first, then slide around the other way!"Voiced /z/ Confusion: The letter S sometimes sounds like /z/ at word endings (e.g., is, dogs ). Keep focus strictly on the voiceless initial /s/ sound for today.
Super S Safari Phonics Unit • Teacher Instructional Guide Page 2 of 2
Super S Sound Slides 🌿 Early Literacy Safari
Phonics Unit • Letter S
Meet the
Super Letter Ss!
Get ready to hiss like a snake, trace curvy shapes, and read exciting new words!
Ss Letter of the Day
Listen closely • Speak aloud • Practice together
Let's Begin! 👉
Mouth Articulation & Sound Step 1
🐍
The Snake Sound
Letter S makes the continuous sound:
/ssssssss/
⚠️ Say: /ssss/ like steam escaping.Do NOT say: "suh"!
How to Make the Sound:
1 Smile and show your teeth! 😁
2 Put your tongue right behind your top teeth.
3 Gently blow cool air out: /ssssssss/ !
Whole Class: Put 3 fingers up and hiss like a friendly snake for 3 seconds! 🐍
Handwriting Stroke Motion Step 2
Uppercase S Tall Letter
S Top to Bottom Line
Formation Verbal Chant:
"Curve back around... swing forward... slide down and curve up!"
Lowercase s Short Letter
s Middle to Bottom Line
Formation Verbal Chant:
"Same curvy shape, but start at the midline: curve back, swing, and curve up!"
Sky-Writing Time: Point pointer fingers high in the air and trace with teacher! 👆
Sound Hunt Game Step 3
Which Words Start with /s/?
Thumbs UP 👍 if it starts with /s/! Thumbs DOWN 👎 if it does not!
☀️ sun /s/ - un
🐸 frog Starts with /f/
🧦 sock /s/ - ock
🥪 sandwich /s/ - andwich
Check: Sun, Sock, and Sandwich all begin with the hissing /s/ sound! 🎉
Decodable Word Reading Step 4
Slide and Blend the Sounds!
Stretch the first sound continuously into the next sound.
🪑
s
a
t
sat
☀️
s
u
n
sun
🥤
s
i
p
sip
Blend along: "ssss - aaat → sat! ssss - uuun → sun! ssss - iiip → sip!"
Fluency & Choral Chant Wrap-Up
🐍 ☀️ 🏖️
"Six silly snakes
slide softly in the sun!"
Count the letter S words! How many can you spot?
Super S Practice Worksheet Ss
Super S Practice Worksheet
Letter Formation & Phonics
Name:
Date:
🐍
Sound & Formation Chant
"Curve back around, swing forward, slide down and curve up! Letter S says /s/ ."
Ss sun /s/
1
Trace and Write Uppercase S
Start at the dot • Fill headline to baseline
S
S
S
S
2
Trace and Write Lowercase s
Start at the dashed midline • Stay under the dashes
s
s
s
s
Self-Check: Put a ⭐ above your neatest letter S! Page 1 of 2
🔍
Super S Sound Detective
Name:
3
Safari Letter Hunt
Find and circle every S and s !
S
C
s
O
S
Z
s
E
a
s
m
S
5
s
t
S
4
Beginning Sound Check
Color or circle the pictures that begin with the /s/ sound
☀️ sun
🐶 dog
⭐ star
⚽ ball
🧦 sock
🥪 sandwich
5
Trace, Read, and Match
Trace the 's', read each word, and draw a line to its picture!
s un (/s/ - /u/ - /n/)
☀️
s at (/s/ - /a/ - /t/)
🪑
s ip (/s/ - /i/ - /p/)
🥤
Super Reader Mission Complete! 🎉 Page 2 of 2
Super S Exit Ticket Ss
Super S Quick Check
Name:
Score: /3
1. Circle the TWO pictures that start with the /s/ sound:
🥪 sandwich
🐱 cat
🧦 sock
🍎 apple
2. Trace and write one uppercase S and one lowercase s:
S
s
3. Circle the letter s in the word:
s u n
Self-Check
😊 🤔
✂ Cut Here
Ss
Super S Quick Check
Name:
Score: /3
1. Circle the TWO pictures that start with the /s/ sound:
🥪 sandwich
🐱 cat
🧦 sock
🍎 apple
2. Trace and write one uppercase S and one lowercase s:
S
s
3. Circle the letter s in the word:
s u n
Self-Check
😊 🤔
