Consonant Blends and Chunking Words Lesson Plan: Manny’s Word Mangler

Grade Levels: K-3

In this lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades 1-3, students use an online interactive game and their knowledge of consonant blends to practice chunking words and putting words together.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Compose and decompose words using the chunking strategy.
  2. Identify consonant blends and the sounds they make in various words.

Materials:

  • Computers with internet access for BrainPOP
  • Interactive whiteboard (or just an LCD projector)
  • Blends/digraphs manipulatives blocks/pieces, or index cards and scissors for students to make their own

Vocabulary:

note, spell, pronounce, vowel, consonant, blend, consonant blend, chunking

Preparation:

This lesson plan uses a PBS Kids game called Manny's Word Mangler. The game focuses on developing word building skills by emphasizing the concept of ‘chunking’ words. Players grab pieces from words that Manny has discarded and piece them together into new words. The game is broken into a series of 3 timed rounds which progress from slow to fast and players must build as many words as they can in the time allotted. To prepare for the lesson, preview the movie, its related features, and the game. You'll also need to prepare consonant blend manipulatives or gather index cards and scissors for students to make their own.

Lesson Procedure:

  1. Project the Talk About It activity for the class to see. Review the th, sh, and wh consonant blends and record the examples students suggest by typing directly into the page.

  2. Tell students to listen for additional consonant blends as you play the Th, Wh, and Sh movie. Turn the closed captioning on to facilitate comprehension.

  3. Revisit and add to the Talk About It Activity. Then read the words as a class. Talk with students about chunking the words as they sound them out.

  4. Project the Manny's Word Manglers game for the class to see and play it to demonstrate how it works. Point out that the second half of the word may appear first on the conveyor belt.

  5. Allow students to play the game with a partner or independently. You could also play the game with a small group of students while the rest of the class plays it independently (or explores the BrainPOP Jr. features related to the movie).

  6. Encourage students to make their own words with consonant blends using blend and digraph manipulatives. If you don't have any, allow students to make their own by chunking words as they write them on index cards (such as sl/ide and th/ank). Cut the index cards apart and mix them up, then have students use chunking strategies to put the words together.

  7. Challenge students to trade manipulatives with a partner and create different words.

  8. After some guided practice with this activity, set a timer for 5 minutes. Have students make a list of all the words they can create using the manipulatives in that time period. This activity can be done collaboratively by having two students combine their manipulative sets.

  9. Allow students to compare their lists with a group or other classmates.

  10. Challenge students to create a story, poem, essay, etc. using 10 words from their list. Students may want to highlight or underline each consonant blend word they use.

Extension Activities:

Have students revisit this game after watching the BrainPOP Jr. Ch Movie. Other lesson ideas are available in The Electric Company's Teacher Guide made available through PBS Kids.

Related:

    Filed as:  CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.2a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.2c, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.2d, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3b, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3e, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.3a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.3b, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.3c, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.3d, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.3c, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.1b, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.2b, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.2d, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.3, English, K-3, Manny's Word Mangler