Drumming Out Syllables
Foundations for Phonemic Awareness
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 0: Foundation for LiteracyAges:
3-7
Grade Range:
PreK K 1stFood Groups:
Primary:
Phonemic Awareness
Activity Description
Preparation:
- Find a tambourine or drum that students can use
Implementation:
- Introduce students to your tambourine or drum
-
Explain that it is used to help find the number of “beats” in a word
- Explain that when we are talking about words, the beats have a special name: syllables
-
Model how to count the number of “beats” in a word
- For example, say your name and bang the tambourine as you say each syllable
-
Give each student a turn to use the tambourine to find the beats in a word
- For beginning students, have them find the beats in their name
- For more advanced students, provide them with a word orally or show them a picture of a word they should break into syllables
- After each student bangs out the syllables, have everyone count how many syllables there are in each word
Adaptations For
English Language Learners/ESL:
- Have these students drum out their name or other familiar words
LD/Reading & Writing Difficulties:
- Provide further reinforcement by having students "clap back" the number of syllables and say them aloud after each students turn on the drum
Cultural Appropriateness & Diversity:
- If you are using words or pictures, make sure they are familiar to all students
Differentiated Instruction:
- If you are using words or pictures, provide more difficult words to stronger students
Related References
Evidence:
Phillips, B. M., Clancy-Menchetti, J. & Lonigan, C. J. (2008) Successful phonological awareness instruction with preschool children: Lessons from the Classroom. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 28, 3-17.
Activity Objective
The goal of Drumming Out Syllables: Foundations for Phonemic Awareness is to help bring students awareness to the sound structure of words by finding the number of syllables in words in a fun way.
What You Need
Prep Time:
2 minutes
- Find a tambourine or drum
Task Time:
5 minutes
- Teacher models how to find the number of syllables in words using a drum
- Each student has a turn to drum the number of syllables in a word
Materials Required:
Teacher:
- Tambourine or drum
What You Do
Teacher Role:
Modeling:
- when showing how to drum the beats in a word
Facilitator:
- as each student drums out the beats in a word
Student Grouping:
Whole class:
- throughout activity
Assessment Ideas:
- On a checklist, note which students are able to successfully drum out their word and which have difficulty
- Test students individually by having them clap the number of syllables in a few different familiar words you provide (for example, "teacher" -2, "lunch"- 1, "happy"- 2, "go" -1, "December"-3, "afternoon"-3)
Quick Tips
Activity Extensions:
- Have students clap out beats of pictured words and sort the pictures based on their number of syllables
- Try another activity such as "Fishing for Syllables"
Other Recipes by this Teacher
Guess My Letter: Reviewing Letter-Sounds
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Corner Grocery Store Song: Foundations for Phonemic Awareness
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Silly Sound Attendance: Building Phonemic Awareness
PreK - 1st
How Many Beats in Your Name?: Foundations for Phonemic Awareness
PreK - 1st
Classroom Mailbox: Motivating Students to Write Letters to Friends (Virtual Tour)
PreK - 1st
